I Love Trips

One thing we've quickly realized about Bailey is that she is perfect for our lifestyle. By that, I mean she loves to travel. It doesn't matter if it's a quick trip to the store, a ride around town, or a 6 hour road trip, she has been nothing but happy to tag along.

Well, this past weekend, we discovered that the six hour road-trip worked. Based on the little time we'd had in the car thus far, I figured she would sleep a lot. After all, she's a girl after my own heart, and something about the perfect purr of an engine puts me to sleep. Whether we would need to stop every hundred miles for bathroom breaks, have enough playtime, or any number of other things were unknown to us.

We get in the car and go. She visited both of us (the carrier opens on both ends, and conveniently fits between the two front seats, making a tunnel for her to walk back and forth between us), then passed out. Big surprise. One thing that impressed me is that she limited her food and water intake, as if she knew that doing so would cause her to need to stop less, thus making her a better travel companion. I've traveled with a lot of people and animals in my lifetime, and I have to say that very few got this concept. Old men are the worst. Bailey is the best. No whining, no going in the car, just napping, playing, and watching the open road go by.

The funniest part happened on the way home. The more comfortable Bailey gets, the more she wants to push the limits of what she's doing. On the way up, most of the sleeping occurred in the carrier. Towards the end, she started napping on Steph's lap, and finally, in Steph's arms. On the way home, however, she decided to explore new sleeping places. She started in Steph's arms, while I was driving. After a while, we switched off drivers and Steph took the wheel. Bailey decided that her vantage point would be better if she climbed up Steph. She took her position on Steph's chest by the window. About two minutes of looking out was all that it took for her to fall over asleep. She collapsed in Steph's arms and started snoring. Next thing we know, in her ever restless state, she has climbed up on Steph's shoulder and has her head on the back of the seat. This didn't last long either, and Bailey nuzzled her way down Steph's back, rear end still up on Steph's shoulders, and fell asleep upside down, completely squished between Steph and the seat. How she found this comfortable is beyond me, but she stayed like that for a good half hour. Strangest thing I've ever seen, but amusing, nonetheless.