Achieving Escape Velocity

Enlightened Omnivore on Vacation

Photo by Léonard Cotte

Do you ever get that feeling when preparing for vacation, that you need to cram in everything you could possibly do just before you leave? Case in point, while preparing for my family of five to achieve escape velocity and head off to the South of France, I made the mistake of asking my wife what honey-do items needed to be accomplished before we go.

-Buy a swimsuit for my son, check

-Book the rental car, check

-Confirm the house sitter, check

-Hire the chimney sweep,….wait, what?

Yes, on July 13th, five months before the one time we like to use our Southern California wood burning fireplace, my wife wants me to hire a chimney sweep. Do they even have those in Southern California anymore?

But she’s not alone in this psychosis. I’ve decided to organize our laundry room, optimize the drip irrigation, and match every sock in the drawer before heading to LAX today. This is all while my son heads off to swim practice, middle daughter stars in a musical, and my eldest fills out her Common App questionnaires for college. What is her social security number again? I should really memorize that? Add it to the list.

What’s not on my list are items that really deserve to be; like confirming our flight after the great Microsoft outage, finding the passports buried in the drawer with all the socks I’m pairing, stopping the junk mail that always comes while we’re away, and coordinating visits with friends we hope to see in Provence.

I feel like I already need a vacation from my vacation.

But the good news is, in 24 hours, I’ll be among lavender fields, fragrant pin d’Aleps, milky pastis, fresh baguette, buzzing cicadas, and of course the OLIVES! Plus, I plan to be drinking a glass of Chateau Paradis by the pool most days.

Yes, I am returning to Provence for a brief summer visit. In fact, it’s the first time Enlightened Omnivore has gone on vacation since I started publishing in December. Unless, of course, you count my pruning trip in March, but that was a working vacation to be sure.

And this time, I’ll be taking you along with me. At least, that’s the plan.

While in Provence, I’ll be posting a bit more frequently—and briefly—about my adventures, observations, and obsessions with the South of France. For the most part, I won’t be venturing far from my aunt’s home. And why would I? It’s a secret little spot where I can hide from the world, unplug from the Net, and get a sun tan without feeling too self conscious. I’ll also be checking out my pruning efforts from back in March. If you haven’t read the Les Olives series, start with this one, and search Les Olives for the other five.

And speaking of PRUNING! I am excited to announce publicly that I am working on a book about my trip to France in March. What I’m calling a “mid life adventure” (rather than a crisis). I’ll keep you posted as I share the lessons and illuminations I learned, and how my misadventures led to pruning myself as much as the trees. The outline of the book is coming together nicely, and I’ll be sharing little snippets throughout this calendar year, especially while in France.

So, prepare to travel vicariously through me. Whip up a batch of ratatouille, or maybe some tapenade. Add a couple of extra cloves of garlic to your next dish, or play some French accordion music while you prep that next meal. Enlightened Omnivore is going to France, and I hope you’ll come along with me.

Also, if you have a favorite memory of Provence, a site you’ve always wanted to see, or maybe a food you just couldn’t get enough of, let me know how I should spend my free time. I’m always looking forward to new experiences, fresh cuisine, and novel sites to stomp around in. Let’s go to Provence together!

On y va!