2017 Strikes Again

Pre-trip Drama? Yeah, we had a bit.


We cancelled our trip to Greece because of a death in the family.  We almost had to cancel this trip because of a family member's injury and Hurricane Harvey.


A close family member suffered a fall in early August, had a difficult hospitalization, and was transferred to skilled nursing for rehab.  We were pleased with the facility, the care provided, and his slow but steady progress.  Another family member, who was to accompany us to France, stayed home to care for the injured family member.  Unfortunate circumstances and timing all around. :(


Husband works in Houston, TX but comes home every weekend.  He flew home as usual but couldn't get back to Houston on Monday (8/28), or anytime that week, because of Harvey.  We were to fly out of Houston to Paris on Friday (9/1). 


Delta changed our flights so we went from New Orleans to Atlanta to Paris.  The return stayed the same, Paris to Houston to New Orleans.  United worked with me to cancel my first leg, MSY to IAH.  The forecasters were predicting that another storm might pound Atlanta on the Friday we flew out but I literally refused to worry about that.  Challenge solved.


Husband didn't have his passport in New Orleans.  It was the first time in years he didn't have it with him.  Of course.  Thankfully, the Passport Agency was able to issue him a new passport in one day.  It was costly but so worth it.  Challenge solved.


Packing was an issue because husband was supposed to go back to Houston and his trip stuff.  We scrambled, shopped, and found enough clothing to get him by. We would have to buy new versions of our road maps once in France. And a new Navigo Decouverte for Paris.  He borrowed a point-and-shoot camera instead of his DSLR. Challenge solved-ish.


We were concerned about our house in the Houston suburbs.  Thankfully our neighbor kept us updated that everything was fine.  No flooding, no downed trees, no issues.  Worry assuaged.


On previous trips we'd used Skype or Facetime on wifi to call home.  But with our family member's injury, hurricanes threatening, and just 2017 being 2017, we splurged on the Verizon International Plan for $40 each and we could easily keep in touch.  Worry assuaged.


Our old Garmin Nuvi GPS (with a micro SD slot) crapped out about 2 weeks before the trip.  I ordered a replacement on Amazon (prime) and was expecting delivery 1 week before the trip.  Hurricane Harvey made landfall, stuck around, and disrupted deliveries to New Orleans.  We didn't have maps and now didn't have a working GPS.  We looked locally for a replacement but none of the models in stores had the micro SD slot.  I posted this problem on Facebook and my good friend loaned us hers.  Challenge solved.


This was the most stressful lead up to a vacation we've ever endured.  But the fateful day arrived and we boarded our flights.  After a few uneventful, typical economy, hours, we landed at CDG early.


But we wouldn't leave the airport for several hours.  Sigh.


Next up: Day 1: Chartres