"Atlanta is at desk thirty seven and gate six," Lori said once she saw their flight on the board.
They went to the desk and stood in line to check in. Once it was their turn they gave the lady their passports and luggage. After that they went to the gate. They stood in line waiting to pass customs. Lori went through first. The gate didn't beep so she was clear.
"Come on Myra, come to mommy," Lori said and Myra walked through the gate.
After Myra came Julie and then Callen. With Callen the gate did start beeping so he needed to be patted down. There was nothing there of course so he could go on. They collected their belongings and went to get some breakfast before they had to board their flight.
Just before 9am they could board their flight. They sat a few rows from the front. They had three seats in one row, Myra and Julie could share a seat. It was only a four and a half hour flight to Atlanta.
Just past 9.30am they went up in the air.
"Look mommy, up," Myra spoke as she and Julie looked out the window.
"Yeah, we're going up. In a while we'll be above the clouds."
Once they were up in the air Lori placed the tablet in front of them and gave both kids a headphone so they could watch a movie. They played some games once the movie had ended before they had to go back into their seats for landing.
"Mommy, gwound," Julie said as she saw the ground appear again.
"Yeah, in a little while we'll be back on the ground. We might feel a little bump when we land but that's normal."
Julie and Myra looked out of the window as they were going down. A few minutes later they were back down on the ground. They jumped a bit in their chair when they touched down. From the speakers came applause once they had touched down and Myra and Julie started clapping too. Once they fasten seatbelt sign was off Callen and Lori got up and grabbed their carry-on luggage. They got off the plane. They grabbed their luggage at baggage claim. They hurried to the desk again to check in again for their flight to Paris. They had fifty minutes until their flight left. They could board the plane right away. They had the front four seats in the middle of the plane. A little after 5.45pm, local time, they went up in the air. It was about an eight and a half hour flight to Paris. They would be in Paris around 8am, local time, so they had to sleep on the plane. Callen and Lori hoped that Myra and Julie would be able to get some sleep on the plane.
About an hour after they had gone up in the air the flight attendants came by to take their orders for food. Lori ordered some pasta for all of them. Pasta with tomato sauce and meatballs for Myra and Julie and pasta with mushrooms and chicken sauce for Callen and pasta with Bolognese sauce for herself. Myra and Julie were sitting in between Callen and Lori so Callen helped Myra eat and Lori helped Julie eat. Myra and Julie ate very well. They played some games before Myra fell asleep in Callen's arms and Julie fell asleep in Lori's arms.
Callen and Lori managed to get some sleep as well before they landed in Paris just after 8am, local time. They grabbed their carry-on luggage and got off the plane. They waited at baggage claim for their suitcases. With their suitcases on the cart they walked to the rental car booth. Once they got the keys they went to the parking lot. Callen loaded their luggage into the car as Lori got the girls in the car. They still had to drive for about four hours before they were at their destination. Once everything and everyone was in the car Callen pulled out of the parking spot. Lori had the map with route on it.
"Take a right here," Lori instructed Callen. "And then another right onto the N two ."
Lori followed the route with her finger as Callen drove and looked at the signs on the road.
"You have to take the exit here onto the A hundred and four," Lori spoke once they reached the exit.
They followed the road as it turned into the D471. They came at the crossing with the D57 and they took a left there. They followed the road and made the third right, onto the N36 and then left on the round-a-bout onto the A5 in South-East direction. They followed the road and took the right arm at the split, following the signs A13/Metz-Nancy/Vesoul/Langres-Nord. They followed the road and took exit seven towards Vesoul/Nogent/Langres-Nord. On the round-a-bout they took the first exit towards La Rochelle/N19.
"Take a left here," Lori said once they gotten to the Avenue de Neufchateau. "And then a right at the round-a-bout."
At the second round-a-bout they took a left. From here on the kept following the main road a little further than Pomoy. They then took a right onto the D13 and then a left on the Rue Grande Rue and then onto Route de Vy Les Lure. They followed the road and then took a right on Grande Rue/D486. They followed this road until they got at the D9. Here they took a right onto this road. At Esprels the road flowed over into the D49. The signs for the camping now came in sight. Callen followers the signs and made a left on D87. They went over the bridge above the L'Ognon and then a left onto Chemin Du Moulin. A little further up this road was the camping, Du Val de Bonnal. They had to stop in front of a gate. There was a booth there with a security guard in it.
"Bonjour," the security guard greeted them. "Vous êtes juste d'arriver?[You're just arriving?]" The security guard spoke in French since their car had a French license plate.
"Oui, nous allons rester avec Eurocamp.[Yes, we will stay with Eurocamp.]," Lori replied.
"Ton nom?[Your name?]"
"Carter."
The security guard looked at his paper. "Ah oui, vous pouvez garer votre voiture ici et ensuite la réception est en bas de la route sur la gauche.[Ah yes, you can park your car here and then the reception is down the road on the left.]"
"Merci."
The security guard opened the gate and Callen drove through. He parked the car just a little further on the right. They got Myra and Julie out of the car and walked towards the reception. The reception was a chalet. There were two people sitting outside.
