Rusty's Excellent Adventure - 2021
By Rusty
Prologue
We were among those fortunate people who didn’t contract COVID but, like everyone, our lives were affected in many ways. Among them was the decision to forego our annual migration to our summer cottage in Pennsylvania. For me, it was the first time in 74 years that I wouldn’t see the lake.
One of the few good things that happened to us as a result of the lockdown was Rusty. When our last dog, Lindsey, died over 10 years ago, we decided against getting another dog because we’d been traveling so much. Because of COVID and some health problems that were expected to limit our travels, we rescued Rusty, the most delightful Chihuahua that God ever created.
Because we were unsure how Rusty would take to travel, we decided to make a beeline rather than doing our normal wandering as we headed East. We needn’t have worried; he was delightful.
The night before we left, our friends, Karyl and George, invited us for dinner, and they asked Rusty to keep a journal of his travels. I’ve decided to post that in lieu of my own. Here is what Rusty wrote. (OK, I helped him a bit with the spelling.)
Wednesday, June 9 – Chaos in Sun City
For several days, things in our house were very confusing. Mommy and Daddy had been piling things on the bed in the guest room and, today, they started packing everything into the car.
Thursday, June 10 - Home to Santa Rosa, NM
I was confused when Daddy folded up my crate and put it into the back of the car. He put my bed on the back seat. Is that where I’m supposed to sleep from now on??
When we got in the car, I was afraid that maybe we were going to that place where a man sticks needles in me. After we’d been in the car for a while, though, I decided that maybe that’s not where we were going, but I was really confused.
We went on a big road where there weren’t many houses. We were going really fast, and we were passing lots of cars. I was confused and nervous, so I was looking out all of the windows and even climbed into the back seat for a better view. I wanted to sit on Daddy’s lap, but he wouldn’t let me. Is he mad at me? It was all very confusing.
There were lots of those plants with those needles that Daddy said were cacti, but after a while, we went up a long hill and, suddenly, there were no more of those big ones with arms.
After a while longer, Daddy stopped for gas and arranged some things so I could easily move between Mommy’s lap and the back seat. Since he’d put my bed back there, that was nice.
Eventually, Daddy turned onto another big road, and after a while, they stopped at a place they called Gallup. Traffic there was terrible, but they stopped at Burger King. Mommy went inside and bought food that we all ate in the car.
Later, we arrived at a big building that Mommy said was a La Quinta hotel in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Daddy took a lot of our things from the car into a big room. He set up my crate by their bed and put my bed into it. Then, they left me alone and went away. When they came back, Mommy gave me some hamburger she brought back with her. It was really good.
I don’t think Mommy and Daddy slept very well, ‘cause they kept turning over all night long. Maybe they’re confused, too.
Friday, June 11- Santa Rosa, NM to Springfield, MO
We were up very early, Daddy took me out for a walk and then after Mommy got dressed, she took me out again and soon, Mommy had taken me to a grassy area, but when we headed for the car, she tripped and fell. At about that time, Daddy came out of the hotel with a cart full of our things. He rushed over to pick her up.
Soon we were on the highway again. It seemed to me it might be another long day, but by this time I relaxed, and I split my time between Mommy’s lap and the back seat. I kept trying to crawl onto Daddy’s lap, but he still wouldn’t let me sit there. He usually likes me to sit on his lap; what did I do wrong?
After a while, as I was sleeping on Mommy’s lap, I woke up and smelled something very strange I popped my head up, looked out of the window and saw LOTS of big, black animals that Mommy said were called cows. She said we were near a place called Amarillo. I guess I know where last night’s hamburger came from.
When we got to another hotel, Daddy said it was a Drury Inn in Springfield, Missouri. He again put lots of our things onto a cart, but this time we had two rooms, one with a bed and another with a couch and TV. I was happy that Daddy put my crate by their bed again.
Again they left me for a while, but when they returned, Mommy brought me my dinner. After a while, she went into the bedroom, and I sat with Daddy while he read. Then we both went to bed.
Saturday June 12 – Springfield, MO to Dayton, OH
This wasn’t a very good day. Again, Daddy took me out while Mommy started to get dressed, then, Mommy took me for a walk while Daddy packed up and brought our things down.
