My Cross Country Adventure

It started out just fine. Most everything that we weren't using was already packed...but there was still so much left out. There were boxes everywhere. Big boxes, small boxes...tasty boxes!! I tried to take at least one bite out of all of them. During all the packing, Mom's favorite phrase became..."You don't know how much stuff you have til you have to move it!!"

The Plan:

That was the PLAN....now would you like to know what actually happened. Read on my friends and find out how even the BEST laid plans can get fouled up.

Sunday - January 12th

When Mike got home, they both got busy taking boxes and small furniture out to the truck. When one of the neighbors got home, he helped Mike carry out my favorite chew toys....the couch and the desk and other heavy stuff. You should have seen Mom's face when she had to pack up the computer. You could see her fingers twitching. I didn't know how she was gonna make it through the whole trip with out playing on the keyboard...heck, I didn't know how I was gonna make it through. I was worried about my Web Site and hoped it would be okay til we got to our new home.

It was getting late and COLD and Mike and Mom were getting tired and hungry. I think they finally realized they would have to wait til morning to finish. They decided to order a pizza and try to get some sleep. The appartment was so empty it echoed when I yipped. It was very strange, and I didn't even have my comfy flower pot and blankets to sleep in. I was trapped in that little carrier.

Monday - January 13th

Driving to the truck lot was an event for Mike, Kasey, Kera and Amie. They were right behind us and then all of a sudden they were gone. Mom thought maybe they went a different way, or they stopped at the store for a minute. She wanted to go back, but that truck was a lot bigger than a car and not very easy to turn around...you didn't just pull into someones driveway and back out. I convinced her it was best just to go on up to the lot and meet them there.

When we got there, Mom got all the paperwork done for the new truck. We waited and waited for Mike. Mom was starting to get worried. I could see that look in her eye. Then the man in the office came out to say there was a phone call for her. Yep, you guessed it...Mike. Mom didn't look too happy when she came back to the truck and started it. As we drove I recognized that we were headed back to where we lost Mike. I saw the car parked on a side road and yipped at Mom. I knew there was trouble but I didn't know how bad. Mom left me on the seat while she went to talk to Mike. I watched as he tried to move the car and it only went a few feet. The next thing I knew, the kitties were being put in the back near me. Mike and Mom got in the truck and we went back to the truck lot.

In Seattle in winter, the sun goes to bed early...about 4:30pm. When it does, it gets real cold real quick. The kitties and I stayed in the cab of the truck, while Mom and Mike unloaded one truck and loaded it into the other. Every now and then they would hop in the cab and turn on the heat. Seemed like the only thing they talked about was the car. They were trying to decide what to do with it. They finally agreed when they were done they would go up and try it again. If it didn't work, they would have to take all the stuff out of it and leave it behind. They finally finished reloading the truck about 8:30 or so. I could tell they were both very tired. I knew there was no way we would start our journey tonight.

When we went back to the car, it moved. Very slowly, but it moved. Mike put on the flashers and Mom followed him. They were able to get it up to the truck lot and park it. We found a motel a few blocks away and spent the night in Seattle. That motel room wasn't very nice but at least it was a place to sleep.

Tuesday - January 14th

We headed south on Interstate 5. By early afternoon we were in Oregon. We didn't hit any real bad traffic because the freeway didn't go directly through the cities. We got to southern Oregon after dark and we started going uphill. Up and up and up! Mom said we were going over mountains. It was spooky! It smelled funny. Mom said that the big trucks were burning out their brakes on the opposite side, going down. Then we got to the top and started going down. Mom had to shift into a lower gear but still had to keep braking. The extra weight of the packed truck and the car kept making us go faster.

When we got to the California border, Mom knew what to expect. And she was ready. She had taken all of us to the Vet to get Health Certificates for traveling. We stopped at what she called an Ag...Agri...Agricultural Entry Checkpoint (That's a lot to say for a little guy like me.) A lady came out of the little building to talk to Mom. The conversation went something like this:

"Where are you headed?"
"Kentucky."
"How long do you plan to be in California?"
"Overnight."
"Are you carrying and plants, fruits, vegetables or hoses?"
There is a hose in the back...it's not an outside hose, it's for the waterbed. We have two oranges right here.
"May I see them?" (She looked at the oranges and gave them back) "You have pet cages there in the back, what do you have in them?"
A cat, two kittens and a prairie dog. (Mom started to hand the Health Certificates to the lady.)
"You can't bring the prairie dog into California!" (This got my attention!)
I have his health certificate and we only want to spend the night in Eureka and keep going in the morning.
"We can't let you in. I need you to park the truck and bring him inside." (Now I was getting scared and hid under my blankets!)

