After all the prep to get ready for camping and then a 2 hour drive on the 401, it was with great relief that we pulled into our site and got set up without any ‘opportunities’ for problem solving. That moment, (once the satellite is tuned in), is a moment of ‘peaceful easy feeling’. We often celebrate with a cold adult beverage but Thursday I was happy with a gatorade :-)
There were a few people already here to get reacquainted with - I left Carm chatting while I walked the dogs. It was a disaster! They were every which way and I ended up wrapped in leashes many times. Not a pretty sight! I’m happy to say that the walking is getting much better with very little pulling and more straight line walking ;-) Practice, practice, practice.
It wasn’t too long before Mark and Marilyn arrived and soon after that Andy and Edna. Christine and Peter arrived just in time for the supper outing to RAXX. I will admit to having a little tear when I hugged Edna - it’s their last camping trip so it’s unlikely that we’ll see them again. We went to Panama with them in 2019 which was a blast. We closed the Wheelhouse every night, enjoying their company and the music.
RAXX, for ribs, was the supper destination for the first night. I opted to stay back with the dogs and had a quiet evening with a long walk.
Our internet is outragously expensive so I’m taking the opportunity to wean myself off so much Facebook! There are times when I automatically open FB to scroll and read stupid stuff but I’m trying to switch that to reading… so I have a few books going on. A trashy one for when I have no attention span, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ for those times when I’ve got a bit more going on in my brain and finally ‘Everyone Lies’ which I think was recommended by Jo Ellen. It’s a super interesting book about mining for data, with an emphasis on what they can glean from the billions of Google searches.
The dogs have been surprisingly good! Lupa reacts a bit when she sees other dogs but settles down quickly. She hasn’t been barking at people or, when we are out for a walk, at other dogs. When she’s perched on the back of the sofa is another matter… but she’s getting better :-)
This morning was a pancake breakfast up at the hall so we left the dogs alone… I set up my ‘Parrot’ app that captures sound so I’d know what went on. Well! Surprisingly there was just one short (20s) outburst of howling when we first left but then, aside for a few tiny cries from Lupa, it was silent!!! Hurrah!!!
Anyway, they are doing great so I’m really pleased. I think that this week of exposure to other dogs is going to help our agility :-)
(update - it’s the weekend so there’s a fair number of children which Lupa does react to… they freak her out big time. It makes me wonder if something happened before we got her. She was already 13 weeks and I harbour a suspicion that someone with rambunctious kids adopted her and returned her)
So, what did I forget? Hair gel and sunscreen for my face. And ketchup. Luckily there’s a Shoppers Drug Mart and Food Basics within a 15 minute drive, so we stuck the dogs in the back of the truck and went for a drive. It poured while we were gone but the rain held off for the supper gathering at our place - we were 8 people so it would have been a crush inside! Andy, Edna, Mar, Marilyn, Gary, and Cindy gathered around 2 picnic tables for a long supper and chat.
While we were sitting there after supper I brought the dogs out on leash for a little walk and then joined back in the conversation with the dogs snuffling around the picnic table (on their leashes). At one point Carm said ‘oh look! Those people down there have a little schnauzer like Lupa’. We saw it a few times as we were chatting. And then Lupa trotted up without her harness! It was her that we saw 😱 Gosh! It’s lucky she found her way back cause it was ages that she was gone…
That harness will go in the garbage!
Luckily in my ‘over-preparedness’ (is that a word?), I packed another style of harness that should be impossible to slip out of.
We’ve walked and walked and walked! The dogs are already exhausted, and for that matter, so am I!
About the ketchup… Carm could only get a giant bottle which isn’t ideal. Sadly, when I was putting it away I found… you guessed it… a little bottle of ketchup!
Awesome!
“getting to our site without any problems”
“seeing old friends”
“checking out the recording app and seeing very little barking or howling!”
“the dogs getting better at walking on leash”
“using forgotten leashes which are great - I’ll order 2 more for the car when we get home”
“ribs”
“meeting new people”
“being inside the camper listening to other people laughing and having fun but not feeling left out or sad at all!”
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