Right after we left the hotel, so much water started falling from the sky that Daddy said he was having trouble seeing the road. It was scary, but didn’t last long.
We crossed a huge bridge over what Daddy called the Mississippi River. It was very different from the rivers near Sun City. For one thing, it was a LOT bigger. Even more strange, it was filled with WATER. That’s just weird!
When we got near a place called Indianapolis, Daddy left the highway because he said there was a big traffic jam ahead. For a while, we enjoyed the peace of a back road, but then that got bad, and we were in even worse trouble. There were several long periods when we just didn’t move at all. Daddy was mad and then Mommy was mad at him for being mad. I just stayed quiet so they wouldn’t be mad at me!
When we stopped for the night, Daddy said we were at a Drury Inn and Suites in Dayton, Ohio. We were supposed to be at the hotel early, but we were late because of the traffic jams. There were some big events in town, so the lobby and dining room were filled with loud people. That didn’t do much to calm Mommy and Daddy down!
Eventually, though we got to our rooms and, again, Daddy put my crate in the room with their bed. Then they went out for a while and brought back some food for me.
Again, I stayed up with Daddy when Mommy went to bed. I like that. I think Daddy does, too.
Sunday, June 13 – Dayton, OH to Wrighter Lake, PA
We were up and on the road early again. Everything looks so much different here. The trees are different and later in the day, we saw LOTS of tiny mountains all over. They were very close to the road, and there were so many that the roads twisted and turned between them.
Daddy said we’d be using a highway called I-86. Because it’s relatively new, there were not many cars, so Daddy was really happy. Unfortunately, when we stopped so Mommy could use the bathroom, she fell again and hurt herself so much that there we blood all over her face. She cried a lot and I felt bad for her, so I sat quietly on her lap so she could pet me. That always makes her feel better.
We stopped at a big store so Mommy could get food and then drove on some really twisty, narrow roads to a tiny house by a lake, which looks like a big field full of water. I didn’t know that much water existed!
They said this would be our home for a while. It’s really weird here; the road is made out of stones, everything smells and looks so different and there’s not a cactus in sight. I guess I’ll get used to it, though.
Summer in Pennsylvania
The house here is really tiny, but I like it. Daddy made a gate and put what he called chicken wire around the deck in front of the house so I can be outside alone. I never get to do that at home, and I like it.
Mommy and Daddy’s friends, “Uncle” Allen and Betty came to see us a lot and Betty brought me some toys. They are very nice, and I understand why Mommy and Daddy like them.
My Uncle Tom was at the lake quite often and usually had dinner with us when he was here. I really like him, and I think he likes me, too as he was very nice to me. I sat on his lap a lot.
A couple of weeks after we got here, we took another, much shorter drive to visit my brother, Steve and his family near Philadelphia. They have three dogs, so things in their house were a bit hectic. Micah is really old, so he wasn’t much interested in playing, but Leo and Jimmy were great fun. They had toys, but Mommy brought even more, and Krista and Steve gave me one so there were lots of toys to play with. Of course, whenever one of us wanted to play with a toy, the others wanted the same one! We dogs are like that. I think people can be like that, too.
Whenever the humans went out, Mommy or Daddy put me in my crate so I wouldn’t get into trouble. I didn’t like that at all; why can the other dogs play while I’m locked up? It was fun being there, but soon we returned to our tiny house by the lake.
The longer I stay here, the more I realize how different it is from Sun City. It’s colder, there are a LOT more of those white things that Daddy calls clouds in the sky and, on many days, the sky is dark, and you can’t see the sun at all.
Water fell from the sky a lot, sometimes for day after day, and sometimes it was accompanied by bright flashes and loud noises. One night when that was happening, all the lights went out and Daddy lit candles so we could see. We couldn’t watch TV, either; it was very strange and was that way until we went to bed.
On the other hand, the nice days are really pretty, and Daddy spends a lot of his time on the deck and on the dock by the lake. Many mornings after I brought him back from his walk, he went out on the lake in a tiny blue boat that he calls a kayak.
