Jake and Just Harry's Most Excellent Christmas Road Trip: Days Five through Eleven

On Day Five, sad as we were to leave Mayemphis and our terrier and human pals (see the photo on Gussie's blog), we packed up all our stuff, I consulted the map, and off we went, destination Grandma's home in St. Louis.

It was immediately clear that we were no longer in the south. "What are those funny looking trees?" I asked Dogdad. "Black junipers," he answered. Hmmm. They're so fat and furry, not like our lean palm trees. Kind of like the difference between a hairy dog and a whippet, I thought to myself, picturing the waggle we were going to meet in a few days.And what are those interesting looking houses? And, gasp!!! Are those hills????? We have nothing like that where we live!!!And what's with those temperatures, I wondered, as we watched the numbers on the console drop from the 30s to the 20s to 18???But after a few hours, we arrived at Grandma's, Dogdad's Mom, and forgot all about the temperatures in the warmth of her greeting.That is, we forgot all about the temperature until we had to go outside. By morning, when we it was hovering around 7 degrees, Mom insisted that we dress for the weather. Dogdad put on his once-a-year coat and muffler, kind of like Ralphie in the Christmas Story (which runs as a marathon when we get to St. Louis).And, you remember the sweater boyz, don't you? "Mom, you can't be serious!!!" She also tried to put some rubber booties on us -- but when we just looked at her as though she was nuts, she abandoned that idea. And, for some reason, we didn't seem to mind the cold on our paws. Or, for that matter, the cold on our bodies. We do have fur coats after all.We just chilled and made ourselves comfy.On Day Six, we went to visit an old college friend of Dogdad's and we saw our very first Christmas tree. Remember, this year was the first time we didn't spend Christmas at our animal camp, so it was very exciting, so exciting that JH, after jumping on laps and licking faces, decided to take a nap.That evening, Mom and Dogdad went to visit one of Dogdad's brothers, our uncle Mike, and we went along. Zowie, even more Christmas trees. But there was a surprise for Mom -- Chanukah presents -- including a beautiful Lenox menorah.

When we got home, it was really really cold -- and JH curled up in his bed with Dogdad's muffler while I just toughed it out!!.
By Day Seven, it warmed up -- but began to rain. And Mom had a new surprise for us: raincoats.Don't even ask!!!On Christmas Eve (Day Eight), after a 4:00 pm Mass at Graham Chapel at Washington University, the folks went over to our uncle's for the traditional Christmas Eve celebration with all the young'uns -- Dogdad's eleven young great nieces and nephews under the age of 16 (with one more on the way)!!! (We know this only because the Heron-cam -- who decided to fly with us after all, despite the cold -- reported it. The folks thought that, because there would be so many people, including very young ones, it might be better if we stayed home. I guess we agreed -- but we didn't really have a choice.)

But then, it was Christmas day (Day Nine), and we were invited to join the folks at our uncle's. We were very good -- and discovered that we had Christmas stockings of our own with lots of treats -- squeakies and chewies. Mom and Dogdad made sure that we were comfortable, and we had a wonderful time.
But the culmination of it all for Mom -- besides having us with her -- was opening a special Christmas/anniversary present that Dogdad had bought her -- a beautiful silver articulated camel made by an Israeli artist which Mom had been admiring for at least four years in the window of a local shop. What, you might ask, a camel and not a wire fox terrier? Chanukah and Christmas presents?????? And antlers???? We can't answer; she's our mom!! And it's a eucumenical thing.

One of these days, she'll show you her collection of two hundred camels - but for now, whippet waggle time is next!!

Jake

Jake and Just Harry's Most Excellent Road Trip: Days Two, Three, and Four

Get out your maps again everybody -- here is something we never expected on our road trip. We thought we were just touring the U. S. of A. But as we set out and continued on our trip, we discovered that Mom and Dogdad were taking us international!!! For example, we passed through Naples, Paris, and Florence in Europe; Oxford in the U.K.; St. Petersburg in Russia; Cairo and Jericho in the Middle East; and even took a detour to the ancient cities of Troy, Memphis, Thebes, and Herculaneum. Wowser!!! Who knew???
































After the presentation on Day Two -- and a fun Christmas party at the port -- we set out for Dothan, Alabama. Dogdad, with his transportation expertise, had mapped out and timed the itinerary to make sure we got to Mayemphis on Day Three in time to see Gussie and Teka and their muzzer and dad in the late afternoon. On the way to Dothan, we dined at a Sonic -- where it's OK for dogs to eat at the tables on the outside. Again, Dogdad had mapped out all the Sonics along the way so that we (they) would not go hungry. I had eaten at a Sonic years ago, when I was a puppy -- but for JH, this was a new experience.


After lunch, we continued up the north-south interstate, I-75, and then across the east-west I-10. I-10 is very cool because it crosses the entire country from Jacksonville on Florida's east coast to Santa Monica in California on the west coast. Some day, we'd like to take it all the way. Dinner was at a McDonald's -- just to keep the folks from starving while we enjoyed our kibble and water (and a bite of hamburger).
















In Dothan, we stayed at a La Quinta, which was recommended to us by several wirey friends who travel a lot. What a change from the night before! We got to walk through the lobby and take the elevator to the fourth floor. On the way, people kept telling us that we were "pretty." Gulp. Couldn't they see -- even with what's left -- that we're boys?????









