As the plane descended into Champs les Sims, Dylan couldn’t help but snap photographs. It had been a long time since he’d engaged in serious photography. I wasn’t prepared for how wonderful it felt to have a camera in his hands again.

The family settled into their hotel.

Andria had plans for the day, and they started with a picturesque spot to fish.

And some study.

And the purchase of a few choice ingredients.

Sawyer was left to his own devices. He had no plans until the beginning of the conference, so he was immediately bored.

His boredom didn’t last long, however. It turned out that the lush countryside was the perfect inspiration for new avenues of genetic research.

Dylan found Edmund unpacking his suitcase. “There is one place in Champs les Sims that you would never forgive yourself for missing,” he said.

Edmund raised his eyebrows. “And that would be?”

“The Musee d’Arte of course! You must accompany me for the afternoon.

Edmund couldn’t possibly refuse. Art was the one passion he could always share with his father.

They took the scenic route so that Dylan could find the perfect place for a photograph.

Edmund was completely unprepared for how magical the museum was. The art was gathered from all over the simworld, past and present. He could lose himself here for years.

“Wow, Dad. Thank you. I had no idea .”

Dylan smiled. “Your father still knows a few things that matter,” he said.

“What is the policy about photography?” Edmund asked. “Some pictures here could turn into some very valuable prints.”

Dylan smirked a little bit. “I already did that, son. There are a few hanging in the house. You should take a closer look.”

“Oh, really?” Edmund said. “Wait.”

“Wait what?” Dylan asked.

“Wait. Who is she?”

Dylan nudged his son. “Go find out. I know when I’m superfluous.”

Dylan drifted over to the woman as if pulled by an invisible string. “Hi, um, I’m Edmund Sample. I hope it isn’t too forward to ask for your name?” He really wasn’t very good at talking to strangers.

Her name was Belle Girard. Though he’d never know it, her grandmother had almost married his great-grandfather Charles. It turned out that the attraction passed down through the generations.

When he had to leave for lunch, He had Belle’s phone number, and they both looked forward to meeting again.

Sawyer’s conference began in the afternoon with a keynote speech, given of course by Sawyer himself. Sawyer was the best known neurosurgeon in the simworld, and he considered it his due.

Of course, a neuroscience conference in the land of love wasn’t quite what Sawyer was used to. The attendees behaved in rather inappropriate ways.

The room was nearly empty when he began his opening remarks. He would have considered that an insult, but the attendees rushed to hear him a few minutes later.

And was the best speech he had ever given, if he did say so himself.

Though the sound system left a lot to be desired.

Sawyer had to admit that the next presentation was almost as interesting as his.

At least, Sawyer found it interesting. Some people at this conference just didn’t seem to have neuroscience on the mind at all.

The men returned home to find Andria hard at work.

“Here you are!” she declared as they wandered in through the door. “Dinner is served!”

Sawyer stared dubiously at the elegantly plated meal. “What form of nourishment is this?”

“Frog legs, of course,” Andria said. “I’ve been longing to learn how to make it, but they’re best with fresh-caught frogs from France.” She gave Sawyer a warning look. “Everyone will be tasting this fine french delicacy, even you.”

Sawyer, huffed and sat down.

Even he had to admit that the frog’s legs were delicious.

As they finished their meal, another pair of tourists pounced on them. “Are you real Avalonians? We’ve never seen any before! We must have a picture.”

“What did you think?” Andria asked Dylan as they cleaned up.

“Magnificent, just like the chef,” he said with a suave smile, pulling her to him.

“Perhaps we should continue this in privacy,” Dylan suggested and led her upstairs.

“You remember?” Andria said. “I think the first night of our honeymoon was in this very room. Our first time.”

“Well, not the first,” Dylan said. “The second time. I remember these things.”

“We’re not done making memories,” Andria said.

———-

So, Belle Girard is, of course, Berthe Girard, the homeless premade French firefighter who was such a good rival for Veronica that I created a mate poll for Charles. Since I long since deleted all my travel files, she was regenerated. I really like her and her genes. She’s a Clumsy, Brave firefighter, which is such an entertaining combination.

Edmund picks up romantic interests wherever he goes :).

Grump. So far, I haven’t been able to make the smaller, bordered images I was using for Dylan’s photographs to work. I guess the images that I ported over from Blogspot probably look wrong too. Sigh.

The Sample teens first day of freedom was a Sunday. It began quietly and responsibly.

That morning, Winston took a gourmet cooking class at The Round Table that he’d been trying to get into for years.

He was convinced that he could enhance the flavor of his creations with a bit of magic. It was just a question of what kind.

