Day One of the Great Escape

 Day one of the journey south has been pretty uneventful. Minor things have happened to keep things hopping. I woke the driver in plenty of time to hit the road early. Last night I put all the last minute things in a box and collared up the canines. Changed the cat litter and filled the cat feeder. Cats are pretty self sufficient, you know.

I imagine Martha, the boy cat, might enjoy his time alone. I hope he doesn't host a wild party in my absence! It took both of us to harness Mr. BoJangles and I did not realize until this morning when I was trying to put on his leash that we had it upside down. I thought it looked funny, but trying to catch him again was impossible. He was indignant and ran wildly through the house and falling to the floor and trying to rub the harness off.

This morning he was not cooperating as I tried to turn his harness around to hook the leash on. I grabbed the other three leashes and headed to the motor home to get them on board. Cujo has increased his girth since last wearing his harness, so we chose the choke chain for him. He doesn't run far from me in any event if he does get loose. Same for Eddie. Must be why I did not notice that Toni Louise had chewed her harness strap. One good yank from her and she was free.

I coaxed and cajoled and yelled the magic word "treat", then threatened and told her what a bad girl she was. She stayed just out of my reach and would turn, look at me and grin her goofy grin. HeWho came up on the golf cart and she hopped on with nary a glance at me!

We settled her in and the trip got underway. My doxies assumed their normal positions next to me and Bo was busy running from window to window, stopping long enough to heave up his stomach contents occasionally. Then HeWho is the driver hit the rumble strips and Toni launcher herself at my chest and dug her claws into my shoulders.

She associated the noise with thunder and she is afraid of thunder. I had to hold her for awhile until she calmed down and finally put her on the couch with the rest of the dogs. Cujo is always tucked next to my leg and has never been challenged. Eddie was next to Cujo and decided to lay his sweet head on my knee. He is such a gentle soul, my Eddie.

Next thing you know, Toni has nosed Eddie out of his spot and taken over my lap again. Her legs are freakishly long and bony and she will not simpy sit still. Always moving and digging her knees and elbows into my ample flesh. It hurts! She will throw her head up suddenly and hit my chin or a cheek bone. I will have a black eye tomorrow.

We had to stop at a Walmart to buy Toni a new harness and get some food to prepare for our nourishment. We were in Illinois and it was a super Walmart. No Carts were available.  I asked the greeter wearing his mask under his nose about a cart and he just stood there and said they didn't have anyone available to bring them in. 

One would think that a worker just standing there to greet shoppers, which he was failing to do, would take it upon himself to go out and gather a few carts for the shoppers he was not greeting to use. He was not a young person with an attitude. He was closer to my age and obviously has little enthusiasm for his job. I doubt he is a participant in the morning Walmart cheer session. When I started working in the pharmacy at Walmart, I immediately declined to participate in that cheer myself. But the manager was quite charismatic. He never demanded participation, but I found myself joining in on a couple of them. He was good at his job and the employees responded likewise and it was a team effort. This store in Illinois needs a better manager.

We arrived at the campground just south of Nashville with plenty of daylight left. I leashed up the dogs while HeWho registered. Upon parking at our site, the step stopped working, making the step to the ground a doozy! I managed to dismount with my dignity intact and walk my dogs and watch them take care of business. Getting back in was not as easy. In my younger days I would have just grabbed the handle and pulled myself up. Good thing my name is not Grace, because it was not graceful. HeWho loves me put his hands on my ample derrierre and sort of shoved me up. And yes, there were people around. Next purchase with be a small step stool than can be stashed next to the passenger seat in case I need to get up and down again.

Tomorrow we will be at the State Fair campground in Hiawassee. Only a little over 200 miles tomorrow. Time to close my eyes and lay me down to sleep.