My sister has a way of lucking into cool things when she travels. She calls herself the Accidental Tourist, and if you travel with her you get to be one, too.
We were on vacation together in France last week, rambling around the countryside visiting Roman ruins and vineyards when we got wind of the fact that the Tour de France was about to blow through town.
Now, I’m not a cycling buff by any stretch of the imagination, but this sounded exciting! Maybe even worth skipping a few wineries–especially since this year is the 100th Tour de France. It’s a grueling, 21-day race that winds its way through mountains and valleys and ends on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, right in front of the Arc de Triomphe. Some people believe it is the toughest athletic challenge in the world, and we were eager to catch a glimpse.
So we jumped onto the Internet to research the race route to figure out when and where to intercept it. Armed with our trusty GPS, the next day we meandered around country roads, parked in a farmer’s field, and joined hundreds of others lining the route for a chance to see the peloton, or group of cyclists.
We had a leisurely wait in the sun, munching our baguette picnic and anticipating the big show. We debate places to stand and camera angles. Anticipation built as the Tour entourage began to whisk past.
First, came the media cars.
Then the police escorts, the medics, the support vehicles topped with spare bikes. Car after car roared by and the crowd inched closer to the two-lane street, hoping to get a glimpse of the lead cyclist zipping around the bend. More police motorcycles… More support vehicles… People with cell phones began chattering excitedly, so even clueless Americans could tell Something Big was about to happen.
Thunder in the sky. We looked up to see a helicopter hovering over our stretch of roadway. It was almost time…
They came around the bend as a giant wall. They spanned the entire highway–every inch, including the shoulder.
Where we happened to be standing with our cameras.
Our kids were like deer in the headlights. They were frozen, unable to grasp the idea that, no, these world-class competitors racing toward them were not going to go around.
We yanked the kids into a ditch and recovered just in time to click a few shots as the riders buzzed
past like a horde of locusts. And then… they were gone.
The dust settled. We glanced around at the empty water bottles strewn about the roadside and gaped at each other with surprise. That was it? Did we even get a picture?
It all happened in the blink of an eye, but that was part of the impact. The moment was unforgettable, and I even got to enjoy it for a nanosecond after I pulled my kids out of the way.
Have you ever lucked into some unexpected event while on vacation? Leave a comment for a chance to win EXPOSED. And I’m thrilled to tell you that I came home from vacation to hear that the book just made the USA Today Bestseller List. Thank you, readers!
* The prize winner from June 28 is Rachel (commenter # 9). Please email me at laura@lauragriffin.com with a mailing address so I can send your prize.
Luckily for you the ditch wasn’t too deep or you would just have piccies of the side of a ditch – lol! 😀
Never had an unexpected event happen on holiday – perhaps I can go with your sister next time? 😉
How cool is that!
Hi Willa, Yes my sister is like a good luck charm that way.
Too cool. Lucky you didn’t get run over, but still cool.
I just finished Exposed a few days ago. It was awesome. But don’t enter me in the drawing. Let someone who doesn’t already have a copy win. =o)
Thanks, B.E.! So glad that you liked EXPOSED.
Your sister sounds like someone fun to travel with!!!
Those kinds of things are what makes traveling so enriching. I love it!
Hi B.J., I agree. It’s fun when there are some surprises along the way.
hi love to travel when possible-ive ran into very interesting people before-some parades have fun on adventures with sister!
Hi Laura . . can I just ask about the next Tracer’s book please? I read that you are having a hardcover out in Feb – with Tracer characters appearing – but this is NOT a Tracers book right?
And the next Tracers book will be Vaughn & Elizabeth and will be out later next year . . have I got that right? 😀
*slurps more coffee and rattles brain cell*
That is right, Willa. The next book FAR GONE features new main characters (coming Feb 2014). It is not a Tracers book, however some Tracers characters will make an appearance to help with the forensics involved in the story.
Tracers book #8 (don’t know the title yet) comes out later in 2014. It features Elizabeth LeBlanc & Derek Vaughn.