"Hello, you must be the Carter family," the woman greeted him.
"Yes, we are."
"Welcome to France. How was your trip?"
"It was very fine. Everything went fine."
"That's great. Have a seat and I will get your things."
Callen and Lori sat down and waited until the woman returned. She told them were there space was. They were staying in a bungalow-tent, as they called it. She explained them some things about the camping and were the most important things were.
"If there's anything I can help you with, don't hesitate to ask. I hope you will enjoy your stay here."
"Thank you."
She gave them the map and some folders about the camping and what Eurocamp could offer them on their stay here. With everything in hand Callen and Lori walked back to the car. They got back into the car and drove towards their tent. Lori had the map.
"Down the road on the left here." Lori gave Callen directions. "And make a right here… and a left here, it's the tent on the corner over there."
Callen pulled up alongside the tent. They had a pretty big place. They had some room in front of the tent and a lot of room on the left side of the tent. Callen and Lori got out of the car and helped the girls out before they went to explore the tent. The tent was green and dark green at the bottom with yellow sides on the windows. They had a table with four normal chairs and a parasol outside, two lounge chairs and two lounge beds. There also stood a gazebo. Callen opened the zipper of the tent door. They came into the main area of the tent. They had a small kitchen on the left and some storage room on the right. Behind two zipped curtains were the bedrooms. On the left was the bedroom with the double bed with a small closet and on the right the bedroom with two single beds with a small closet in between. In between the two bedrooms hung a storage net. They didn't have a bathroom in the tent. They could use the facilities at the camping. It was just a little behind them, the bathroom building with toilets and showers. Here were also the facilities to clean your dishes and clothes.
"This looks really nice," Lori stated.
"Yeah it does."
Callen was a bit nervous about this vacation. He had never gone camping. So far when they went on vacation they stayed in a hotel but now they had decided to go camping. He hoped Myra and Julie would enjoy themselves. There was enough to do on the camping for the girls. They had a pool with some slides and playgrounds.
It was around 1pm in France so Callen and Lori made some lunch for the girls and had lunch themselves. After lunch Lori went to put all their stuff away and Callen played with the girls.
Once their food had settled they changed into their swimsuits. Myra and Julie both wore a pink leopard print bathing suit. It had one normal band and the other was a bit wider and was ruffled all the way to the other side of the bathing suit underneath the armpit. Lori wore a yellow tankini top with blue palm trees on it and blue boy shorts while Callen wore a pair of blue swim shorts. Once they all had their swimwear on they went to the pool. The pool was not that far away. It was just right of their tent down the path. Callen and Lori found themselves a couple of beds to lay down on and rubbed some sun screen on the girls and themselves.
There was a separate kids' pool and a big pool with some slides. They had a slides with a lot of turns and six lanes next to each other that went down in waves. There were two bridges over the pool and there was a small island in the middle. The kids' pool had a small slide and a big water fountain in the shape of a mushroom.
Myra and Julie wanted to walk into the water as soon as their sun screen was on but Lori stopped them.
"Wait Myra and Julie, we have to put your floaties on."
"I swim," Julie protested.
"I know sweetie, after we put your floaties on."
Callen and Lori quickly put the floaties on the girls and took them into the water. The water wasn't too deep. It came around the girls hips. Callen and Lori sat down on the floor of the pool. Lori moved back a bit and went through the waterfall on the mushroom.
"Where did mommy go?" Callen spoke.
"Mommy twou water," Myra replied.
"You wanna come too sweetie?" Lori asked.
Myra and Julie looked at Lori and wondered how to get through the water curtain. Julie took the first step. Slowly she walked closer to the water curtain. Lori held her hands in the waterfall so there was a small opening for Julie to go through.
"Hey sweetie," Lori spoke once Julie had gone through the waterfall.
Now that her sister had gone through Myra walked up to the waterfall too. Lori made another opening and Myra walked through.
"Daddy look funny," Myra giggled as she looked at Callen through the waterfall.
"Hey girls," Callen spoke once he had stuck his head through the waterfall.
They all had a lot of fun in the pool. Myra and Julie went down the small slide a couple of times.
"Mommy, big swide?" Julie asked as she pointed to the two big slides.
"I guess we can go down those too."
Callen and Lori picked up the girls and walked up the stairs to the big slides. They decided to go down the slide with waves. Callen sat down with Myra on his lap and Lori sat down with Julie on her lap. Together they went down the slide. The girls were laughing as she went down the slide. When they hit the water Callen and Lori made sure the girls wouldn't go under. The girls loved it and wanted to go again. They went down this slide a few more times before they went down the other slide.
It was just after 5pm when they went back to their tent.
"Okay girls, time for shower," Lori announced as she grabbed their things.
Lori took Myra to shower while Callen took Julie to shower.
"Julie, we have to go this way," Callen announced.
"Mommy this way."
"Yes mommy went that way. That is the girls' bathroom."
"I giwl."
"Yes sweetie," Callen replied with a smile. "But daddy is a boy so when you're going to shower with daddy we go to the boy's bathroom."
"Okay daddy."
