Sunday January 10, 2010 was the first day our road trip from San Diego, California to Bethel, Maine for Dusty (my 10 year old cat) and me. After packing the last of our belongings in the 26 foot Penske Truck from our apartment yesterday we spent our last night at the Villas of Renaissance in UTC in a furnished corporate rental. The Villas is a very nice apartment complex where we lived for more than three years when we first came out to San Diego. Lauren and I soaked our aching muscles in the big Hot Tub while Eva came over to visit and say good bye. It was an appropriate San Diego send off; a Hot Tub and a bottle of Long Board Red Wine. Before leaving I gave Eva my San Diego tool box with a good assortment of Craftsman screwdrivers, a couple of pliers, hammer, tape measure and a cordless Black and Decker Portable Drill.
Lauren said good-bye to me and Dusty Sunday morning after breakfast and we were off. The big question was how Dusty would do because she usually pees, poops, and sometimes throws up within the first 3 miles of any car trip she has ever taken. Well I’m pleased to report she made it about 8 miles before she peed and pooped. So I pulled over and changed the liner in her pet carrier and rolled down the truck window. She meowed pretty constantly for about one hour and then once she realized she wasn’t going to the veterinarian (her worst nightmare) she actually stopped and started to relax.
Lauren said good-bye to me and Dusty Sunday morning after breakfast and we were off. The big question was how Dusty would do because she usually pees, poops, and sometimes throws up within the first 3 miles of any car trip she has ever taken. Well I’m pleased to report she made it about 8 miles before she peed and pooped. So I pulled over and changed the liner in her pet carrier and rolled down the truck window. She meowed pretty constantly for about one hour and then once she realized she wasn’t going to the veterinarian (her worst nightmare) she actually stopped and started to relax.
It was just about noon when I saw the IN-N-OUT sign from Interstate 8. I was hungry and I thought who knows when the next time I’ll be able to eat an IN-N-OUT Burger will be? After eating my cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate shake in the cab of the truck I tried to see if Dusty was thirsty. Instead of drinking she just wanted to get out of her cage. So I let her check out the cab and she immediately went under the seat beneath me and stayed there for the rest of trip which was about 5 more hours. During the trip we had to stop at two US Border Patrol checkpoints where the questions were basically the same: Are you a US Citizen? Yes. What do you have in the truck? My personal belongings. Are you moving? Yes, to Maine. Thank you. Have a good day Sir. The second agent asked me one more question though that had me thinking. Are you a Border Patrol Agent? No I said and started driving away. Now why would he ask me that I asked myself and about 30 minutes later it dawned on me? Maine. Maine has an international border. Ironically I sold my car earlier this week to the wife of a Border Patrol Agent. When I told her we were moving to Maine she said “we almost moved there because of my husband’s job.”
Dusty and I drove into Tucson about 7:00 pm that night and checked into the Motel 6 because I had already looked it up and knew they were “pet-friendly”. I had some Chicken Pad Thai at the Miss Saigon Bar & Grill next door and then hit the hay. America is an interesting place.
Dusty and I drove into Tucson about 7:00 pm that night and checked into the Motel 6 because I had already looked it up and knew they were “pet-friendly”. I had some Chicken Pad Thai at the Miss Saigon Bar & Grill next door and then hit the hay. America is an interesting place.
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