A Moving Tale

Oh - I do crack myself up. This is certainly a (short) little tale about moving and I suppose it could be moving as well, I don't know. I was moved to tears at one point on my little journey but I'm getting ahead of myself saying all that. I just thought I'd share a short little story of how I packed up my pup and headed for Virginia this weekend.

I left at 2 on Friday from my former workplace, BMG...that's right, former. I guess for the time being I am gainfully unemployed. Oh well, that's what happens when you move...at least sometimes. I had never taken Watson much further than a trip to Meridian and back and while he certainly does love the car, I wasn't sure what he'd think of being made to ride in the car for hours on end and I was honestly a little anxious that he'd get car sick or cry or just go absolutely nuts.

He did none of those things - but - he started the journey strapped into his car seat and about thirty minutes into the ride, he decided he'd scale the backseat so that he could climb into the front seat and almost choked himself. Never losing my concentration on the road, I unhooked his collar from the car seat and he flopped into the front passenger seat. This was NOT what I'd planned but once he situated himself on the pillow and blanket I had tucked in the seat, he fell asleep and so I decided to avoid any other near death experiences that he could just stay right there.

Kind of hard to tell but that is Meridian in the rear view - it's the best I could do while DRIVING!

It started out so promising - he seemed peaceful & sleepy.....

Put on your cheesy grin!

He got so comfortable that I thought he was about to wriggle into the floor....

We made our first stop between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham; I didn't want to chance hitting traffic around Birmingham and having a dog that had to pee on my hands. I decided that the best plan of action would be to quickly run to the bathroom, leaving him in the car while I did that because the car would still be cool and then coming back to walk him, let him potty and have some water/treats/food. I only took about a 45 second bathroom break but I had all these visions on someone letting me have it when I came back to the car because I'd left my dog alone. No one did - probably because no one seemed to care. Watson also didn't care about drinking any water; all he wanted to do was explore but thankfully he hopped right back in the car when the time came. Silly little nut.

I was petting him and he laid on my hand...so I just let him "hold" my hand for a while....

The mountains smoking in Chattanooga after a short rain shower.

A rainbow in Chattanooga - so pretty! Also, what is with all the pet walk areas??

Again - had no interest in having any water. None whatsoever....

He thought he'd take the wheel after our second stop - ha!

We stopped for the night in Sweetwater, Tennessee - home of the Lost Sea Adventure, which I really want to do one day! I mean, an underground cavern with lakes??? That is basically the coolest. Our hotel was only about 45 minutes past Chattanooga so we got there before the sun went down; we were able to fill the car back up, get some supper (hey-o Burger King!) and take a walk around the hotel after supper so Watson could stretch his legs. It was pretty funny to watch him try to sort out exactly what was going on and what he was supposed to be doing - why were we in this strange room and was this where we would live now? He seemed unsure but he warmed up to chasing the lightning bugs out in the parking lot for sure, ha-ha. After watching two episodes of House Hunters (why do they always have like...1.5 million dollars to spend?!? Where do they find these people??) I went to bed and I supposed Watson did as well - he started the night on the bed with me and when I woke up at 6:45, he was asleep in his car seat across the room!

Oh Mom - I think this is our exit...turn here...take a right!

Perusing the parking lot at the Sweetwater Quality Inn....

The room was really nice - I was pleased. And I've just now realized it was decorated in red & green - hello Christmas colors!!!

The whole couch will be mine...all mine. Now go.

I honestly didn't intend to wake up at 6:45; I had my alarm set for 7:30 but I've been waking up earlier than usual all week this week - I'm sure it's some combination of excitement, anxiety and the like. I'll probably sleep till noon when Monday comes... Oh well, I digress. I got a blueberry pomegranate smoothie from McDonald's and we were on the road by 7:30! Watson obviously thought he'd been woken up far too early because he immediately curled up facing away from the sunshine and went to sleep - seriously, he's a hoot. Another serious thing though is that he is basically a road warrior - who knew? No complaints, whining, crying or issues from this pooch, he was totally chill the whole trip! We made our first stop past Knoxville; it was pretty short and sweet...then we crossed into Virginia and things really got fun!

Ugh - why are we up this early on a Saturday? And why are we in this car again?

The sun is blinding me....

The mountains beginning in East Tennessee....

And getting bigger in Virginia....

We made our final stop before the big push about twenty minutes outside of Roanoke (has nothing to do with the lost colony of Roanoke; that's in NC) where we had lunch and wandered around a little bit. Watson is such a social butterfly that he had to stop and greet every person we passed; most of them greeted him right back and he pranced around wagging his tail. After we ate and used the bathroom, we had just three hours to go before we made it to our new home in Virginia! I used my skills on the road to hold a cup for Watson while he drank out of it (yes, I'm that good...) and I also managed to reach behind me into his treat and toy container and manage to lay my hands on a bag of treats so he could have one as we cruised. I mean, can we talk about talented? And also, how about skilled at driving? Ha-ha! Yep, that's me!

Where is my combo meal?

The only way to have a hands-free lunch....attach him to your leg!

Mountains, mountains everywhere & curvy roads to boot! I love it!

Getting in his second or third afternoon nap....

Hmmm...what are those things over there? Large hills? 

At long last, we made the turn off of I-81 onto I-66 and after just a couple turns, we were driving up to our new place of residence! I can't believe how smoothly traveling with my pet went; Watson has always been a good dog and he just proved yet again on this trip how amazing a little guy he really is. All that's left for us to do now is start having adventures in Virginia!

That's us!