Boot Camp for Camino

Our sweet daughter and son -in-law love to give experiences as presents. We have been the fortunate recipients  of concerts and plays, beaches and excursions thanks to their thoughtfulness. About four weeks ago Natalie called me with a new proposal. There was a 3 hour sale for Belgium to go to Disneyland Paris for two nights and two days. Have to decide quickly to get the deal. Would Ernest and I like ro take the children? With a resounding “yes” the tickets were bought/ rooms booked and the event was locked in for Tuesday and Wdenesday of this week. 

We have been keeping a close watch on the weather for Leon and Santiago so we added Paris to the iphone. We seemed to notice that the weather was deteriorating throughout Europe and Paris was dead center of the sleet, rain, gale force winds. This time the weather man was, in fact, CORRECT! We arrived with an exuberant eight year old boy and a “positive she is Elsa” three year old grand girl. Being prepared for “The Way “Ernest and I began with gortex boots; insulated undies; turtleneck shirts, smart wool sweaters; down vests;down jackets; THEN raincoats. Count the layers. Better than that ,count the zippers. Getting in Disneyland Paris has more security than the Kremlin ( How would I know about the Kemlin but Russia is a hot topic so I threw that in.) Zippers beep!  

Off we went to the park holding tightly to a young grandson’s hand and a stroller covered with a large quilt and a plastic poncho from Disneyland that we had to take out a loan to purchase. To say that young Allen learned the literal meaning of sleet is an understatement. Sleet stings. BUT Ernest and I are almost pilgrims we can endure anything even if we have so many clothes on that we could roll. Have you ever enjoyed Disneyland rides in side splitting rain? Let me tell you it is an experience you will not soon forget. We were at Disneyland and WE WERE GOING TO ENJOY it!   After hours of “enjoyment” we noticed that our expensive water proof gloves are as waterproof as water resistant watches( which means they stop working in close proximity to rain.) Our hands were frozen and we noticed that our grandchildren’ lips were blue and their teeth chattering so hard that they couldn’t say “LEAVE” as loudly as they meant it. 

We figured that God wanted to see how serious we were about withstanding inclement weather BEFORE we got to Spain. 

Enjoy the photos. The smiles are frozen on our faces. 

Buen Camino!