We're off!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Just wanted to let everyone know. Terry and I are leaving tomorrow morning - heading Southwest in the motorhome for the holidays. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and be nice and warm....hopefully!

Tubby and Peanut have their buddy Anne coming in to look after them, and I've also asked a friend of ours to stop by and spend some time with them so they don't get too lonely. I really wish we could take them along. :( One of these days.......

I will have my laptop with, and I'm going to try and get on from time to time, but I'll only have my cell phone modem - which connects at a whopping 19.2 kbs :rolleyes: - so you may not hear from me until after the 1st. Unless of course we find a campground that has telephone connections at all sites (PLEASE let us find a campground like that!!!).

So Tubby and Peanut made sure I said Merry Christmas to all their furry friends out there - and I wanted to say the same to all my skin friends too. ;) :D

See you all next year!

Oh and Tubby wanted to send a special Christmas wish to his sweet Samantha. He said he will be thinking of her often, when he's awake that is, and will dream of her when he's asleep. :p

Merry Christmas!!!!

[aly]

I hope you guys have a safe and happy trip! We'll let you know if Tubby and Peanut sneak on the computer while you're gone :D

[ChrisH]

Best wishes for safe trip and hope you have a great time!

A Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year to you and yours!

[Randi]

All our best wishes for a safe trip and a wonderful Christmas. I do hope you'll be able to log on! :D Have a great time! ;)

[zippy-kat]

Merry Christmas!

If you swing by NM, let me know! ;)

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Thanks everyone. I'm just about to leave work. Tonya, we'll be staying 2 nights at Pancho Villa State Park. Not sure of the nearest big city, but it's way down by the border, then after that we'll be off to Arizona - Bisbee, Tombstone then Phoenix - then I'll fly home from Phoenix and Terry will driver the motorhome back...all by himself. :( Wonder if he'll be able to find the way without his trusty navigator in the passenger seat. ;) :)

See you all!

[NoahsMommy]

I hope you have lots of fun!! Enjoy, be safe and have a wonderful Christmas!

[Karen]

Have a wonderful trip! Do check in now and again, if you can!

A standard "going on a trip" statement, by my family, is "We're off ... but you KNEW that!"

[Miss Meow]

Have a great Christmas and even better holiday :)

[Vermontcat]

Originally posted by Tubby & Peanut's Mom
Oh and Tubby wanted to send a special Christmas wish to his sweet Samantha. He said he will be thinking of her often, when he's awake that is, and will dream of her when he's asleep. :p

Merry Christmas!!!!

It is a good thing I got a chance to check on Pet Talk today! Samantha will be laying under our Christmas tree or on her favorite chair next to it and dreaming of her sweet Tubby.
I hope you do get to check in with Pet Talk because I may get to post some photos of her with the tree in the next few days.

I hope you enjoy your trip, my in-laws have already taken their motorhome down to Florida for the winter. It will be our first Christmas without them!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM SAMANTHA AND ME!!! :) ;)

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Well, we're back. :( Had a great trip and it's always hard coming back to work after such a relaxing vacation. And most of the time we were in parts of the country where there are very few people and even less traffic, so coming back to Chicago, traffic and the old rat race was particularly difficult this time. :(

Tubby and Peanut missed us terribly, but have gotten over it by spending some quality time on top of us - on the couch, in bed, you name it, wherever we are lately, they are. Terry started calling Peanut his little Puppycat because she's been following him around like a little puppydog since he got home. :D

Unfortunately I wasn't able to check in at all while we were gone. The first problem was that in order to use a cell phone modem, you have to have a signal for your cell phone and the first place we went - Big Bend National Park in Texas - there was not only no signal, but no service whatsoever! It was awful not being able to get online, but it was so quiet and peaceful there - not even any jets flying over or anything - I just loved it and would go back in a heartbeat.

Then we get to New Mexico - way down by the border - and 95% of the time I tried to use my cell phone I got some message in Spanish which I had no clue what they were trying to say, but then it would cut me off. I think maybe it was trying to connect me to a Mexican cell or something - so no luck getting online there.

