On Saturday, May 17th, we left Oceanside California and set off for Phoenix Arizona where I was giving a seminar on canine structure and how it relates to performance. My broken knee was healing well but we hadn’t done any traveling since February. The gypsy in my was getting antsy for a change of scenery but I love Southern California so I was filled with mixed emotions. The temperature was climbing so I was leaning towards feeling OK about heading for the Pacific NW for the summer. The rains would soon be slowing and the sun shining on our 55 acre farm where we would anchor for the next six months.
We had stayed in one place so long, the black widows had built homes in the Global Warmer slide out nooks and crannies. YUK! I HATE black widows!!! I told Mel (suggested really) that he buy some bug spray and kill the suckers before we brought them home but that never happened. Perhaps I will be able to convince him to do so on the way home. I don’t know if BWs can live in the PNW but I sure don’t want to be the vessel that brings them, like the brown rats that made it to America aboard ships!
The seminar went well and most seemed to like what I had to say. It was a GREAT group of folks for sure!!! You can’t make everyone happy though and I did see a few tightly folded arms in the group but, for the most part, what I had to say was well received. Next stop on the seminar tour is Kent Washington on June 8th.
On our way back from Phoenix, the temperatures rose to 120 degrees in the desert! The GW overheated and a loud alarm sounded whenever the engine temperature reached more than 225. We had to stop to rest her and let her cool down and then would start off again. I don’t know how people live in the hot desert for the summer months! I sure couldn’t do it. I don’t know how you even take the dogs to potty without burning their little footies!
We drove as far as Castaic California and stopped for the night at a large RV park near the I-5 freeway. We have stayed there in the past and it is fine except that there are so many big trees the rooftop antenna won’t pick up any signals. It is TV season finale time so Mel had to put out the portable dish and he was very tired and grumpy.
There were lots of waskuwy wabbitts there so the girlz were happy. Isabella sits in the driver’s seat and yips at them. Millie hears the Call of the Wild and really wants out of the GW to run and chase them. Every time we return home to the farm after a long trip, Millie stays out for hours and hours just wandering the fenced property and reliving her days of being the feral dog. When she has had enough, she makes her way back to the GW and scratches at the door. She is a very happy girl! No matter what the temperature, Millie loves to lie outside in the sun and survey her domain for hours on end. You can take the dog out of the wild but you can never take the wild out of the dog. In a week, when we get home to Washington, Millie will be in heaven once again.
We are now headed to Santa Nella California, the home of Pea Soup Andersen’s. We LOVE stopping there and getting the Travelers’ Special. It is all you can eat pea soup, bread and a large drink. I always buy cases of pea soup and tomato soup to take home. Mel grumbles for days about it but it is my favorite! We will spend the night in Woodland, California at the Walmart. We don’t stay in Walmarts much anymore but this one has a great field where the dogs can run and I can throw the ball. Then we will be off to Eugene, Oregon for a four day trial and to see Uncle Jef and Auntie Rossie for the first time since last November! Even though Uncle Jef and I talk on the phone several times a day, It will be nice seeing him again in person and listen to him tease me about how fat I am and how old Mel is. Nothing like good friends to make you feel great about yourself!
Eugene is our favorite trial location. There is a place called Pizza Research Institute that makes the best pizza in the Universe! Jef and Rossie are also vegans like us so we buy lots of vegan pizzas and cookies and eat until we can’t move. They put things on the pizzas like corn on the cob and peaches and walnuts. Uncle Jef’s favorite is the potato pear pizza. Mel & I love them all but Mel especially loves the cranberry cookies! We eat cold pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner for four days! It is pure heaven!
Then it is home again to Washington and back to the farm. It will be nice to see our kids and grandkids once again after our long journey.
Helen, Mel & The Horrible Hooligans
www.jility.com
