On The Road--The Essentials

Road trip! Most of my 4-legged buddies aren't too thrilled when they hear this phrase uttered by their 2-leggeds, but I woof at the chance to jump in the old Subaru and head out on the highway. Oh, the simple life.  Well, sort of.  She loves road trips and gushes on about the journey being as interesting/fun as the destination.  He is less inclined to pack up and head out as he much prefers to sit on the deck logged onto NY Times site.  Sometimes it just amazes me that these two are still together!  But I digress...on to the actual trip--or at least the pre-trip routine!  

What are considered essential or non-essential goods in limited physical space clearly differs from 4-legged to two-legged.  I like a soft bed (she bought me a waterproof one in her favorite color--green), my Panda, a stable bowl of ice water (we live in the desert after all), and plenty of treats.  What is packed by her (for me) in 3 canvas bags retrieved from academic conferences: Bag #1 contains greenies (to clean my teeth), soy pig ears (she avoids animal products like rawhides or authentic pig ears), and vast quantities of organic, natural, and no doubt, fair trade treats baked by some monks in an Idaho monastery.  Maybe that last item isn't exactly true, but you get the picture on treats.  She also carefully (obsessively?) packs individual meals (breakfast and dinner include the daily dose of  glucosamine/chondroitin, fish and flaxseed oil--for my dermatitis, and an allergy tablet--now you know; I have some unknown allergies that necessity medicine about 1/2 the year) in small plastic zip-locked bags.  All food-related items are packed in bag #1 with my light blue food dish neatly stacked inside a large dark blue water bowl.  

Bag #2 consists of all the medical supplies she apparently has on hand (this no doubt stems from the Vancouver incident which left a 3 inch scar on one of my front legs--this would be way too much digression): phisoderm antibacterial soap, antiseptic /antimicrobial skin cleaner, hydrocortisone salve, neosporin, medicated antibacterial creme (there appears to be some redundancy built into this bag), elastic bandages, non-stick pads, new-skin liquid bandage, water resistant adhesive tape, cotton balls and rounds, scissors, nail clippers, nail files, two different kinds of tweezers, buhach powder (99.1% of which consists "solely of powdered Pyrethrum flowers") allegedly to repel fleas, mosquitos and anything else less then 1/4 inch in size, and some wet wipes with dogs pictured on the plastic container.  Done yet?  Not quite.

Bag #3 holds all other items she deems necessary for road trips: 12-ft tie-0ut cable, 2 leashes ("one is never enough"), reflective vest (despite the fact I don't like to wear orange), my pony blanket, another fleece blanket, 2 sheets to cover the waterproof bed, two gallon containers of water, 16 oz. REI bottle (for hiking), 1 ball (baseball, softball, or golf ball), 1 flippy, two of my favorite stuffed toys (Panda and White Bear are the best for traveling), and a pack or 2 or biobags--for the obvious reason (she likes that they are 100% compostable and biodegradable and "good for the planet," he frequently points out that although corn-based, they are made in Norway--so the transportation "costs" alone outweigh the bags compostability.)  

All this and my bed packed into the back of a Subaru.  Is there even room for a chihuahua?  Actually, she carefully arranges all travel materials (she has this routine down pat) so that nothing rolls or spills, and everything uncomfortable is packed beneath layers of bedding.  I benefit greatly from her military upbringing which enables her to pack the entire back of the Subaru in less then 5 minutes--including tucking me in!

After packing the second seats to the brim, including a cooler containing my mini-carrots, we head off to the coast at a not-so-early-hour:  8 a.m.  You can fairly smell the excitement of our impending adventures in the air!  But I have better things to do, as I arrange sheets and blankets around on the waterproof canvas bed, give a good sniff into the wind, a final dog sigh, and settle down into rocking bliss for an 8-hr-filled-with-many-stops-parks-walks-drive. Oregon coast here I (and her and him) come!