In Search of Warmth in California, Utah, and Arizona in February (page 7 of 13)

Oh yeah, you're right! Let's ask them to fold their pinkies and send a photo as proof!

we witnessed a premeditated murder 😱

A contract is a contract. I can’t name the client, but let’s just say some people thought Diamina spent more time traveling the world than in her classroom. Jealousy? Maybe. I don’t judge, I just deliver. 😉

Well! If it’s a contract, I’ll bow out... I definitely don’t want to be on bad terms with the Martinican mafia 😕.

my duty as a good French citizen compels me

Watch out with that kind of statement! Some used it as an excuse in '45, but it didn’t stop them from getting their heads shaved. 😏

Oh no, hands off my ginger mane 😊.

Hi Jean-Pierre,

We arrive at Weeping Rock. I’m a bit disappointed at first because I was expecting to see a waterfall cascading down the cliff. 😕

In winter, it’s very variable, but it can also be really beautiful.

You were lucky because when you went, you got to see the waterfall under a sunny sky! I don’t really get it because we were there in the rain.

Looking back at the photos from that day, it’s my biggest regret of the trip: we should’ve gone back the next day to do Many Pools and Weeping Rock in the sunshine, and maybe Angels Landing when it was quiet... 😕 Especially since it would’ve improved the Kanab-Page leg of the trip, which wasn’t great.

Wow, your kids are impressive—walking without complaining *and* doing their homework. How do you do it.....

But now all doubts are gone: kids who read or start their homework when they have free time 😐

No, no... The explanation is simple and goes back to the day before we left. It’s a little detail I forgot to mention. That Thursday, I photocopied all the pages from their schoolbooks to avoid overpacking. During our last family dinner, Laetitia—who saw me quietly tucking the sheets into their things—gave each of the kids *that* look (the kind that sends chills down your spine) and said: "Let me warn you. If, on top of getting two weeks of fun in the U.S. without me, you come back without having done your homework *or* bring home bad grades the first week of school, you’re in *big* trouble!!!"

Guys, all it takes is one well-placed sentence, the right look, and the right tone for them to listen... 😛 😏 Seriously, it was so chilling that even *I* double-checked I didn’t have any homework before leaving empty-handed 🤪!! And during the trip, I’d remind them of the threat now and then... 😛

Hey! Guillaume’s back, I love your travel journals😊

It’s Saturday morning, sleeping in! !

Hey! Guillaume’s back, I love your travel journals😊

It’s Saturday morning, sleeping in! !

Still sleeping in, huh?

It's tile day today!! The promise I made to make up for the trip without her... 😛 I'd a hundred times rather write the travel journal! 😏

It's tile day today!! The promise I made to make up for the trip without her... 😛 I'd rather write the travel journal 100 times over! 😏

Just make your kids work—they enjoyed the trip too 😉

You should just make your kids work, they enjoyed the trip too

No way!! Make minors work? Don’t forget Swimmer’s watching... If I get caught, I’m in for another 2 years!! 😉 And besides, you want to make kids who can’t even remember to pull the shower curtain back tile a floor? Talk about practical sense 😏! No, like you said, everything’s a compromise in a relationship, and I’m right in the middle of it...🤪

I love this travel journal!! And that shower curtain trick—I’m sure mine would’ve done the same thing lollll Can’t wait for the next part

And then, you’d want to scold kids who don’t even think to pull back a shower curtain so they don’t soak the floor?

Ah, a little normality 😉

Here I am again😉

Oh, the shower curtain trick really made me laugh too😄! I’m loving following your travel journal... DV, VOF... I’m obsessed!!!! I still admire your kids’ determination and energy so much—they’re amazing! Many pools under the snow... I can barely recognize it, but I love this different side with little waterfalls 😉 Can’t wait to read more, if the tiling is making progress😉

I just wanted to come back to something you mentioned at the very start of your journal that’s been bugging me:

My FREE SIM card doesn’t work, and it never will—the fault of a plan I signed up for less than a year ago, making it impossible to activate the travel option 😠!

Since then, I checked my Free account, and there’s no travel option... does that mean it won’t work? But in the contract, it says 100GB in France and otherwise 25GB abroad... I’m so confused!

and the shower curtain trick—I’m sure mine would’ve done the same lol

Thanks, I feel less alone now 😉!!

Since then, I checked my Free account, and there’s no travel option... does that mean it won’t work? But the contract says 100GB in France and 25GB abroad... I’m so confused!

There’s nothing you can do about the 100GB plan—it’s automatic: http://mobile.free.fr/assistance/677.html

I think Guillaume has a promotional Free plan with some limitations.

Great to see you back here 😉!

Since then, I checked my Free account, and there’s no travel option... does that mean it won’t work? But the contract says 100GB in France and 25GB abroad... I’m so confused!

It all depends on the plan you subscribed to. For the past six months, Free has been offering an enticing deal with 50 GB "8.99 € instead of 19.99 € for 1 year." I thought the services were the same as the 19.99 € plan, but that’s not the case. If you’re paying the promotional rate, you get no calls and no data outside Europe, which has nothing to do with the 19.99 € plan that includes the US, Canada, and South Africa. It’s nothing more than misleading advertising! None of their ads mention this "detail." It turns out that recently, their website has been more explicit... I called customer service to activate the travel option: it’s impossible. The only way to get "calls and data" abroad (outside Europe) is to switch directly to the 19.99 € plan. I refused on principle, and because I don’t need it anytime soon—my next two trips aren’t to the States. As for your plan: if you’re paying 19.99 €/month (or 15.99 € as a Free subscriber), you’re good.

This is nothing but false advertising! None of their ads mention this "detail." It turns out that for some time now, their site has been more explicit....

This has always been stated on their site or on Vente Privée. I wanted to get it for my daughter and saw the 3 GB limit in Europe and nothing for the rest of the world. I ended up going with Sosh’s promotional offer instead. The problem is that almost no one reads the terms and conditions.

I have a plan I got from a private sale for 0.99 € or 1.99 €—I can’t remember which. It’s now "always 3 € to 8.99 €" with international included.

Yeah, that's the one I got for 0.99 € that'll jump to 9.99 € after a year! But I think there was an international offer too, right? So it should work?

yes

Hey Guillaume,

I’d seen your travel journal when it first started, and I’d bookmarked it “to savor at leisure”... I just binge-read the whole thing in one go! The knot in my stomach now—you have no idea!! I’ve got to go back! Yeah, I know, it’s only been 10 days since I got home, but the West Blues can only be cured one way, right... I loved: - your time in Death Valley, which only confirms my idea that I should take my bike there for a deep dive - Valley of Fire (VoF), and all your photos of the wonders! I’d only studied this park briefly—just passing through—but your journal’s already inspiring me to give it a solid spot in my next roadbook - White Domes: I’d suffered through the climb via Water Canyon in early March 2018, but I’d only seen a few snow patches... props to the kids for keeping their spirits up after such a letdown! Special shout-out to Swimmer for their journalistic skills—had me laughing so hard!

Can’t wait for the next part! Olivier