We visited Pont du Gard again, but this time we saw it from a different perspective.
Today we decided we would kayak under Pont du Gard, that big 2,000-year-old Roman bridge that brought water from Uzes to Nimes.
My grandma was afraid of the unknown waters.
The only other time she had kayaked was in Alaska.
Please, if she has done that, she should not be afraid.
But newness can be scary.
She says, "I was afraid that the rapids would be too swift --
and I didn't have a bathing suit!"
But under family pressure, she went.
Of course, we are in France, so no safety papers were needed.
The kayak dude didn't tell us where the rapids would be, or
that Frances and I couldn't go in kayaks by ourselves (without an adult).
He didn't think it was a good idea, but he didn't care.
He hucked the kayaks off the high bank onto the beach below
and let us depart by ourselves.
Frances and I were a good team.
It got tiring carrying those heavy paddles but we did it.
My mom says:
"One of my favorite parts of the day was watching the girls paddle together.
Just last night, they were really edgy with each other &
I was thinking maybe I'd asked a weeeee-bit much of them...
They're together ALL the TIME!
They growled goodnight to each other
and I lay awake thinking I'd need to find them some alone time.
Get them apart.
Well, practically speaking, that was a silly notion:
we're stuck (thankfully) with each other--there's no such thing as alone-time.
Ideologically speaking, I've always wanted the four of us to get through things by coming together, having to make it work, breaking through with each other in new, good ways.
And, voila! A new day!
A new kind of togetherness. A new perspective on each other.
Frances helped Eleanore see the 'rapids' were fun.
Eleanore helped Frances steer the boat.
They laughed, cheered each other on and forgave splashes from wayward paddles.
Ahhhhhhhh."
We saw French NASTC...see the climbers?
I got into my dad's kayak about 3/4 of the way through the paddle.
I went so much FASTER with him!
This photo was taken when I was resting.
Guess what we saw?
An otter splashing in the shallow water near the bank.
No...a....HUGE trout!
No...ah-ha! A spawning salmon!
(My grandma is NOT the spawning salmon...she doesn't even LOOK like one!)
My Grandma said all throughout the paddle that she would put an ad in the newspaper looking for a new family that wanted a Baba that fixes tea and knits.
Tadaaaaaa! Pont du Gard.
Frances jumped in the water and floated behind the kayaks.
Even though she swam 100 laps at swim team, she LOVES life jackets!
The water was cold and mucky. I did not like it. I like Donner Lake much more.
Frances says, "The water was soooooooooooo awesome 'cause I couldn't see the bottom!"
All these pictures were taken by my grandpa.
He made a special water-proof bag for his camera. He'll tell you about it:
"It was a ziplock freezer bag that I cut and configured and sealed with tape.
The camera stayed at wide angle but it stayed dry!"
Going under the bridge in a kayak was fun.
It was surprising that in such a small area it echoed so loudly.
I wanted to pass under as fast as I could, afraid it would fall down any second...
'cause it is really old.
The van was waiting to take us and another family
back to the launch site and parking lot.
My mom says:
"Of course the van ride was a great opportunity to talk politics with the guy in the shorts.
He's a pharmacist. He loves Obama, health care, financial reform;
he loves America and its opportunities--
and he detests socialists who want something for nothing."
When our arms were really tired and our bodies were really wet we went and had lunch. It wasn't just any lunch. It was a long... spread... out...dinner-lunch.
My grandma's VERY (deathly) allergic to shrimp.
My dad suggested she get a certain thing on the menu that even my dad didn't recognize, called Gambas. He was pretty sure it was a white fish.
My grandma had said,
"Ohhh, I am so excited to see what my dish is. It will be a complete surprise."
It was.
My dad traded his lamb for her shrimp.
My mom says:
"Last thing. I swear.
It is so interesting to me that when you add the littlest bit of energy to something it becomes new. Sometimes the girls invent games for us to play at dinner and then even DINNER becomes new.
Pont du Gard was special for us the first time around.
We were overcome by it.
We could have done it the same way with Dick and Mary Ann,
but Jeff has this uncanny ability of adding energy to things.
Maybe it's simply caring.
Or wanting more fun.
Who knows, but he's good at it.
And I'm hoping I can take home this idea of adding energy
to things we do in Truckee so no matter how often we do them,
each time they'll be new."
(When there was not a single ice cream stand in operation,
Jeff went to the store, got cones, a carton of ice cream
and used his Leatherman--like a "Swiss Army Knife"--
to "scoop," or rather, SLICE out our ice cream...
it made our day.)
Eleanore
today i laughed. really heard it myself!
ReplyDeletei laughed that baba wanted a home where they needed someon to make tea and knit. funny, but i could understand that well.
and that baba, with all the world to give me a waterproof way to photograph, has made something so perfect.
and mostly that a leather? could scoop the ice cream for my babies and it would make a perfect day even better.
i laughed that i did not have to make the kayak ride. i laughed that i was so far from that lamb dish that i did not have to wrestle baba for it. and i laughed mostly that my precious daughter could find someone to talk obama-ese with even off the river kayaks! i love that girl. she makes me happy and proud. i laugh as i sign off that tonight we will break bread with a lamb smothered in yogurt and pomogranate seeds at the dinner that carolyn loves so much, bookclub!! to my dinner! bon soir.