Category: cats

Cats and people thoughts

There are some things that I have been thinking about that just never seem to end up in the story of our trip. Cats and helpful people. Traveling for a month in a very small motor home with a dog and two cats might sound like a recipe for some kind of disaster, or at least a tense moment or two. Instead it has been simple and fun. The cats both have taken to the routine as if they were born to it. I have their small cat cages with me, and whenever it is time to hook up, or if we are gassing up or doing anything that requires open doors I pop them in the cages. They seem to like it actually, and during the day if the cages are open as we are driving they go in them to sleep and feel comfortable in a safe space.

During the days on the road, they are free to roam around the motor home and Jeremy will come and sit in my lap or perch on the dashboard to watch the passing scenery. Teddy usually hangs out in his cage or in the dog bed for the daytime and then happily jumps on the bed for nights. He loves to be by the open window and smell the outdoors and watch whatever magical things are running around in the moonlight. I also brought their bigger crate that I can set up outside on a picnic table when we are doing something outside and they love to sit in there and watch all the birds and whatever else is going on. Funny thing is that they also love to jump back into the safe motor home whenever they have been outside a bit. Every once in awhile, Jeremy especially will keep checking the doors to see if he can make an escape, but is easily discouraged if I speak strongly to him.

The cat box of course is the other thing that seems as though it could be a real pain, but I bought a special one that is deep and has a lid with a circular hole in the top. Someone uses it and I clean it, so things are always clean and nice, and the design of the box keeps litter from scattering as well. Cat people will understand this one for sure. I can’t believe just how easy it has been to travel with them. The other part that has been fun is that I have had more time to spend with them than I do when I am home working and I think that may be what they like about the whole thing as well.

People. I have experienced some really interesting people on this trip, especially in the south. Everyone seems really kind and really talkative. If I ask directions or for some kind of information, every one is willing to help, usually with long and complicated and very explicit directions, and then with some more conversation until I wonder if I will manage to get on my way. At the Laundromat where I walked in to read my maps, I was approached by an old guy in beat up clothes and a friendly smile who said, “Can I help? I used to be a cab driver around here” He then proceeded to give me careful directions as to how to get back to my campground without missing a step. He shook my had and patted my shoulder and it didn’t feel the least bit threatening. Today in San Antonio, several people offered helpful directions, and the one thing that is constant, is the length of time everyone is willing to take to explain and converse and talk at length after the simple directions are given. Friendly people are what I will remember of this trip I believe.

St James Island SC

After our lovely stay in Asheville we got up this morning and headed south on I-26 into South Carolina. The trip was uneventful, except for the drop in elevation from the North Carolina landscape into the low flat world of South Carolina. One really nice thing about SC are the Visitor Centers. The first one we encountered as we entered the state had impressive digital displays and really kind helpful people who made phone calls to be sure that our RV park had a place for us and gave us a ton of free maps and information.

Through the midsection of the state, I was unimpressed, except for the warm temperatures, things seemed fairly boring. There was a lot of pollution around Columbia, but we still enjoyed stopping for lunch at a rest area and eating outside in the warm sunshine.

We had a free camping night given to us by Mo’s family friend, Millie, so drove into Savannah looking for the Saint James Island County Park. After some circling around the bridges and rivers we finally found it. It was currently hosting one of the major attractions in the area, the Holiday Christmas Show. It was early enough in the afternoon that after we set up we drove down to Folly Beach and walked the Atlantic Ocean for the first time on the trip. There were a lot of vacation rentals on Folly beach, but we found a place to park with a parking meter for a buck and took the dog out to the water.

http://www.charlestoninsidersguide.com/festival-lights.php

When we drove back home, the Holiday Light Festival had begun so we got in free because we were camped there and drove slowly through the display with all the other locals. It was “magical” as Mo kept saying, lots of creativity and color and animation. The only bad part was the number of people driving diesel pickups very very slowly. Yuk, what a nasty smell.

The dog park was already closed because of the show so we planned that one for the next day. Dinner was something simple at home that I don’t remember now, as we usually eat cheese and crackers or something like that if we have a good lunch.

Asheville, North Carolina

Sunday Morning December 9 we woke up early ready to roll. It was supposed to be a short day but the fog and dreariness made it seem longer than the 300 miles we had planned to arrive in Asheville. We decided to get off the freeway, I-40, and travel a Tennessee Scenic Byway, 70. We laughed a lot about how 70N goes east and west, and 70S has nothing to do with south. In face we were on a couple of roads that say for instance 70 east and 441 south, and they are the same road. No wonder I get all mixed up east of the Mississippi. The drive was lovely though, in spite of the gray skies, and every once in awhile some thought of light tried to emerge. Later in the afternoon we went through Pigeon Forge, an historic town on the north side of the Great Smoky Mountains and couldn’t believe all the attractions that lined the highway on both sides for miles. It was in the vicinity of Dollywood and looked as though it was Disneyland on a highway with lots of traffic, even in the winter. I can’t imagine what a mess that place would be during the tourist seasons in June and October.

