Road Trips and Dog People
I love to drive! I mean, I really love to drive! Miles and miles of highways, cruise control – I love it! Thankfully, the dogs love it too! All the dogs travel well – I usually put Mia in the passenger’s seat,and the boys are in the back of the Subaru – I have a dog guard, so that is their spot!   Of course, we make the appropriate number of rest stops depending upon the length of the journey.
The boys fighting over Mia's dish in WV
As I mentioned before, last year, my job had me travel to West Virginia at least 2-3 weeks out of each month, so driving the 10-12 hour trip became our recurring road trip for 2008.   I returned yesterday after spending a week plus out east.  I returned actually a day early, to avoid a major storm that was forecast to hit the east coast.  So, we went through the traditional routine of me packing everything up, the dogs getting upset because they know I am leaving.   Don’t I always bring them with?  Yes, but they never seem to remember that!  Finally, I put them all in the car and then I do my last minute run-through the apartment to turn off the heat and lights, make sure I took out the garbage, and make sure I didn’t forget anything.
Once on the road, for the most part, the time is mine.  Driving Route 80 through Ohio and Indiana is just a great trip – put the car in cruise and drive! This time, I had a minivan, so the boys were in the back, and I had Mia in a small cat crate, so she wouldn’t move aroung because of her hip.   We stopped at a rest stop, and I walked the boys.   I love the rest stops along route 80 – the truckers always talk to me when I have the dogs with me.  No matter how burly or surly the truckers look, I always get a smile when they see the dogs. This time, I got two comments – one from a trucker who started telling me about his jack russell. He actually had the dog with him and brought him out for a walk too. Another trucker sporting a mullet asked me if the boys were Aussies.  I replied that they were, and he then proceeded to tell me about his Cardigan Welsh Corgis he had at home.
I really think that dogs bring out the best in people….and, remember never to  judge a book by its cover!