DR! Does CanAm Part I - The Drive

A small portion of DR! members hit the road and headed out for NAFA's CanAm tournament in Indianapolis, IN October 8, 9 & 10.  Some (Veronica & Stephen) were lucky and took to the skies.  Kathy & David have been touring the US so they started heading towards Indiana earlier in the week.

The others (myself, Kim and Duwain) loaded up ourselves, 8 dogs, 4 laptops (yes, Kim has 2), 3 iPods (and not the cute ones like iPod from TDR), 2 Garmins, flyball equipment, luggage, chairs, tables, etc. in the "band van."  We left early Wednesday morning to begin our trek to the tournament that would soon become a Guinness World Record for largest flyball tournament in the world.

Since I live, breath and eat flyball, I of course was ready to hit the road and get driving.  We (me) had planned to leave from my house at 7 AM Wednesday morning.  I loaded up crates, equipment and most everything I could several nights in advance.  At about 6:45am, I loaded up my dogs and waited.  About 6:55am, my phone rang.  It was Kim.

Apparently Duuuu-wain had left something back at his house in Buda, TX.  Homey say what???!!!  

Now I live in North Austin.  In rush hour traffic, a trip down and back could take hours.  So, being the lovable OCD, bossy, need-to-be on schedule gal that I am, I asked what it was . . .

Medicine for Eris

Well, that's good news!  Like every self respecting multiple dog owner, I have a supply-o-doggie drugs.   What kind of meds ? . . . Thyroid meds.

Damn, the one thing I don't have.

Then giggles ensued from the other end of the line.  Apparently my teammates found my unbridled enthusiasm a perfect opportunity to make a funny on me.  They were 5 minutes away.  Har-har-har.

Me: You guys suck.

A few minutes later, they pulled up and we loaded the rest of the luggage and 5 dogs.  After a quick stop at the gas station and then Starbucks, we hit the road and were on our way. 

Our first stop was in Temple (yes, only about an hour into our trip).  But it was for good reason . . . we stopped at the LaQuinta to get one of their nifty little books that listed locations all across the US.  We debated about joining the hotel-goers to partake in the continental breakfast, but since we were a bit behind schedule, decided against it (much to Kim's dismay) and continued on our route.

About noon or so, we stopped in a stripmall in some tiny Texas town for a dog break and lunch.  While Kim and Duwain were ordering their sandwiches, I went back outside to eat and wait with the dogs (we left the van doors open so the dogs wouldn't cook in the car).

 

Pic of the van taken when we were leaving Indiana, but you get the idea

 I was happily enjoying my 6" inch roastbeef sub when a female employee exited the Verizon store next to Subway and headed over towards me.  I prepared myself to answer the possible questions - "are these all your dogs" or "what kind of dogs are those" or even "are those show dogs" - you know, the regular questions when you travel with a big pack?  Well, she did not ask any of those.  What did she say? 

Are you taking those dogs to be euthanized?

Ummmm . . . what?

After I repeatedly assured her that these dogs were all loved and owned and not being transported to the "euthanasium" she went back to her store.  I suppose in this little town a big van, packed full of dogs and junk could only mean one thing . . . . Anyway, gotta give her props for willing to help pups in need.

The rest of the trip went pretty smoothly.  Most of it like this:

Kim catching some zzzzs

Haven't you guys learned to not to nap in the proximity of a camera?  Or at least do as I do and put a hood over your face.  Or else you'll get caught in the act.

Ahhh, Duwain doing what he does best - napping somewhere abouts Memphis, TN

Day 1 was done.  13 hours of driving with somewhere around 5 or 6 stops.  We ended up in Jackson, TN for the night (at a LaQuinta of course, good thing we stopped in Temple for the book!).  Stay tuned for our continued adventures to Indy!