After a quick ride on the luggage cart, an exploration of the full length mirror (four dogs????) a quck look at the bathroom, and our usual bedtime treats, we slept soundly in our beds.

I have to confess though that once or twice we heard something that prompted a bark or two -- but when Dogdad said "leave it!!" we knew he meant it and went back to sleep. Mom was very relieved because she had visions of our barking non-stop and getting us kicked out of the motel in the middle of the night so that we'd have to sleep in the car.

The next morning, we left early: destination Mayemphis!!! At first it was just foggy, but then it started to get cold. And by the time we got to Mayemphis, it was really nippy -- at least for us southerners.

When we crossed the border into Tennessee, we were greeted by what looked just like the South Florids traffic we had left -- lots of big trucks and cars -- but the sky was beautiful and the scent of terrier pals was in the air. When we pulled up at Gussie's place, muzzer was there to greet us warmly, and we went for a quick walk up the street to meet some of her neighbors.














So what was it like meeting Gussie and Teka? If we had a video, you would have heard a few grrrrs and a lot of rowf, rowf, rowfs -- and then, when the folks decided to let us off leash for a minute -- loud, louder, and loudest barks and all kinds of other terrier noises and bitey face attempts. "Grab a dog," was the response from the humans --- and that was how we all got to know each other. And this scenario repeated itself several times while we were there!






















Gussie and Teka's muzzer and dad are wonderful humans -- and they made us -- and our own humans -- feel very welcome and at home -- even when we schlepped tons of things (most of it ours) -- enough for a month -- into the house for our two-night stay. As for Gussie, he is one handsome dude!!! We were very impressed with his stature and demeanor. And young Teka -- well she is a trip!!! A beautiful trip, with a non-stop personality.


















On Day Four, the four humans went for a tour of Mayemphis and saw Beale Street, the famous Peabody Hotel, lots of Elvis memorial signs, and the Mississippi River (for Mom). We didn't mind staying at home -- segregated from Gussie and Teka in the front of the house while they were in the back - because we could look out the window at all the passersby. The folks had barbecue for lunch at Neely's and then came home. When we saw them drive up, we barked our heads off to greet them, just as though we were in our own house, protecting everyone from intruders!!! Mom thought that was hilarious.




















Ms. Teka, as you might have suspected from other tales, likes to make sure everyone is paying attention -- so when calm started to set in and we wires started to settle -- she got the energy flowing again. At one point, knowing we were going to see Swede William on our trip, she did ask JH to give him a message. He never told me what it was, so I cannot report.

What fun!!! We had a wonderful time, and hated to leave such kind people and enthusiastic terrier pals -- but we had a date with St. Loulis and Dogdad's family so off we went to Missouri!!! But that's another part of our story...

Jake

Jake and Just Harry's Most Excellent Christmas Road Trip: Day One

Finally, our secretary got around to downloading the gazillion photos from our road trip and copying my notes. Finally!! It's really hard to get good help these days -- especially when they have had several weeks of unaccustomed vacation, good fellowship, delicious food, and lots of wine...

To start off with, we thought we'd answer that burning question: did you guys really meet Gussie and Teka and did you or did you not share a bark with the whippets??? Yes. And yes. But you'll have to wait for the proof (unless you've peaked at Gussie's blog or at the whippets' waggle).

On the way out of town on Day One, I rode shotgun so I could give Dogdad directions...

And JH took turns from time to time.

That first day of our trip took us across Alligator Alley, which traverses the Everglades, to Bradenton on Florida's west coast.

Along the way, we stopped at our very first rest area, one of many, where we were excited to find a dog walk and lots of places to sniff and do our business.

Because Mom and Dogdad had a presentation to give at Port Manatee on Day Two, and had to stop by that first afternoon, they arranged for me and JH to stay a few hours with a very cool lady named Rocky who has a K-9 training facility just a mile down from the port. We discovered lots of C. A. T. s there, but they were so used to having dogs run around, they barely paid us any mind. We, of course, were not so blase.

That evening, Mom and Dogdad found a friendly Italian restaurant in Bradenton that allows dogs to eat on the patio. The patio was surrounded by a short marble wall, so JH and I had a wonderful time exploring and watching for new customers.

That evening we stayed in a very very very low budget motel because it was the only one in proximity to the port that allowed dogs. Clean sheets, but only a sliver of soap, one of three light bulbs that worked, no remote! Mom was proud of us though 'cause we didn't bark once and got down to business right away and, all in all, seemed OK with being some place new.

And that was Day One. Just so you know what to expect from the rest our story, our fourteen-day (actually fifteen days from start to finish) trip took us from Florida to Alabama to Mississippi to Arkansas to Tennessee to Missouri to Kentucky to Alabama to Georgia and back to Florida. We covered about 2,800 miles from start to finish -- taking back roads as well as interstates.

The temperatures along the way went from our 70s in Florida to 50s in Alabama to 40s, 30s, 20s, and all the way down to 7 in Missouri. And the landscape changed dramatically from place to place to place, going from green to brown to gray and back to green when we hit southern Georgia.

So stay tuned for the next episode of our most excellent Christmas road trip!!!

Your pal,

Jake