Then we were off to Tombstone, AZ. Got a signal there, and even got online, but the thing is so slow that by the time I got done collecting email (which is a whole other frustrating story) my battery was dead and can't use a cell phone modem with a dead battery. :rolleyes:

Once, only once, I did actually connect to the Cat of the Day, but it wouldn't let me on PT at all. Kept giving me the standard "can't find the page" error. I think the thing is just too slow and pages time out before they can be fully opened. :( Again the battery was running low, so I just gave up on the whole thing. I figured I was on vacation and it was all too frustrating to be dealt with while I was supposed to be enjoying myself, so I just put the computer and cell phone away for the rest of the trip.

Other than that we had a really great trip with only minor problems with the motorhome, which I guess is to be expected when you put 4200 miles on in 2 weeks. :)

It sure is good to be back to PT though, and to hear all the pet antics that I missed while we were gone. :)

And Samantha, Tubby said to say Hi, he missed you and he will have some new pictures for you soon. :)

[Edwina's Secretary]

Debbie...

Welcome home! You sure did cover ALOT of ground in two weeks!

I think they are harder to find in rural areas but Internet Cafes are a great way to check in when traveling (and inexpensive as well!)

We thought of you this weekend when we went to the boat and RV Show at McCormick Place. Some of those RVs have just about everything!

And mark your calendar...the Arlington Raceway Pet Show is March 15 and 16!

[Vermontcat]

Samantha says she is so happy that her golden-eyed Tubby is back! ;)

[Cataholic]

Welcome back! Why couldn't Tubby and Peanut go with you guys? They coulda seen the country!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by Edwina's Secretary
Debbie...
I think they are harder to find in rural areas but Internet Cafes are a great way to check in when traveling (and inexpensive as well!)

We thought of you this weekend when we went to the boat and RV Show at McCormick Place. Some of those RVs have just about everything!

And mark your calendar...the Arlington Raceway Pet Show is March 15 and 16!

The one internet cafe we found was in Tombstone, AZ. We got in about 4:00 and by the time we were leveled and hooked up it was after 5:00, and he closed at 5:00. :( And it just so happened that the next day was Sunday - and he wasn't open on Sunday at all. :( I thought "What kind of internet cafe is this that is closed on Saturday night and Sunday?" But there was nothing I could do about it. Looked like kind of a neat place though.

Yeah, we've got a lot of stuff on our MH (motorhome), but it's amazing what some of these come with. Getting into some of the real high-end ones and you can get plasma screen TV's, all kinds of fancy instant hot water that will never run out, awnings that will automatically retract when it gets too windy, basement doors that lock with a remote like your car doors and pretty much anything else you can think of. :)

Got my calendar marked! I was going to look that up one of these days, so now I guess I don't need to. :) I also got something for you and something for Edwina along the way (just some small nothing kind of things that made me think of you so I bought them), so are you thinking about going to the open house your favorite shelter is having...on the 20th I think you said? We could meet there, hang out for a bit to support the shelter then have lunch or something.:)

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by Vermontcat
Samantha says she is so happy that her golden-eyed Tubby is back! ;)

Tubby is resting up right now, I'm sure:rolleyes:, so we can have a good photo session one of these days. ;) :D


Originally posted by Cataholic
Welcome back! Why couldn't Tubby and Peanut go with you guys? They coulda seen the country!

I wish they could come with. The problem is that Terry is too worried about them and he would be a basket case thinking that they are scared with the different surroundings, noise from the engine and movement while we're actually driving. I've tried convincing him they would be fine, but we haven't actually gotten to the point of taking them yet.

He did say that maybe sometime this summer when we go to a local state park for the weekend we can do a trial run. I know Tubby would be fine because he's always been an adventurous sort :), but Peanut is such a scaredy cat that I would worry about her - and I can't bring Tubby and leave her home alone because then I'd worry that she was lonely, so it's kind of a catch 22. I think she'll be fine as long as she has her little hiding spot (which I will be sure to provide), and once we get there and plant it for the weekend, I'm sure she'll be fine.