Mom did as she was asked and the next thing you know, I am sitting on a counter in their office. The lady takes a lot of information on the truck and Mom's drivers licence and puts it into a computer. She explains that if Mom tried to hide me go into California a different way, we'd be caught. They would take me away and put Mom in jail. Mom assured her this would not happen. A nice man pulled out a book with lots of funny looking squiggly lines in it. Mom had one too...she called it a Map Atlas. He said he would find a way for us to head east without going through California.

Mike was really frustrated. All of a sudden, I heard him say, "California let's the Clampetts in, but they won't let a little prairie dog in? What kind of place is this?" (Later he admitted to Mom he wanted to say something else, but it wasn't nice and he didn't want to end up in jail.) Mom was told that no exotic pets of any kind (including ferets, pot bellied pigs, hedgehogs, chinchilla, cervals, even gerbils) are allowed in California without a special handlers permit, which you can only get if you are a resident. Well, Mom knew about the ferets but she didn't think there would be a problem just taking me THROUGH the state.

The man finally found a way for us to go. Mom had to sign some papers then the lady escorted us back to the freeway going north. We had to go back to Medford which was about 40+ miles north AND we had to go back over those mountains!

We found a Motel 6 and spent the night. We were all so tired. Now we were even further behind schedule. I couldn't wait to see what would happen tomorrow.

Wednesday - January 15th

Turns out I was right. There are two things that stand out about this portion of the trip. The road we were on at one point was nothing more than a paved path and we suddenly came to a point where there was a big orange sign. Mom stopped the truck and yelled..."ROAD CLOSED??????" We sat in the middle of the road not knowing what to do. There wasn't even enough room for us to turn around. A big truck finally came through the other way and told us it was ok to go through. It wasn't too bad. You could see that the road had been washed out from the rain and floods and mudslides a couple of weeks earlier. There were men working to fix it.

Things were pretty smooth for awhile. As we got to Eastern Oregon we saw less and less traffic. We were in the middle of some Antelope Wildlife Range. There was nothing around...no houses, no cars...not even an antelope. What we finally did see was that the road went straight up the side of a mountain. As we started to go up, we saw there was no guardrail on the side of the road. It was a very steep, narrow and winding road. Mike could look out his window...straight down. I knew Mike was scared cause he kept saying, "we're gonna die. I just know we are gonna go over the side." Mom was stressed and finally said "Mike just shut up. I'm scared to death and you're not helping." I went under my covers...I didn't want to see what was coming. I have to admit though, Mom did a good job getting us up that hill. AND, Mom apologized to Mike for telling him to shut up!

It was nice to finally get to Winnemucca, Nevada and civilization again. We got on Interstate 80 and decided to stop at Elko for the night. I think we were all happy to stop!

Thursday - January 16th

Friday - January 17th

Saturday - January 18th

Mom decided the rudest drivers live in Missouri. As we drove through Kansas City and St. Louis, people wouldn't let us change lanes, they were dodging around us and honking at us when we slowed down. Now come on. Here we are in a BIG yellow truck with a car behind us. These people couldn't give us a break? All I can say is I'm glad I don't live in either of those cities.

We ended up in Mt. Vernon, IL for the night. There was a lot of ice everywhere. I thought Mike was gonna drop me when he took us to the room because it was so slippery. Kera did her disappearing act again, but this time Mom wasn't worried. She knew right where to look.

Mom and Mike were so hungry, so Mike braved the ice and walked over to a fast food resturant. Mom told us we would be "Home" tomorrow!

Sunday - January 19th

I fell asleep for a little while. When I woke up we were in Lexington. Mom knew right where she was going. We got to our new apartment and I waited in the truck with Mike while Mom went to get the key.

The trip was over. Though we didn't get to see the people we wanted to along the way, we got there and we were safe. I was glad to know that soon I'd be back in my own cage with all my favorite toys and blankets. Traveling is fun, but I wouldn't want to make a career of it. And it's nice to know, Kentucky doesn't have anything against Prairie Dogs.