Julie took Callen's hand and followed him to men's facilities which were just around the corner. There were two types of showers, small with just a small plank and hooks and then the shower or large with a vanity inside the stall. Lori waited until a large one became available since it would be handier with Myra there. Once the stall became empty Lori went inside the stall with Myra. She closed and locked the door before she proceeded in taken their clothes off. With the flip flops on their feet they stepped underneath the shower.
Once they were done Lori dried them off and dressed Myra in her pajamas before she put her own clothes on.
Just as they were walking out Callen walked out with Julie too, all freshly showered. They went back to the tent and Lori hung their swimsuits and towels on the drying rack. Callen sat at the table with the girls and played a game with them as Lori went to the small supermarket on the camping. They needed to get dinner for tonight and some breakfast for tomorrow. Lori looked through the shelves, trying to figure out what to eat, the food was so different than in America. She settled on some meatballs, baked potatoes and a can of beans. She saw that they sold freshly baked breads so she would get those tomorrow morning. She grabbed something to drink and some snacks for tonight.
When she got back to the tent Callen was still playing the game with Myra and Julie. Lori went into the tent to get started on dinner. She opened the flap on the side and the small gauzed window near the kitchen.
Just as dinner was ready Callen, Myra and Julie finished their game. Callen set the table and the whole family sat down to eat. The food tasted a bit different that back home but the girls ate very well nonetheless.
Just after 7pm it was time for the girls to go to sleep. Lori took them to the bathroom facilities to brush their teeth. Once their teeth were brushed Lori took them back to the tent. Callen and Lori tucked them into bed and Callen read them a story.
"Goodnight sweeties," Callen and Lori said and gave both girls a kiss.
They zipped the doors closed and went outside. It was hot so they could sit outside the entire evening. Callen and Lori went to bed around 11pm.
The next morning Callen was awake just after 8.30am. The rest was still asleep. He quietly put some clothes on and went to use the restroom. He tried to be as quiet as possible with opening the zipper of the front door. When he got back in the tent Lori was just waking up.
"Good morning honey," Callen softly spoke and gave her a kiss.
"Good morning G."
"Did you get a nice sleep?"
"Yes I did. You too?"
"Yeah me too. And it seems the girls too."
"Yeah thankfully."
"Why don't you stay in bed a little longer and I will get us some breakfast at the store."
"Sure that's fine."
Callen took some money and went to the store on the camping. When he got back Lori, Myra and Julie were sitting at the table, which was already set.
"Hey daddy," Myra and Julie greeted Callen and Callen gave both girls a kiss.
After they had breakfast they loaded the girls into the car and drove away from the camping to find a supermarket. They had no idea where the supermarket was. The security guard was at the front gate so Callen pulled over so they could ask him. Lori got out of the car and walked over to him.
"Bonjour," Lori spoke.
"Bonjour."
"Où pouvons-nous trouver intermarche le plus proche?[Where can we find the nearest intermaché?]"
"Le plus proche est à Villersexel. Il est environ onze minutes de route. Tourner à droite à la fin de la route et puis encore à droite, vous devrez rouler Lac de Bonnal passé. Suivez la route à Esprels, puis à droite en direction de Villersexel. et puis après environ cinq kilomètres, tournez à gauche et vous verrez sur votre droite.[The closest one is in Villersexel. It's about eleven minutes. Make a right at the end of the road and then another right, you will drive past Lac de Bonnal. Then follow the road to Esprels and then right towards Villersexel. and then after about five kilometers make a left and you'll see it on your right hand.]"
"Merci."
Lori went back to the car and told Callen the route. Callen followed the route as Lori had told him and about eleven minutes later they were at the store. It was a really big store. It was sort of like a target store. Lori was about to become nauseous as they walked into the store. Just next to the entrance was a fish stand. Callen and Lori grabbed a normal cart and they had special kids carts in the shape of cars. Two kids fitted inside so Lori grabbed one of those and loaded Myra and Julie into the cart. They strolled through the shops and bought some groceries.
Once they had everything they drove back to the camping. They had a sticker on their car so the security guard at the gate knew that they belonged there. Once at their tent Callen unloaded the groceries and Lori got the kids out. They put everything away in the storage space or fridge. Once everything was put away they changed into their swimsuits and went to the pool.
They stayed at the pool until a little after 12.30pm. They went back to their tent to have some lunch. After lunch they put the girls down for their afternoon nap but the girls didn't really want to sleep. They managed to get an hour of sleep before they were awake again. Callen and Lori dressed them and took them to the playground. The playground wasn't too far from their tent. They had the perfect place, everything was close by.
There was a climbing rack at the playground with a tunnel to crawl through and some slides. Myra and Julie were really enjoying themselves. Lori had taken the camera with her and took some pictures as Callen played with the girls. It was so cute to see. They stayed there for about an hour before going back to their tent again. Lori put the playing mat on the ground and put some of the girls' toys on it. Callen and Lori sat on the lounge chairs and watched the girls play.
A little later Callen got up to use the restroom. When he got back to the tent he saw Myra and Julie still on their play mat but he didn't see Lori anymore.