Tara, Dominic and I decided to go to Spencer last Friday while Doug was in Colorado with his Perry mountain climbing friends. She didn't have to work on Friday so that left her open for an adventure. Our nephew and his wife were having a birthday party for their two kids, one turned four and the other one turned one, on Saturday. I had to be back for church on Sunday to pick up offering and then to the airport to pick up Doug so staying Saturday night was off the table. All last week I wishy-washed between making the trip to Spencer then returning on Saturday before the party or just staying home. Finally, on Thursday I decided that it would give us something to do instead of hanging around home. Once the decision was made I called Gunar's babysitter. Yep, you guessed it, I had waited too long to make my decision, she was already spoken for. Now what to do? Stay home or take him with us. He is not a good traveler on short jaunts so the thought of a 4 hour trip was frightening. But after long debate with myself and finding a pet friendly hotel I decided to try taking Gunar on his first long trip.
So off we went. All was fine from our house over to pick Tara and Dominic up in De Soto. No crying, no barking, no fuss. But, he was happily sitting in the front seat by his mom. That changed when all four of us piled into the car. Dominic and Gunar in the back, Tara and I in the front. That isn't at all what he thought the arrangements should be. He was constantly wanting in the front, pawing at Tara to get her attention, almost demanding she move. Bad dog.
First stop: Stuart's McDonald's drive-thru. No sweat, I ordered for us including a plain hamburger for Gunar. Boy did they mess that up. Even Gunar would like a little meat in his sandwich. 30 minutes later we are back on the road. This trip is going to take forever.
Not knowing for sure which route to take we plugged in the address for the Days Inn, Spencer. Needless to say we had to recalculate several times because Google just wasn't going the way I felt was right. People who have traveled with me will smile at that because I often get turned around. My internal directional compass isn't always as good as I think it is. We finally hit 71 and headed north.
To make the trip feel a little more like a mini vacation, I stopped at the distillery in Templeton to show Tara. A little sightseeing never hurts and it gave me a chance to give Gunar a drink. Instead of a drink he decides to poop in their manicured yard! Living in the country poop scooping isn't something I am use to doing. I didn't remember to bring anything to pick it up with or to put it in. Luckily, the McDonalds bags were still in the car. Ick! Do you know it only takes seconds for a bag of poop to stink up a car? We drove to the nearest gas station to deposit our bag of doggy surprise. This is the stop that Gunar decided that he was going to sit in the front seat. Sorry Tara, you moved, big mistake. So now Tara and Dominic are in the back and Gunar is riding shotgun. Even though it looked kinda funny it did make the ride a lot quieter. Spoiled dog!
After about 2 more hours of detours and getting lost we made it to Spencer, checked in to the hotel and experienced our first pet friendly hotel experience. I think dog owners are some of the friendliest people, making over him like he was the cutest dog in the world. One thing I discovered about him is that he isn't the friendliest dog when meeting new dog friends. He growls, trying to be tough. He is tough as long as he is sitting behind me. Chicken dog.
The time in the hotel was just like home, He took his share out of the middle of the bed and me tripping over his food and water dishes. Then at 6:00 AM Saturday morning came. All I have to do at home is open a door and Gunar takes care of his own business. Not the case in a strange place. I was not too excited about going out of a hotel to the dog potty park at that hour in my PJs. We did meet a nice old man and his little cute dog. Once again Gunar tried to establish his authority while standing very close to me. I think he was trying to let the other dog and his owner know that he was boss and he was going to protect his mom. Or at least in my mind that sounds good.
We made it to Spencer and back with only a few frustrations. It was good to see the kids and fun to spend time with Tara and Dominic. I don't remember the last time she and I took a road trip together. We laughed all the way which I think we both needed. Even with the extra burden of a dog kid to take care of this was a great trip. I can now add taking a dog on vacation to my list of firsts. I'm not sure there will be a second time.
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| Gunar is ready to go. Notice the seat is down with a nice sheet for pup to become comfortable. He didn't think it was the best idea. He was staking out his spot in the front seat. |
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| Off we go. |
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| Templeton Rye Distillery with a nice manicured lawn. Perfect for a dog to try out | . |
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| Birthday Boy, Will. |
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| John, second birthday boy, and Dominic at the Mexican Restaurant |
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| All the way to Spencer there's an abundance of wind turbines. It is amazing to watch them. I wonder how many windmills it would take to blow the earth off course. |
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| We timed it just right to stop at Darrell's Place in Hamlin for a late lunch. Tenderloins! So very good! |
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