Isn't TRIP a four letter word?

We were able to get away for a vacation last month.  Because we have cats to care for, it was a hard decision to make.  We have two older cats who are on twice-daily medication.  It’s very important that they get the medication each day and on time.  Mr. Creme is diabetic and needs insulin.  Lexi has a hyper-thyroid condition and high blood pressure for which she is on meds.

We’re lucky to have friends who were willing to come in and make sure everything was done.  Since we were planning on driving our car across country, we needed to take at least three weeks.  We had several places to stop and visit and we wanted to take our dog, Sheila, and two of our cats, Jonesie and Jackson.  Driving the car made more sense than flying.

Are we there yet?  Jonesie and Jackson in their traveling kennel

Before we left, we took Mr. Creme and Lexi to the vet to be checked to make sure they were stable and nothing would change in their medications while we were gone.  Lexi’s blood pressure had lowered some, but her medication stayed the same.  Mr. Creme’s blood glucose level had lowered so his doses of insulin changed.  But, it was just a decrease of one unit in the p.m. dose. 

After a few days of delay, we finally left on our trip on November 21.  Our plan was to be in Virginia for Thanksgiving, the 28th.  We figured if we didn’t get started, we might as well forget that.

Our first day of travel was uneventful.  We stopped in Las Cruces, NM for the night.  When we got up the next morning, it was 49 degrees.  Not bad.  But, by the time we got to El Paso, TX, it was much colder, 37 degrees.  Soon it started getting cloudy and really looking cold.  We turned north on I-20 and headed for Ft. Worth, TX, where we planned on staying the night. 

Those clouds meant business

The weather really turned rough then.  It started drizzling and we noticed that our windshield was starting to freeze.  The wipers were not clearing it off.  The ground outside was starting to get a coat of icy sleet.  Of course, living in California, we never get much rain and don’t realize we need new windshield wipers, until we drive in the rain.  Charlie had taken the car in to our mechanic to make sure everything was working and the oil was changed, etc. before this over-3,000-mile trip.  But, the wipers were not changed.  We didn’t even think to ask.

We thought the windshield fluid would help to dissolve the ice since it doesn’t freeze.  Unfortunately, one side, the driver’s side, of course, was blocked or frozen and would not spray.  We stopped for gas and scraped off the ice.  We also bought some more wiper fluid to have in the car, just in case.  The temperature dropped to 29 degrees.

As we got closer to Ft. Worth, the temperature came up above freezing and we had no more problems with the wipers.  It was raining, but no ice.  We got to our hotel and got the cats and Sheila fed and settled down. 

Sheila helping to tidy up Jackson's face

Jonesie

They are such good travelers, especially Jonesie.  He just gets to he room, checks it out and moves right in.  Jonesie is 3 years old and went with us in the RV when we crossed country two years ago.  Jackson is younger, 8 months, and this was his first trip ever.  But, he was getting the hang of it.  He was better each night that we stopped.  We were hoping that Jonesie would teach him how to do it.

The next morning when we left the hotel, it was cold, but not REAL cold.  We were on our way to stay in Lakeland, TN that night.  That’s just west of Memphis, TN.  We really liked it there.  The hotel was nice and the cats and Sheila were getting into the routine pretty well.  The weather had improved too.

The next morning it was in the 30's, but it was a nice sunny drive to Gastonia, NC, where we thought we had reservations.  Apparently something happened and we did not have reservations after all.  We needed pet-friendly hotels and preferably something that had easy access.  We had had ground floors so far since we had so much to unload from the car each night! 

Therefore, it was probably a blessing in disguise that we didn’t have reservations at this hotel.  It was the kind of hotel that we would have had to bring everything in through the lobby.  Lots of work that we didn’t need.  We declined their offer to stay for the night without a reservation.  They referred us to another hotel which was pet-friendly.  It turned out to be a much better plan.  We did have to pay extra for the pets, but it was worth it.  This would be our last night on the road.  We would be at grandma’s house the next night.

We arrived in Virginia in early afternoon.  Imagine our surprise and pleasure when we walked in the house and Mom had already put up her Christmas tree.  It was very pretty and since her home is always cozy and welcoming, we felt very relaxed to be there. 

We enjoyed Thanksgiving with the family.   One day, I drove down to NC to visit my sister and niece.  I spent the night and came back the next day.  It is only a couple of hours to drive.  While I was gone, Charlie and his mom had put up Christmas decorations outside and it looked so pretty.  No snow, but it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Me and Oliver (Mom's cat) checking out the lights

Jackson loved sleeping under the Christmas tree.

 More later.....

My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D _^..^_