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It was a warm, sunny day and, as noon approached, the cars thinned out.

Europe, 1970

Dougburnett
2003-11-22 10:42:52

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It was a warm, sunny day and, as noon approached, the cars thinned out. It seemed everybody was taking the traditional long French lunch. I had been standing beside the road with my thumb out for quite a while and I was getting tired. Across the road there was a large tree that look like a good place to have a little picnic. In my back pack I had a varieties of goodies for just such an occasion: bread, cheese and, of course, wine.
So I unpacked under the tree and ate my fill - I must admit I had a little wine too. I laid back, summer insects buzzing around me, and I promptly fell asleep. I have no idea how long I napped but when I woke the traffic had picked up again. I hurried back to the road and quickly got a ride. I don't speak any French but I had learned to simply recite the name of the town I was heading for - the driver took it from there.

This time when I finished my recitation the drivers eyes opened wide. Then there was a flurry of French, some pointing and he pulled off the road. All of a sudden I realized what he was trying to telling me: I was heading the wrong way. Somehow, after my nap, I had forgotten to re-cross the road and was heading back to the town I had just left. I felt more than a little stupid. I made my apology, got out of the car and sheepishly walked across the road. I had learned another important lesson: from now on I'll only picnic on my side of the road.

THE GYPSY PILGRIMAGE

We were told there was a bunker down on the beach where we could sleep. It turned out to be a small concrete structure built for defense sometime during WWII. Partially filled with sand, you had to bend over to enter. When I straightened up I found it was full of hippies: German, French and Dutch hippies.

We picked a spot near the far wall to set our packs down. Tinny-sounding rock was coming from a little tape player. A small fire in the center gave the only light ...