Gamora had no intention of getting her butt kicked ever again, especially not by the likes of Whitney Ursine-Sample.

She also spent the morning in a class — this one Introduction to Sim Fu.

“Is that your real skin?” Kari Bookabet-Royale giggled as Gamora showed of her first belt. “Are you a member of some kind of tree-hugging gang?”

Gamora looked her straight in the eyes. “Come a little closer and say that,” she said softly. Kari shut up and backed away.

Victoria also had big plans for her free day.

She planned to spend it alone at Persephone Hot Springs.

The hot springs were warm year-round, so it wasn’t that extreme an idea to go swimming.

Honestly, the 7mil wetsuit was more than she needed. The ocean was colder when she skipped school to go snorkeling in the fall.

It felt so good to get into the water. Since the first snow, she’d been feeling trapped on land. And the floor of the springs were full of beautiful freshwater aquatic life. It was peaceful and more beautiful than she’d expected.

On the other hand, it wasn’t nearly as isolated as she’d been planning either.

Victoria had no idea the hot springs were such a popular place for playing in the snow.

Eventually, it was just too crowded. She couldn’t focus on the beautiful springs with all the laughing and snowball fights. Someone even throw a snowball in the water at her. It was cold! But mercifully only for a few minutes.

So, after a couple of hours snorkeling, she dried off and headed home.

Something was very wrong. She could tell from the end of the block that the smoke rising from her house wasn’t coming from a chimney.

She burst into the house to this:

“Winston! Where are you?” she screamed. She ran to the kitchen to grab the fire extinguisher under the sink.

“How do you use this thing??”

She wasn’t sure that her fire extinguisher was powerful enough to make a dent in the roaring flames.

So she grabbed her phone.

“Hello? Avalon fire department?” she shouted into the phone. “We’re ON FIRE!!”

Fortunely, the Avalon Knights of the Flame were well-trained in talking to panicked people. Victoria could hear the wail of the fire engine almost before she hung up the phone. That was one big advantage to living on a small island.

“Oh, thank the Watcher!” she cried when firemen came running into the house.

But as she walked out of the den, she found the living room had also caught fire.

“Look out!” she cried. She aimed the fire extinguisher at the flames.

And missed.

“Please back off, miss!” the fireman yelled.

“Let us do our jobs!”

“I’m so sorry,” Victoria wailed.

“I was only trying to help!”

“I get it,” the fireman said. “Well, the fires are out. Now you can get all the help you need in fireplace safety.”

“Victoria!” Winston said as he burst through the door. “What happened? Are you all right?”

“Did you leave fires burning in the fireplaces when you left?” Victoria asked.

“Well, yes, but Mom and Dad leave them burning all the time,” Winston said defensively. “I didn’t think it would be any big deal.”

“Apparently it is a big deal,” Victoria said. “We almost literally burned the house down on our first day on our own!”

“OK, look,” Winston said earnestly. “I can make this right. Let me make a few phone calls. I bet we can get a quick insurance settlement.”

“You do what you feel you have to,” Victoria said. “I’m going to start cleaning up.”

———-

Annnnd I gave Victoria Fireproof Homestead. Dylan had it, but apparently the effects went away as soon as he went on vacation.

Sims 3 fireplaces are beautiful death traps.

The day dawned bitter cold. But within the gates of Camelot, blood ran hot.

The air was filled with chanting voices against police corruption. Some dealings between the chief of police and the Emperor of Evil had leaked to the press, and the citizens of Avalon were having none of it. There would be protests day and night until Police Chief William Pierce resigned.

Besides…. hadn’t he been chief of police for a really long time? Nobody seemed to be able to remember when he was first elected.

Gamora held a sign and chanted for a while, but she was really here to people watch. People were really amusing when they were this angry.

She’d been protesting for less than an hour when she saw someone who made her forget her sign and let it drop to the snow.

Whiney Ursine-Sample, her father’s nemesis dating all the way back to high school.

Well, Gamora wasn’t sweet and passive like her father. Whitney had a lifetime of harassment to pay for, and she planned to start calling in payments.

“Well look at the smelly garbage someone dumped on the lawn!”

Whitney jumped back in surprise. “What’s with you, girl? I don’t even know you!”

“Gamora Sample ring any bells?” Gamora mocked. “Like the daughter of Sawyer Sample?”

“Sawyer Sample! You have got to be kidding me!”

“Look, my dad put up with way too much of your crap, but I’m not my dad.”

“I intend to make your life very uncomfortable, starting now.”

“Look, girl, I can tell you’re even weirder than your dad, but you can’t scare me with your little threats. You can’t do anything to me.”

