Texas Visit and Then Home… by Pippin

First, I want to say that I hope I NEVER AGAIN have to take a LOOOONNNNGGG old trip in a FLYING, ROARING, MONSTER!!! I don’t know HOW BG and Gimli could STAND IT!!!


Grammy kept saying that I was too much like my Mama, Dott, and of a “nervous type,” but I think that I was just being smart, and THEY were the ones that were being stupid to trust that thing! I would get up behind Papa on my seat and we were SO HIGH up off of the ground and just FLYING past the trees…!!!


We were INSIDE of this ROARING MONSTER and I was sure that we were going to be digested at ANY MINUTE!!! It wasn’t to bad at first, but then, after that STORM, it was so MUCH WORSE!!!


I refused to eat or drink anything unless Papa put the Monster to sleep (Grammy: turned off the key)… Even Grammy couldn’t get me to calm down when she held me. They called the MONSTER a “truck,” but I ride all the time with Papa in his pick-up truck, and it’s NOTHING like that thing was!


I finally found a little hidey hole to stay in whenever the Monster was roaring. I went back into the lower bunk of the sleeper, got between the side wall, and crawled UNDER the extra foam mattress they had put on top of the regular one that came with the Monster. I had the Monster’s stomach wall at my tush, the wall of the refrigerator cabinet on my side and was surrounded by the mattresses, one on top and one on the bottom. It dimmed the noise and held me tight so I felt safe.


I guess that it made Grammy nervous though, because she was afraid I’d smother or get squished (like when BG would jump up on the bed to sleep or go to the perch above the fridge.) She finally put a box in to be sure that there was an air hole for me to breathe through.


I love Papa a LOT and we got really close, but I DIDN’T like that truck! At least we DID get fed REALLY good stuff, AND we had a blast playing with our cousin dogs and Grammy and Papa’s grandsons! Now, on with the trip…


We all slept in late again on Saturday… until about 8 a.m. and then Papa woke up the monster and we drove two and a half more hours to get to Katy, TX, where their daughter lives. Since whoever “The Law” is, says you have to take a full day’s break every once in a while when you drive a big truck, Papa worked it out so that we took that break during a time when we were in our Auntie Rach’s town.


We got a really nice room at the La Quinta there in Katy, and boy, did it feel GREAT to have a quiet, nice room that didn’t roar and shake! Grammy and Papa LOVE staying at La Quinta’s whenever they have to stay overnight somewhere because they ALWAYS allow pets (usually 2)… it is part of their overall policy, and they are all over the country and in most any half-way decent sized town, so you can find them easily.


Papa called Auntie Rach to tell her that we had a room and were it was, while Grammy got cleaned up (Grammy was SOOO GLAD to finally have time to get a shower and wash her hair… said it felt like HEAVEN!!!... ) Human’s are SO WEIRD!!! WE thought they were getting to finally have a decent odor to them! Mama Dott would have enjoyed rolling on them to pick up their new perfume, I think!


Auntie Rach, Unca Leo, and the grandkids showed up before Grammy even got a chance to get finished dressing because they were so happy we were there! The grandkids were SO MUCH FUN!!! They really like us and we got to like them A LOT too! We waited while Papa got cleaned up and then went with them to pick up some food and go to their house to eat lunch. (Below is Nathan, Michael and Kogan--the oldest)






They have two BIG dogs! We got introduced to our cousins, Shyanne and Heidi. Shyanne is a Boxer/ Lab mix, and Heidi is a Lab/Shepherd mix (they think). Both are rescue dogs and were pretty thin when they got them from a Lab rescue in the Houston area.


Shyanne got her name because she was SO shy and afraid of any quick movements or loud noises when they got her. They are both so healthy and happy now that they have a forever home where their people love and care for them.



They also have a “C-A-T” named Sam… actually, there were rumors that they had two, but the one doesn’t like strangers and stayed upstairs. Sam is a big old grey tiger striped cat with HUGE green eyes, and he wasn’t afraid of us or anything. He stayed where he could see us most of the time, and he and Gimli kind of “stalked” each other most of the afternoon.

We had so much FUN running and playing in their big backyard with the boys and our cousins! I didn’t have any problems with the kids, but it took me a while to warm up to those big cousins.



Gimli didn’t have any problems with them AT ALL and was very shortly FRAPPING and wrestling with them!



Unca BG was a bit leery of our big cousins, too, at first, and I waited until he accepted them before going out to play.




I stayed under Papa’s chair or in his lap for a long time and just watched.


Our cousins shared some of their food from their HUGE Doggy Dishes when it got cold outside and we went in. By evening, we were totally WIPED OUT, and spent most of dinner time sacked out under the table in the Kitchen Nook. Grammy and Papa had a great visit and really enjoyed themselves, too.


Late that evening, they took us back to the Hotel, and Papa and I crashed on the bed, while Grammy hooked up the laptop that Robert had let her borrow, and got caught up on her email a bit. I think we ALL slept better than we had in a whole week that night!!!


Sunday, we got up late and got packed up, then met with Auntie’s family again and the people all had breakfast (Grammy had fed us earlier, but we mostly opted to find out what they were going to bring us from THEIR breakfasts… we got a bit spoiled that way.)


We played with the three boys again for a while in the big lot where we parked the truck while Grammy and Papa got their things stowed away in it again, and then everyone had to have flashy thing pictures… (We like Grammy’s video camera because it doesn’t blind you and you don’t have to stay still)
























Unca Leo helped Papa put in a new windshield wiper as we had WORN OUT the old one!



We really HATED to load up into the Monster again… at least I did! Grammy says that another reason that she loves Papa is that he would have been so gentle to pick Grandma OC up and down each time we stopped so that she could get out… if she had gone with us and not been at Mango Minster…

Unca BG and Gimli showed everyone how they could climb Grammy’s ladder and get in mostly by themselves by that point. (I’m littler and Dad says it’s easier to just pick me up… except when I don’t want to go and roll over onto my back…)


We left Katy, TX at about 1 p.m. and drove to a little past Fort Stockton, TX that night. Monday, we drove from there to Las Cruses, New Mexico and Tuesday, we drove the rest of the way from there, through L.A. in another storm, to Bakersfield 1630 miles… 5211 miles in all!

GrandPaw met us and helped us to unload and clean the truck so that it could be turned in to the Ryder Truck Rental place. We drove to a Sonic and ate (we had hamburgers, too) and then drove the hour or so home, arriving at midnight.


We were SO HAPPY to be home again and to say Hi to Mama Dott, our “Ear Assassin,” sister, Mercy (by the way, don’t believe GrandPaw Robert when he tells you that I am the “Ear Assassin” and just didn’t have time to attack Gimli’s ears…) and Auntie Sadie!!!



We danced and played with them while our people unloaded the car of the essentials they needed to bring in (food, bedding, etc.) and finally all dropped in bed around 1 a.m.


Hope you enjoyed traveling with us on our BIG Road Trip!!! (Even if it WAS in a Roaring, Flying, Monster…!)