Our return flights to France are booked for Tuesday, April 9. It's unbelievable how fast our 6 months in Florida seems to have passed this year. Maybe it's because we had the December trip to European Christmas markets, but whatever the reason, it's a little hard to wrap our heads around a travel date that is rapidly approaching. We just have to get past a potential "glitch."
On March 7 I tripped during my dog-walking shift at Pet Pal Animal Shelter and managed to break a couple of bones in my left hand. They were enclosed, non-displaced fractures, so I have every hope that they will heal quickly and without complications, but I'll have a better idea next Friday (March 29th) at the 3-week mark when my current cast is removed, and the hand is x-rayed again.
In the best-case scenario, I will get a removable cast and hand exercises, and can complete my healing in France. I don't care to contemplate other possibilities at the moment, but will deal with them if next week's doctor visit indicates that I must.
In any case, when we get back to Auxerre we will have to do the usual spring stuff: de-winterize the water system, clean inside and outside, and restock the galley. Our departure date from the marina to begin cruising will depend on water conditions--Is there high water? Is the current too fast?--and the status of a couple of boat projects. The hope is that we will be underway by late April or early May; however, the only "schedule" that we have to keep (and even that has some flexibility) is an October 1 return to the U.S., so essentially, we have several months to cover the following route at a relaxed pace:
