Have Tote and Truck, Will Travel

"Savor every moment in Saugatuck/Douglas, where the majestic dunes rise and the gorgeous sun sets over a decidedly unique and unspoiled town. The natural beauty of the lakeshore community will steal your heart and renew your spirit, as it has for millions of visitors since the early 1900s." That's what the visitors guide says about the place where Mom and Dad took Levi on his first day trip, and it's true what the guide says. Every time Mom and Dad go there and look out over the deep blue of Lake Michigan a level of peace comes over them.

Levi wasn't too crazy about sand but he sure liked driftwood and seagulls. And he liked the dandelions outside of the antique mall better than he liked shopping inside. It's a dog friendly place but I didn't like shopping there any better than Levi did, but I indulged my humans---as he will learn to do---because it's part of the ritual of going to Lake Michigan.

The day they went with Levi it was on the cool side, a perfect day to see how well he'd travel, Mom said. He did good, didn't upchuck his kibble or get out of sorts when he had to stay in his crate when they ate lunch at a quaint mommy/pappy restaurant on the outskirts of town. He peed and pooped in full view of the boardwalk lined with boats just as I had done many times.

Mom had fixed Levi a nice little area in the back of the Blazer for him to stay. It was covered with several layers of quilt and it had a fence of cardboard that kept him from wandering into the area where the wheelchair is stowed away. All and all, my folks were happy that Levi turned out to be such a good little traveler.

Back in my day of traveling, we always took my rolling dog house but that got sold after my dad's stroke because it was too big for Mom to want to drive. Too bad. Levi would have liked that. My angel brother up here, Jason, says I had it made. When he traveled with Mom and Dad they used a pickup truck and a tent. And when they traveled with Sarah, their first poodle, they traveled with just a pick up truck and they sleep in the back end. It did have a cap over the truck bed but there still wasn't much room back there. She told me a story about a time when they were sleeping at a rest area and a bat flew in the window of the cap. She was very brave and chased it back and forth, running over Mom and Dad, until it left the same way it came in. Jason, Sarah and I could swap travel stories all night and still not run out.

Ah, but back to the present day.... Mom gets a little crazy with it comes to canvas bags. She can't resist buying them and any old excuse will do. Like the one in the photo here. She bought it to tote all of Levi's stuff for when they go on day trips, to puppy classes, and visiting. It's actually one made for two legged babies but don't tell Mom. Sometimes she thinks Levi is a human baby. I had a regular little suitcase for my travel days, the same one Jason used for camping. It got packed first and taken out first so we'd always know we were included in the fun. That suitcase is an antique now and it still sits on a shelve in the closet with some of my old stuff still inside. ©
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