long jump

We did a hell of a lot yesterday. I walked around Dom's property, shopped at the local eco-grocery, toured the marsh with Tim, and went to the local track to watch Dominique's daughter Héloïse compete in several track events, including the long jump. Hélo, it turns out, can jump 4.95 meters, or a bit over fifteen feet. That's pretty impressive. She didn't win that event, sadly, but she was up there among the top competitors.

You can barely see Hélo off to the left of this pic, which does, in fact, show most of the family. I took a video of one of Hélo's jumps; I'll see if I can upload that at some point.

The day wasn't over: we went to a sporting-goods store to buy me a cheap trekking pole, then we went to a grocery to shop for food for dinner (which turned out to be sweet and savory crêpes). At dinner, Augustin, who's in college, finally showed up with his cute girlfriend, and I had the chance to unload all my gifts for the family. The French will spend several hours at table, and it was 10:30 p.m. by the time I staggered away from the family to go do my daily laundry, blog a bit, then flop into bed a bit before midnight.

Dinner and family pics up next.