This is the end of this journal, as I am about out of things to say (as hard as that is to believe) and it has been far more work than I remembered from last year. It has also been fun and we like sharing it with those who choose to read it, and Eleanor and I hope you have enjoyed it as much as we did creating these pages.

It has been a while since we returned and I felt rather punk for the first three weeks after getting home. I have seen the doctor and obtained a clean bill of health from him. That was nice to hear, although he is somewhat at a loss to know what had gone wrong. Certainly, it was nothing like last year and not stress induced. I remember eating nothing that would bring on such an attack and just chalk it up to being an unfortunate part of living. Eleanor is back in the swing of things, going to jazzercise, seeing her friends, planning an engagement party for our youngest son, and we are both buying clothes for our first grandchild due in December.

I am back at work and have begun riding the bicycle again each morning, a 12 mile route that I always begin by saying to myself "take it easy this morning, Andy" and end up grinding just as hard as I can. The old competitive juices just start to flow and I feel "defeated" now if I do the route in less than 37 minutes. That keeps my heart pumping and my general health very good. And Max, our Basset Hound, is with us, as wonderful as ever. We did miss him when we were gone. So there is much to be thankful for as we head into the dog days of summer and the heat it brings.

PART II -- SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

So, what have we learned from this trip or what are our most dominate impressions. Let us share some of them with you.

1. Eleanor had a very good time this year and enjoyed herself immensely. The only downside to the trip was that we did not get to share our adventures with as many of our friends this time as we did last year, but the Garners were with us for several days and what a great time we had with them.
2. It was good to see John and Liesbette Wiley again and to see the progress she has made in recovering from her stroke. What people they are, each in his and her own way heroic, with a spirit and approach to life we would all do well to emulate. I am very fond of them both and look forward to the next time we are together. But, until then, as with the Lillers, the phone and mail will have to keep us connected.
3. It was such a delight to see Frank and Denise Liller again. We wish we were closer to them so we could see one another on a more regular basis, but I am afraid that is not to be, so the mail will have to do. And, the phone of course. They are delightful people and we are very happy that our paths crossed two years ago and that we have become such good friends.
4. The French were invariably kind and generous to us on this trip, as they have been in the past. I have increasingly enjoyed my opportunities to interact with them over the years, and this was made even better by the opportunity to live with a family in Bordeaux. Always polite and willing to help, we have found the French people to be good friends and a joy to be around.
5. The decision to go back to the Dordogne was a good one as we love that part of France and it was nice to have the chance to see some new sights and to revisit some of those places we went to last year and wanted to see again. It was certainly different this year as there were more people touring and this gave us a good idea of what it would be like in the summer. That is, lots of people, lots of cars, lots of congestion. But, the land's beauty is always there and that is, after all, what it is all about.
6. Provence was indeed special and we completed our vacation there liking it a great deal. We had a great house, as it turned out, in a terrific part of the Var and we liked our stay there very much. There is a pace and philosophy to life in this part of the world that we find exhilarating and it was nice to have had the chance to sample it even for so short a time.
7. We drove too much, but, on the other side of that coin, there was no other way for us to do the things we wanted to. But 4,200 miles in 26 days was just too much. Even though I so want it to be otherwise, I find that at 60 I do not snap back as fast as I used to, something to which I have yet to accommodate myself. Eleanor doubts I ever will. I think she is right. We are still greatly impressed by the French road system and how well marked and maintained it is. In my morning bike rides around my home in Northern California I expend lots of energy just missing pot holes whereas the ones I encountered in France could be counted on one hand. What a difference.
8. The only regret that I have about my stay in Bordeaux is that Eleanor did not get the opportunity to meet my "new family." The Bogarts (and I am not providing their real name as I would not want to do so without their permission) could not have been nicer, more hospitable, or welcoming. Both M. and Mme. Bogart are the most charming people imaginable, and they have be-queathed these traits to their two daughters and, I am sure, to their son, although I am sorry to say I did not meet him. I look forward to perhaps staying with them again when I continue my schooling at BLS.

PART III -- CREDITS

There are several people we owe a great deal, and this is the time to pass out kudos. So here goes.

• Melanie Van Doorne at the Murray Hill International Travel Agency in New Jersey did a spectacular job for me. In a word, she is perfection and I am really happy our cyber paths crossed a few years ago. She found our house in Provence (they have rentals in other parts of France and Europe as well), got my car rental for me, arranged for everything we needed there, including trip insurance, and was simply wonderful in helping me get home after I got sick. I have never met her, and all our transactions have been done over the Internet, where she can be reached at melanie@mhinet.com. I cannot recommend her highly enough as she has always been there for me, did what she had to and then some to solve my problems, and thought of things to make my trip easier that would never have occurred to me. She has a sister, Pam, with whom I have also dealt. In a word, they are great.
• David and Colleen Snitch are two people at Simply Perigord, a property management company in Le Bugue, who have always been exceedingly helpful to Eleanor and me, last year when they had no cause to be other than trying to be friendly and this year when they worked with us to find the perfect house to rent. And it was perfect. They can be reached at simply@simply-perigord.fr for those interested in rentals in this area.
• Everyone at BLS could not have been better. From my first e-mail inquiring about the school to all the ones that followed concerning almost everything under the sun they were invariably friendly and easy to deal with. They rearranged my class schedule when I caught pneumonia last January and had to postpone my trip several weeks, arranged for a new family with whom to live, and did all those other little things that signaled that I was welcomed at their school and in their country. Besides being home to this very good language school, Bordeaux is an exceptionally beautiful city in which to attend class. This made my stay even nicer. And, of course, there was the Bogart family who were about as nice as any people can be.
• The Maynes were host to my bride for a week in London while I was in Bordeaux. She had a terrific time and my one great regret of the trip is that I was not there with her. They are the loveliest people on the face of the planet and it would have been fun for me to be with them all. If I had it would have meant that David would not have had to carry Eleanor's monster suitcase up four flights of stairs. He would have been eternally grateful to me, I know, because it was stunningly heavy. Now, that is the mark of a really good friend.
• Patrick Lang in Chico, California, was my web master again and he did his usual fine job. He took this on as a favor even though he is very busy building his business and career. If you have need of someone to build you a web site give him "a call" at patrick@fronteradesign.com.
• Finally, there were the great folks at KLM who got me home in one piece on one of the nicest flights I have had in years. I greatly appreciated the courtesy they showed me in Amsterdam when I was not feeling well and then on the flight home. It was truly exceptional.

PART IV -- CONCLUSION

So this is it. The end is at hand. I don't know if we will meet like this again, but this journal has been fun for Eleanor and me to put together. If there is one thing we have learned it is that if you have dreams to do something, do it if it is at all possible. We have been very fortunate to be able to follow our dreams in the past and now to plan for some new ones for the future. I look back at these two years, 1998-99 and this year, as some of the best times I have ever had. I wish equal happiness to you no matter where you are or what you do.