Gamora suddenly smiled and stepped close. “Is that so?” she said in a sultry voice.

She reached up to caress the line of Whitney’s jaw. Whitney’s eyes locked with Gamora’s. He seemed rooted in place.

Then she leaned in.

“What did you do to me?!” Whitney shouted.

“I’m not sure,” Gamora crooned, “but I’m sure it will be unpleasant.”

“You little freak!” Whitney cried.

Then he kicked her ass.

In another corner of Camelot’s courtyard, the venerable Matt Doctor was catching up with his neice Emily. “What are you looking at?” he asked.

“Are you getting a load of this?” Emily said. “That’s my boyfriend’s daughter. I don’t know whether to be proud or ashamed. I think I’m going with proud. That kid knows how to make trouble.”

“Didn’t she just get her butt kicked by a man her father’s age?” Matt demanded. “Aren’t you going to help her?”

“Are you kidding?” Emily said. “It’s much more fun to watch.”

While Gamora was making a scene in Camelot, Andria was baking again, and we all know what that means.

Edmund practiced a bit of magic while he waited.

“Were you supposed to zap your foot?” Victoria asked.

“Not sure,” Edmund admitted, “But it felt pretty good.”

Outside, Gamora made it home and took her fury out on the lawn ornaments.

Then the pie was out of the oven, pumpkin at Edmund’s request.

It was time to celebrate.

Gamora entered just as Andria was serving. “Oh, was there something important about today?” she asked.

Edmund gave her a hard stare. She was just trying to provoke him, and he wasn’t going to take the bait. And he had to admit, birthdays were pretty frivolous. At least he’d been able to persuade his mother to keep this one an intimate family gathering.

Edmund’s family gathered around the table to taste Andria’s marvelous pie and talk about life.

“Have you given any thought to what you want to do with your life?” Dylan asked Winston.

“Not sure yet,” Winston said, “but I think I want to check out some of my roots from the Mai side of the family. Maybe learn some Asian cooking.”

Gamora deigned to hang out with them for a little while. It was never clear whether she was proud that she didn’t need to eat or if she resented it.

After the party, Dylan sought out his wife. He found her in the kitchen, cleaning up.

“I know there’s another birthday coming up soon,” he said.

“I’d rather not think about it,” Andria said.

“Here, let me,” he said, brushing her gently aside.  “I can finish the cleaning.” He drew out a scrubbie with a flourish. Somehow, Dylan could always do the grungiest tasks with style.

Andria shrugged and set herself to seasoning the skillet.

“This is a big birthday of yours coming up,” Dylan said, ” and I thought perhaps we should herald it in a big way.”

“Oh?” Andria said. “What did you have in mind?”

“I thought I’d take you back to where it all began,” he said.

Andria raised her eyebrows. “High school gym class?”

He chuckled. “Well, I was thinking of Champs les Sims. A bit of a second honeymoon.”

Andria let the skillet clatter to the stove. “A second honeymoon! What a marvelous idea! You’re so romantic, my love.”

So it was decided. Dylan made the reservations.

Andria gave Victoria firm talking-to. She would be the woman of the house, and Andria needed to be able to trust her, or this romantic getaway wasn’t going to work.

Victoria was delighted that she was being offered this kind of responsibility. “I won’t let you down!” she insisted. “Have a good time and don’t worry about a thing!”

Andria was still a little worried that Victoria might have less responsible things in mind, but she decided to give her daughter a chance to prove herself.

Edmund was going with them, though he promised to make himself scarce. He had some unclear reason for wanting to travel to Champs les Sims that had to do with his magical research.

And, as it turned out, Sawyer would be attending a neuroscience conference. That wasn’t exactly a coincidence. It was his brother’s travel that gave Dylan the idea for a vacation.

Dylan felt years younger as he ran to catch the taxi. A romantic vacation! At his age!

Andria would be the first to tell him that you’re never too old to have fun.

———-

Gamora is a lot of fun right now. First poisoned kiss! I’m not entirely sure what it does other than turn someone green (which is less impressive in Avalon). Maybe makes the target sim nauseated? I need to look it up.

Heh. Now that I’m using the blue City Hall rabbithole from Monte Vista, protests look pretty good. No more people standing with their heads through the wall.

I had a lot of fun with Edmund’s adult look.

Man, I wish they all could be heirs. I’m still fretting about who is going to have to leave the house to make way for Vickie’s family.

As you might guess, this is the “free vacation” opportunity to give the teens a chance to be heads of household. Dylan rolled a wish to travel with Andria way back at his Elder birthday, so I thought this would be the perfect time to fulfill it.