I took Mommy and Daddy for many walks, and I did a lot of sniffing because everything smells so weird. I had to mark my territory often, too, ‘cause there are many strange animals here.
This has been a nice change, but water falls from the sky almost every day. Daddy calls that rain, and he doesn’t seem to like so much of it. One day as I was taking Daddy for a walk, it started raining really hard and I was getting very wet. I don’t like that at all, so I ran back to the house, dragging Daddy behind me. I had to drag him because he is getting old.
The rain and cold temperature is getting to me. Daddy, who always wears shorts and short-sleeve shirts in the summer, often wears long pants, and long sleeve shirts. He often even wears a sweater, a sweatshirt or even a jacket. Who ever heard of wearing such things in the summer? I think I’m ready to go home; I know that Mommy is!
Saturday, August 14 – Our Last Day at the Lake
I knew something was up because Mommy and Daddy ran around all day packing things into the car. Yesterday was beautiful, and Daddy had said it would be hard to leave. Today, it was cloudy and cold, and he said that would make leaving much easier.
Late in the afternoon, Daddy went to the farm for his last fresh corn of the year and said the farmer had just brought a load in from the field. He says it’s wonderful, but I don’t get it; I hate vegetables!
Sunday, August 15 – Wrighter Lake, PA to Dayton, OH
Daddy's friend, Alexa, woke Mommy and Daddy when it was still almost dark outside. When I took Daddy for his morning walk, the sky was clear, and the lake was really smooth. Daddy said it looked like a mirror. He was disappointed that he couldn’t take one last ride in his kayak, but he said we needed to get going.
As we got going, it was really hard to see, because of something Daddy called fog, so he drove slowly along the tiny roads to the big highway. At one point, there was one of those big animals with long legs, a white tail and a face like mine just standing in the middle of the road, so Daddy had to stop the car; I’m glad we had not been going fast!
The first part of the drive was nice, as the sun came out and we were on that I-86 again, but later, the clouds came back and traffic got pretty bad, so Daddy got all tensed again. I think he’d have felt better if I could have sat on his lap, but I knew he doesn’t want me there when we’re in the car, so I didn’t even try.
We stayed in that hotel that had been so crowded the last time, but this time it was not crowded at all. Daddy said that was why we waited until Sunday to leave. What’s a Sunday?
Mommy brought me some chicken for my dinner.
Monday, August 16 - Dayton, OH to Springfield, MO
Today was a day when we’d have to pass through that terrible construction we’d encountered on the way out. Daddy had checked on it during the summer and said we’d have to get going early to miss it. So, we were up early again, but it was worth it as we had few problems. The day started cloudy again, but the sun came out before we crossed that big bridge over the big river filed with water.
We stopped at the same hotel we’d stayed in on the way out, but because we’d left early and had few problems, we got there early. Daddy said something about a time zone change (whatever that means) and that meant we were even earlier, so Mommy and Daddy watched a show on TV before they went to dinner.
Mommy brought back some hot dogs for me. I like that better than chicken.
Tuesday, August 17 - Springfield, MO to Amarillo, TX
It was not quite so early when we left, but it was raining again and it kept getting harder and harder. Pretty soon, it rained so hard that all the cars started going really slowly and it was so loud! I was scared, and I think Mommy and Daddy were scared, too.
Eventually it stopped and we continued without a lot of problems. The hotel was another Drury, but it was bigger than the others, I think.
Mommy brought me hot dogs for dinner again.
Wednesday, August 18 - Amarillo, TX to Home
This was as really long day. At one point, everyone was going really slowly, and Mommy noticed that there were many, many large RV’s driving slowly in the right lane. Most were pulling cars and had Florida plates and stickers from a cross-country RV club. It took a very long time to pass them all. By the time we got past them, it was time for lunch in Gallup, but Daddy didn’t want to stop because then the “yo-yos”, as he called them, would pass us by again.
When we got onto Arizona, the sky got very dark, and it began raining again. It wasn’t as bad as yesterday, but still pretty bad. It continued on and off until we were almost home. By the time we got home, though, the sun was shining again.
I was so excited to be home, I ran around and around. I love my house in Sun City!