Day 55

In need of some Preparation H.

Preparing for vacation is a real pain in the ass.  Wednesday was spent tidying the house and tying up loose ends in preparation for a weekend away.  Since our vacation was a bit impromptu, we had to arrange for some accomodations on short notice.  Our target was the surfing mecca of Biarritz.  Being a long school holiday, most hotels were booked, so we ended up “camping”.  The location ended up being a very nice extended stay resort, in which we had a nice little two bedroom cabin.  It was an ideal location since we had to take along the pooch . . . STUPID DOG.  Really, the cabin was very clean and well appointed . . . SORT OF.  We have another trip coming up to Barcelona, so we wanted to keep this little outing on the cheap.  This has proved to be the most expensive cheap weekend one could have ever planned but we will get to that soon enough.  We finished up a bit of laundry and packed up the car for an early morning.  We decided to bring a fair amount of chow with us since we would have a Kitchen in our cabin for the weekend.  Not having shipped any coolers with us from the States, we needed to run to the local sports emporium to pick up some “camping” supplies.  My wife had her heart set on a “cooler” that operates off of the a/c power in our hipster Renault. Basically a mini fridge for your family truckster.  As with any trip I have ever taken to the Sporting goods store, we came away with more than we had planned to purchase.  Having a father who is completely bitten by the cycling bug proved to be a lucrative proposition for my youngest.  When we finally left said Sporting super store, we were heavy one bicycle.  It is a cute little rig that of course needed a matching helmet.  Spoiled.  The eldest will be next, he just doesn’t know it yet.  He was the only one to have a bike shipped from the states, but bicycles are so inexpensive here, I will be hard pressed not to be tempted to pick him up a Velo as well.  In fact, we already have one picked out.  We will get back to that project on another day.  Having procured our “camping” supplies, there was but one more stop to make.  Having finally bid a fond fairwell to my pocket camera that my wife had destroyed, we stopped by an electronics retailer for a new point and shoot camera.  I opted for a Pentax which as it turns out is completely waterproof and takes amazing action photos.  Both of these facts would certainly be beneficial for the weekend ahead.  Back at the hacienda, we finished the last bit of packing and called it a long but productive day.