Ten-Day Count Down

There are only 10 days left until we hit the road. Some adjustments to the original plan: not the ultimate road trip, longer stays along the way, and camping. We only have six weeks for our road trip, so the ultimate is out. But the good news is that having a trial run will help with the future ultimate road trip. Kenobi and I have only been together about a year now, and we’ve never traveled. There is a lot to be learned with a trial run.

Car harnesses for dogs. My head is spinning about this one thing alone. Many claim to have been crash tested. Notice how they mention the results of those tests? It’s all how you word it. Only one harness passed the crash test: Sleepypod Clickit Utility. It works a lot like a child car seat, and straps the dog to the backseat in much the same way. OK, so in a crash, this harness will keep my dog from being injured. It is expensive and sold out. Frustrating. However, I have a difficult time imagining my dog sitting upright in the backseat for hours and hours on a road trip, not being able to  put his nose out the window or lie down. This is a long trip that will require three to four hours of driving at a time. Thinking about it, I don’t think that there is a way to allow freedom and keep dogs save in crashes. The only thing I can say is that a harness that restricts movement of the dog in a specific location of the car does help in the sense that the dog cannot bother the driver while on the road. That is helpful and can reduce accidents.

Pet friendly hotels. So far, most have a 25 lb limit. That doesn’t seem so friendly to Kenobi and me. We phoned a B&B at Niagra Falls and asked the owner directly. He asked some reasonable questions: Is he well behaved? Does he shed? What type of dog is he? After a brief conversation, the owner agreed to let him stay. Positive thoughts with us, please, as we check in and during our stay! He is well-behaved and a very kind and sweet dog. My worry is that we’ll be in a new space, so this will be Kenobi’s first stay outside his own home. We won’t know til we’re in the situation.

I’m frantic about getting everything done. Kenobi’s taking it all in stride and thinks it’s very funny to unpack things. We’re getting it together, though.