Petey Takes a Road Trip

John and I had resigned ourselves to not taking a vacation this year.  There were several very good reasons for this, not the least of which being Petey.  He is just too much to be left with anyone.  He is beyond high maintenance now.  We could not leave him with anyone knowing the damage he would likely cause.  We also knew that boarding him would be a death sentence for him.  He would not endure such as that. 

A couple of weeks ago, however, John ran across a pet friendly lake resort.  The prices, even with the pet fee, were very reasonable.  It was a gamble on a lot of levels to take Petey to an unknown place.  Just going to a place sight unseen is a gamble in and of itself.  Adding Petey is a whole new dimension.  We knew already that he is bad in the car.  We knew already that he does not like water.  Yet we forged ahead.

We (I) gave Petey 1 1/2 of his doggie Valium before heading out the morning of our trip.  He fights it so much, that I started about 2 hours before time to leave, giving him small doses at a time.  I was hoping the effect would sneak up on him and he'd be asleep by time to leave.  That didn't happen.  He was pretty mellow for most of the ride.  The trip was just over 2 hours driving time, and he finally conked out just before arriving.  John was fearful that I'd overdosed the dog and kept asking if he was still breathing.  He was.

We got to the lake and found a sweet little family run area that was much like taking a step back in time.  No cell phones, no wifi, but there were pay phones, more than one.  The cabins were built in the early 1950's.

On the inside the rooms made a circle, which Petey loved.  Or at least he walked it constantly.

We were quite surprised how much of the Petey we once knew returned on this trip.  He was feisty and fun, except for the part when we were actually on the lake.

That is him in the boat trying to hide.  Otherwise, he did seem to enjoy himself until the last night of the trip.  That is a post for another day.  In the meantime, here are a couple of shots of the lake and Petey from our week.