There are other things to consider like what do we do with them when we go someplace and leave the motorhome (most parks don't allow animals alone in rv's - and for good reason) and where do we put the litter box - not to mention the food and water bowls and if we're outside most of the time, is it fair to them to put them through all this then keep them inside while we're outside, and so on.

We're probably making way too much of it all and should just throw them in the motorhome and go, but they are both getting on in years and we don't want to upset them too much unneccessarily. Hopefully we'll get them out this summer though, because I really miss them while we're gone, and they miss us too. :)

[Logan]

I have told this story before, and I know that a motor home is very different from a pop up Skamper Camper, but, here I go again!

I lost my sweet Shrimp Boat because I thought she was miserable staying at home every time we went camping. We drove to a state park in SC, took Shrimp Boat and our Lab, Chuck, with us in the car, and when we got there, we took Shrimp Boat out and put her in the camper as soon as we got it set up. Nowadays, I would have used a cat carrrier, but back then, I didn't even know what a cat carrier was! She escaped out the door of the camper in the dead of night, when we were bringing things inside, and we never found her. I spent three days, knocking on camper doors, asking everyone I saw about my precious girl to no avail. She had tags with current information, but no one ever called.

Moral of the story.........I am with Terry. Leave Tubby and Peanut and when you get home, have a joyous reunion with them. I would never want anyone to go through the grief I did in 1989. Thankfully, Mimi joined me very quickly after the loss of Shrimp Boat, and boosted my spirits somewhat. And she is still with me today, at 13 1/2 years old. But I have never gotten over the guilt of losing her.

Glad you had a terrific trip, and welcome home!!

Logan

[lynnestankard]

Debbie - WELCOME HOME!! Sure missed you and am so pleased your back safe and sound, NOT as pleased as Tubby and Peanuts obviously - BUT pretty pleased!!

Lynne

[Edwina's Secretary]

so are you thinking about going to the open house your favorite shelter is having...on the 20th I think you said? We could meet there, hang out for a bit to support the shelter then have lunch or something.

I haven't heard anything and it isn't on their calendar yet. I'll have to call them and see how it is coming along.

The Red Door (http://http://www.reddoorshelter.org)

[NoahsMommy]

Sounds like you had a very nice time! Except for the motorhome getting hurt...

I tend to agree with leaving the kitties home. Losing them would be terrible. :(

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by Logan
Moral of the story.........I am with Terry. Leave Tubby and Peanut and when you get home, have a joyous reunion with them. I would never want anyone to go through the grief I did in 1989. Thankfully, Mimi joined me very quickly after the loss of Shrimp Boat, and boosted my spirits somewhat. And she is still with me today, at 13 1/2 years old. But I have never gotten over the guilt of losing her.

Glad you had a terrific trip, and welcome home!!

Logan

Thanks for the welcome back everyone. :)

And yes, this is one of the things I've thought of too, and one of the many reasons we haven't brought them along yet. I don't think it will be too much of a problem though, because Tubby knows what "NO" means and to stay away from the door when we're coming and going. I think he learned his lesson when I slammed a heavy door on his tail a few years back. (ouchie!) And Peanut never makes an attempt to run out the door - too scared I guess, but yes, I would be devastated if they did get out and got lost, especially at their ages, and Terry would be an absolute basket case for months to come.

So as you can see, there are many reasons why they haven't come along yet, and this is definitely one of them. There really is much more involved than just dumping them in the motorhome and taking them with, and we just haven't gotten to that stage yet.

[Logan]

I hope you know I was not trying to lecture.........only speaking from a miserable experience, that 13 years later, I have still not gotten over. I'm just glad you are home, safe and sound, and your babies are still with you!!!! :D

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

No problem, Logan. I appreciate the words of wisdom as I always try and learn from others' experiences - although, unfortunately, sometimes the stubbornness I inherited from my father dictates that I learn on my own. ;) :rolleyes:

And I know you only had Tubby's, Peanut's and my well being in mind, and I appreciate you caring enough to take the time to share a bad experience of yours in the hopes of keeping T & P and me from having to go through the same thing. :)