Thanks for asking!
Congrats on the NYT Bestsellers List. I really enjoy reading your books and can’t wait to read this one. No unexpected events on a vacation as I haven’t had one in over 13 years…smile. But each day there is something unexpected that seems to pop up in my world. Thanks for the giveaway!
Oh, yes. We’ve had some great moments during our vacations. I believe in flying by the seat of my pants ~ and so nearly every day holds an adventure. We stop at kitschy road-side attractions, keep an eye on the sky for hawks and kites, wander in the woods to find fairy’s dens and unknown native plants, visit beaches and springs and parks and caverns, hunt for pirate’s treasures – Once, we even made our own parade and marched and twirled down the middle of our street with our kazoos- much to the amusement of the neighbors. Those freeze-frame moments become such wonderful memories for us- my hubby, my sisters, my son and especially my grandchildren. Many evening discussions begin with, “Remember When”. There’s adventure anywhere you look. You just have to keep letting life surprise you.
Landed in London too early to check into hotel. Wandered around and saw parade of antique cars on their way to Brighton.
Well for 1 thing, I was in st augustine fl. Got to meet nancy haddock !!! I felt so lucky. But alas I missed a golden oppt, while heading to fl, theybwasvfilmimg thecseries , the walking dead, in atlanta. And I seen the signs where they was filming, but at the time, ihad no idea about the show, so I missed stopping
How fun to see a filming. I have never happened into something like that. Maybe I’d have better luck if I lived in California.
One time in Spain, I was driving from Pamplona (a day too early to see the whole bull thing…thankfully) to Madrid. Hunger struck out in the middle of nowhere. We saw a sign for a restaurant that looked promising. Turned out it was a white tablecloth place in the hay loft of a barn on a large working ranch. Everything they served they grew or raised. A three hour lunch that I’ve dreamt of ever since:)
Wow! What a great trip. Nothing like that has ever happened to me in my travels. Hope there’s still time. Congrats on the bestseller list.
When we were in France we happened upon a really lovely outdoor concert in a park in Paris. It was a beautiful night, and my husband ran across the street to get some food and a bottle of wine. Just perfection, seriously like something you’d see in a movie. 🙂
Nothing really outstanding happens on our vacations but about 35 years ago my husband won tickets to the Superbowl which included the plane tickets to Miami. I ended up reading during the entire game.
I’m going to be road-tripping through French Canada in a few weeks on my way to the Bay of Fundy… I don’t speak any French beyond saying “I don’t speak French; do you speak English?” and several really offensive Québécois sacres (of course!), so that has the potential for some interesting experiences. Even native French speakers have trouble understanding Québécois, so not even my fluency in Castilian will be of much help! It’s going to be great craic… makes me think of my trips to Tokyo, where I also had no clue what was going on around me. But with poutine instead of sushi :). [I’m very used to not knowing what’s going on around me, courtesy of many years of not living in the expat enclaves of that famous former British colony in Asia, haha].
Wow sounds like a great trip! I’ve never had anything exciting like that happen before an a trip. I need to go on vacay wih your sister I think! 😉 Congrats on the bestseller list!
How cool to see the tour de france! We did have a fun accidental event happen to us many years ago. My husband and I were traveling up north to go camping and we stopped at a gas station. While there I struck up a conversation with a man who said he lived close to where we were going to camp. He offered for us to stop by to meet his wife and see where he lived cuz his cabin was on the river and he would take us rafting. We agreed to take him up on it. As we followed him in the dark, the roads became very secluded and it seemed to take forever to get there. I became nervous and told my husband that maybe we were following a murderer! Crazy us, we followed him anyway and it turned out that his wife was great and not a murderer! We had a drink at their house and came back the next day to raft. His wife was giving us a hard time cuz one day we thought they would kill us and the next we were giving her our car keys and wallets to keep while we played in the water, what a turn-around. We had a blast and made some great friends. =D