Road Buzz

In order to get all of his stuff into his smaller suitcase, we had to deflate the soccer ball a little. I insisted that the bag be zipped and locked before I agreed to even put it in the car. For some reason he hasn't figured out, after all these years and trips together, that I can't kick the ball and pass transport trucks at the same time. Getting the ball away from him long enough to make it transportable wasn't easy. I think he remembers that day a long time ago when he went to sleep and woke up missing a pair of balls. Those were his favourite ones, too.

Of course, it was all my fault and am not, now, to be completely trusted.

In addition to one partially inflated soccer ball, he packed one forty pound bag of IAMS Weight-Loss, Chicken and Rice Formula, two large bags of Marrow Bones, and four pounds of hamburger. (Eeewww! I might need to get that out of the car soon!) When I asked him why he felt he needed to carry so much food when the exact same thing was available in Canada, he muttered something about not being keen on a remake of "The Incredible Journey" or "Homeward Bound." I am so very glad I never screened "Lassie Come Home" for him. I thought it might actually hit too close to home and give him nightmares. He twitches enough in his sleep chasing those imaginary rabbits!

All this packing took place on Sunday night. On Monday "Killer" and I embarked (arrf! arrf!) on our less than incredible journey, a 2700 mile trek from Houston, Texas to Halifax, Nova Scotia. His real name isn't "Killer", it's Kenai......pronounced Keen-eye. "Killer" is a persona he adopts when we take these little trips alone together.....or when the pizza man comes to the door. He makes sure nothing happens to me, and that no one steals my camera or my laptop from the car when I run into McDonald's to use the restroom. To morph from Kenai into "Killer" isn't all that hard, really. We lay off the brushing and grooming for a week and then remove the cute little red hankerchief from around his neck. We replace it with a thick leather collar studded with half inch spikes. You can't see them in the photo because of all that fur but trust me he has spikes!


So far we've been driving four days. Our first night was in Little Rock....*waves to Jill and Norbert, the cat.* (I hope the garage wasn't too hot for ya' Norbie!) On the second night we made Knoxville. Should I have known that we were not in a very good hotel when Mr. Bang This Empty Bowl Across the Kitchen Floor Because You're Too Slow Fillin' It refused to eat his food there? Gini took one look at the place and concurred. *waves to Gini* The hotel she found us was much more to his taste. He ate five pounds of food for breakfast in that room before we left on Wednesday! He even folded his napkin correctly.

We made it to Harrisburg in time to catch the beginning of the hockey game from Raleigh. "Killer" got a little bored with the game after the second period but found ways to amuse himself in the room while I read the message boards and kept one eye on the TV. He played......"Look Mom! I Can Turn Your Sheltie into a Boxer"


He looks more like Mother Teresa to me.

I ignored him and gave him my camera to play with for a while. He took a bunch of pics and proved that it isn't all that hard to amuse yourself when alone in a hotel room.









Eventually, all that picture taking took its toll.


He's asleep right now, just like I should be. That road buzz feeling just left me about an hour ago and I am beginning to get a little tired. Tomorrow will be a short day....only 450 miles, a border crossing (No officer, I don't have anything to declare. Why is my car sitting so low in the rear? Oh, that.....I'm hauling the decorations for a 50th wedding anniversary party.....and thirty-four pounds of dog food. Would you like to see his health certificate? Isn't that a pretty frame? We call him "Killer")

I get to see my kids (who are no longer kids) for the first time in 6 months and they'll get to see their dog again. And that is going to be a big surprise!


**Note to Self** Next time keep both eyes on the hockey game and forget about what your silly dog is doing.

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