A Slight Detour

Monday

Our trip to Normandy began with a detour. The actual departure date is today, Monday April 25, but before we departed from JFK to France, we spent a long weekend with two of our grandchildren in Long Island - "Without the Rents" Although we love our children, our time with grandchildren is special. Hands down, spending time with grandchildren is the best thing about growing old.

We arrived Wednesday afternoon, and after a quick dinner we attended a wine tasting at a local shop in Westhampton Beach. Six amazing Burgundy wines (3 whites and 3 reds) were featured accompanied by some amazing cheeses.

The weekend was filled with a visit to Safari Adventure (a bounce house rip-off) and two days on the beach building sandcastles and hunting treasurers from the sea. We truly just enjoyed our time with the grandchildren. We even did a few things that only grandparents would... like making a Dunkin Doughnut run at 7AM for a pink glazed with sprinkles as a morning treat.

The hours spent on the beach was by far our favorite. With promises that they would not get wet, the children ran and played on the shore. Of course, trying to outrun waves caused them to fall just as the wave's sea foam passed them leaving them dripping and covered in sand.

The sharp eyes of our grandson even spotted a starfish in the surf. It was the find of the day!

This trip to Long Island was a little bittersweet. My son, who is in the Coast Guard, will be transferring this summer to Texas. Believe us, we will not miss the drive from Virginia to New York! However, Texas is soooooooo far away from our home.

A side benefit of staying in Long Island with the grandchildren is that it allows us to leave the car at their house and catch the Long Island Railroad to JFK for our flight. Flying out of NY to Europe is so much cheaper than from the airports near us in Virginia, and not having to hassle with a car is a treat.

We headed to Ronkonkoma and caught the 10:30 train to Jamaica Station where we caught the JFK terminal train. Voilà we are at JFK! Although we tried our best to pack light, we were only slightly successful with the challenge.

The check-in was a breeze with almost no line. We had passports, COVID cards, and EU entry paperwork in hand, and were happy to turn over the luggage. The easy check-in was probably due to Tom always insisting we arrive at the airport hours before are flight. The Duty Free shops were not even open yet! Our bags are checked, a mediocre airport lunch has been finished, and we have settled into our gate awaiting our journey across the sea. 

 We are projected to arrive at 7 AM in France (1 AM EST).

We better sleep quick. Next Stop - Paris!

The news services are reporting:

French election result: Macron defeats Le Pen 

and vows to unite divided France

Who else would plan a vacation to France in the middle of a hotly contested election... It would be us!