33rd Chapter – USA – Sarah’s Wedding
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Cannes/Chicago – Friday, August 28, 2026
Today we began a three-week visit to the US to attend my daughter Sarah’s wedding in North Carolina.
The trip began with a bus to the Cannes train station, then a train to the Nice-Saint-Augustin stop and a Nice tram to the airport. We brought “the beast” suitcase, our largest bag.
We took an 11:35 morning British Airways flight to London Heathrow, connecting to a 15:15 Flight to ORD scheduled to arrive at 18:15.
The flight arrived 30 minutes early. We were picked up at the airport by Doug and Aimee, our hosts. We stayed at Doug’s place in Wilmette for a few days.
Wilmette – Saturday, August 29, 2026
Today, Wilmette was hosting a block party. We visited to see a mutual friend play keyboard in a band.
Later that afternoon, Mark and Elle joined us for dinner. We first met them in Paris when we visited them with Doug. Doug is an excellent BBQ’er and we enjoyed tasty leg of Lamb for dinner.
While downtown Wilmette, I revisited two of my former houses.
Wilmette/ Sunday, August 30, 2026
I was overdue for a new iPhone, so we visited the local Apple store. In a matter of minutes, I had upgraded from an iPhone 13 Pro Max to a 17 Pro Max. I also took advantage of trading in my old iPhone for a tidy credit.
I use my iPhone as my primary camera.
Wilmette, Illinois /Freemont, Indiana – Monday, August 31, 2026
Doug was a gracious host and dropped us off at a car rental office (Dollar) at ORD as we were driving to Ft. Wayne to visit Rebecca’s sister at her lake house. It was a 3H/20M drive.
Arriving after dusk, we had a bit of trouble locating the exact address of the lake house, but Jackie flagged us in.
We had a few boxes of stuff in storage at the lake house; Rebecca and I culled it down for transportation to France. We also commandeered a ‘Beast Jr.” suitcase to transport it. We sorted the storage remnants and made a small donation of leftovers to charity.
Freemont / Tuesday, September 1st, 2026
Nita, Rebecca’s sister, and her boyfriend Tim joined us at the Lake house. Tim is an excellent cook and made us steaks, which were very tasty. We have a hard time getting good steaks in France.
The lake house was very comfortable and a relaxing place to visit.
Freemont / Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026
We took a boat ride around their lake today.
Freemont / Thursday, September 3rd, 2026
We headed into town today for dinner at “What the Fork” restaurant. While there, I managed to annoy some Amish folks by taking their photo.
Ann Arbor, Michigan / Friday, September 4th, 2026
We drove from Fremont to Ann Arbor, Michigan (1H/45M) to visit my Brother Tim and his wife, Laurie.
We went out for some- wait for it… BBQ.
We did an Ann Arbor walkabout before dinner.
Bachler Brothers together again.
Unfortunately, Tim’s power went out that day, so we stayed at a local hotel. We had booked a Red Roof Inn +, but upon arrival discovered it was a dingy Motel. We immediately booked a Hilton.
Downer’s Grove, IL / Friday, September 4th, 2026
We left the hotel to return the car to O’Hare. He had to arrive by 3PM.
We made a stop along the way to visit Marshall, Michigan, a quaint little town along the way. Rebecca hit a bookstore, and I did a few shots at an antique store.
We returned the car exactly at 3 PM. The car rental shop dinged us for alleged damage to the car, which was covered by the insurance.
Kathleen generously picked us up at the ORD car rental office.
Downers Grove, IL / Sunday, September 6th, 2026
Today Kevin cooked up some amazing steaks on the grill. Very tasty
Downer’s Grove, IL / Monday, September 7th, 2026
Kevin took me out for a spin in his Vette. A powerhouse.
We swung through Hinsdale to visit my previous houses there.
Later we went to the Oakbrook Mall for dinner at Posto.
Chicago/ Tuesday, September 8th, 2026
Kathleen drove us downtown so Rebecca could visit with some of her friends. I ran some chores, including renewing my library card. I also stopped by my old building at 535 N. Michgan to visit Mike, my former doorman.
I also swung by some familiar Chicago landmarks.
Asheville/ Wednesday, September 9th, 2026
Kathleen drove us to O’Hare for our flight to Asheville.
We flew United, leaving at 13:55 and arriving AVL at 16:50.
We rented a car from Budget for our stay.
We hit a local BBQ for dinner, and it was great. We chased it down with some world-class frozen custard- Maple nut.
By the time we arrived at our rental in FlatRock, it was dark. The place was difficult to find as they had given us the wrong address and the 10-digit key code did not work. We had to call the rental office for help several times. All a bit frustrating. The good news was the place was on a nice little lake and very serene.
Flat Rock, NC/ Thursday, September 10th, 2026
The wedding weekend begins. Sarah and Aleks had rented out a summer camp for the weekend and ceremony. Her idea was to gather her friends and family together for a fun weekend together at Camp Wayfarer in Flat Rock, NC.
Rebecca and I explored Asheville before the family dinner that night. Rebecca found a favorite bookstore, and I discovered a pinball museum.
Flat Rock/ Friday, September 11th, 2026
There was a welcome party on Friday evening as people arrived.
We continued to have trouble with the rental lock, and the backup key fell out of my pocket in the car. Finally, we called the management company, and they sent someone out to address the problem.
Flat Rock/ Saturday, September 12th, 2026
Everyone enjoyed the camp during the day.
Just before the ceremony, it began to drizzle, so the ceremony was moved indoors.
Flat Rock/ Sunday, September 13th, 2026
Departure day. It was great meeting many of Sarah and Aleks ‘ friends and seeing family members again.
Rebecca and I returned to the BBQ place for a final fix. Also loaded up on frozen custard.
Flat Rock/ Monday, September 14th, 2026
Rebecca and I checked out of the cottage and revisited Asheville before returning the car at the airport and flying back to Chicago. We stopped in downtown Asheville and the ‘s River Arts District on the way back. Rebecca bought 3 new cotton sweaters.
Kevin picked us up at O’Hare, and we overnighted it in Downers Grove.
Chicago/Nice/ Tuesday, September 15th, 2026
We took a 5:00 PM British Airways flight to London Heathrow with a 20:10 flight to Nice. The connection was a bit tight, and they changed gates a few times. We made it to the Nice gate just as they were boarding.
We landed on Wednesday around noon.
Arriving tired in Nice, we caught an Uber back to our apt. 50 eu well spent.
Overall, it was a great trip, and we enjoyed Sarah’s wedding and am very proud of the person my daughter has become.