Onward via HWY 441 towards the park and came to another gateway town, although this one was a bit smaller, but still filled with shops and hotels and restaurants and tourists. Lots of really big resorts and a gondola with a view of the Smokies. Our first views of the Smokies were a surprise as well, because they are a lot bigger and steeper than I imagined them to be. We started to head for Asheville and then backtracked and decided to go over the mountains through the park. It was a truly gorgeous drive, even in the fog, but a bit hard to get pictures.

Finally arrived in Asheville and tried to find the Wal Mart that was our destination. I had directions from Google, but Asheville is really a mountain city with lots of roads that go in circles. It didn’t help that it was thick foggy weather, either. We got off the freeway a couple of times and finally gave up and called the wal mart for directions. Even then it was hard to find but when we finally did we went inside and thanked the two ladies that talked us in. Lots of laughter on that one, and thank goodness it was a walmart that allows parking overnight for travelers.

Traveling the Southern Routes in December

Saturday morning December 1, 2007
We are off and running on the big trip, the one we have waited for all year. This morning we left town at 6:45 even earlier than we had planned. This trip will be our maiden voyage with the cats along and it feels as though it will be just fine. Of course there has been a bit of adjustments.

Teddy did his meowing thing for a couple of hours but now it’s 930 in the morning and he seems to have finally settled down. Jeremy is here asleep in Moana’s lap feeling safe and cozy. Right away when I let him out of his cage he found Abby’s bed and decided that it felt like home. Teddy goes back into his cage for safety, probably because he likes being in those closed spaces.

It’s also taken a bit to get used to using the laptop and the wireless card. The computer kept turning off and I already broke the antenna off the card. For a bit of time, though, I had 5 bars and managed to get gas prices. We did really well, since we paid 3.19 and every thing else around there was more.

We had a glass of milk before we left and split a yogurt a bit ago, but hopefully won’t be eating all those big breakfasts that we do sometimes when we are traveling. It’s sunny and not too cold here on 99, smoggy and hazy as usual for the central valley. The highway is pretty rough in some places but here between Fresno and Bakersfield it has smoothed out some.
I can’t believe that after all these years of fantasizing about the motorhome and a tracker that I am living it right now. A whole month on the road. So many fun things ahead of us, and who knows what kind of adventures are waiting. We will be staying with Mo’s friends in Tehachapi tonight and then tomorrow will be a rather long day crossing the deserts on the way to Flagstaff. For the moment it’s still California, and still doesn’t really feel like a real trip. The leaves are off the orchards, or turning dull brown, sometimes you can smell grapes, other time fertilizers and waste plants. Trash along the highway. I am wondering just how much that will change as we cross the country. 99 certainly isn’t the most picturesque of roads, even though it has such a long history in my life, and Mo’s life as well. We have both traveled this road for close to 50 years or more. Some things change, others never do. For instance, there are only a couple of ways to get from one end of California to the other. Old refrigerators in a huge junkyard, lots of manufactured home and rv dealers, stupid people on cell phones who don’t know how to onramp the freeways. Good thing Mo is such a good driver. Cats sleeping sun in the windows, clouds over the misty sierras in the east. Onward.

Caesar laid to rest on Frog Day at Hauser Lake

from the past:Sweet Caesar, my old cat, was laid to rest yesterday. The vet came to my house and put him gently to sleep while I held him in my arms. The neighbor kids came last night and brought some flowers for his grave. He is buried behind the bench that Bel made for our garden. I couldn’t sit on that bench for a moment, and he would be there, purring loudly, wanting to be in my lap, but content if I only wanted him beside me.


He represents unconditional love to me, total commitment, he was always there, beside me in the bed, always choosing to be in whatever space I was in at the moment. Except the car, perhaps, which he hated. Which is why is insisted that the vet come to my house. No more car rides, Caesar, no more trips to the vet.
I know you are beside me in spirit, as always.

at Hauser 2001

There is a very special day here on the lake…I call it “Frog Day”. It happens every spring, usually around mid-March, but this year I kept listening for them and they didn’t come. On this very wondrous day, the sun comes out and everything smells different, it is warm and the night is slow in coming for a change. The earth smells like damp moss and dirt and all things magic going on unseen. Then, late in the evening, after it is dark, I hear the frogs. The lake has finally melted and warmed enough that they are awake.  It is a sound like childhood, or neighborhoods never lived in but remembered, a sound of new beginnings and summers to come.  It is as reassuring as the sun rising every morning when it comes.  Las night, sitting on the bench Bel made by Caesar’s grave, I heard the frogs.  It was Frog Day.