Category: journey

Day Two

Day Two

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Up early and waiting for the free breakfast. Might as well take advantage as a 7 hour drive ahead except for pee stops for Seven.  Leaving Coldwater and headed towards St. Louis, Missouri. One does not see much of the country while on the highway and I did not stop to take any pictures. Should have and could have but I did not. A bit silly really as it is doubtful that I will do the same journey again. Then again, never say never. I must admit that the US has great pit stops along their state highways. Well posted, clean and very convenient. Sure makes it easier so you don’t have to get off the highway and search for a toilet!! Some have more to offer than others but for Seven and I they were just what we needed.  Some even offer poop bags for your dogs.

The second day while cruising along, what was alarming to me was the number of deer that were road kills in Michigan and Indiana. This was only on a small section of highways that criss cross the country but I stopped counting at 20, it was too depressing.  Such beautiful animals. I can only hope that death was immediate and they did not suffer.

Always checking the gas and I kept saying to myself, oh must stop and get gas at the next sign. Well I kept saying that and then well lets say I had to get off the highway and get gas. I followed the sign which led me to nowhere. Now what? I was in a small town, a village really and had no idea where they went for gas. I stopped a young man on the street and asked. He says well my Jesus you are the second person this week to ask me the same thing. He then gives me the directions which take me out of this village and up the big hill, you can’t miss it he says. Well when someone says that to me, I invariably miss it and yes I missed it. Making a u-turn on a dirt road that goes nowhere, I found the one and only gas station. I look at the pumps and man are they old. So do I pay before or just pump the gas. Haha, didn’t realize that you had to press the lever down or was it up. Got my gas, bought some beer for later and paid my bill and then realized I was in bible .country. Praise the Lord.  Now to find the highway again. We only had a couple of hours of daylight left before our next Red Roof Inn.

Pulled into the motel and discover they have an indoor pool and I don’t have a swim suit. Too bad, that would have been great.  It’s time for Seven to go out. We take a walk down this road which I thought would have been quiet. It was until a guy in his supped up pick up came barreling down the road. Poor Seven freaked and he damn well near strangled himself trying to get away. Needless to say we did not take that road again.

Grab some food, bed time and end of day two.

sleep time
Leaving Day

Leaving Day

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The day finally arrived. The day to head out. The day to leave what I called home for 18 years. I didn’t cry. I couldn’t. I had to look forward not back. One last look of the road, Mill Road, Holt, East Gwillimbury. Seven and I will miss you.

mill road

The night before I hardly slept. I had a long journey ahead and it was something that I had never done before. I was as nervous as hell. I hate highways and here I was about to embark on a 4500km road trip. Crazy. Absolutely insane. Finally when Seven saw his bed, toys and food bowls, he knew he was coming too. One last look. One last phone call. Door locked. Shaking like a leaf, I buckled up, started the car and made that one last drive up the hill. Holy shit Steph what have you done?

As I said I hate highways so I flatly refused to take the 401 to Sarnia. Thought I would take it easy for the first few hours. All was good until construction around Stratford, Ontario. In Ontario and most of Canada there are two seasons on the road – construction or snow.  A mere 2 hours into my trip I am lost. Great start. And it won’t be the last time as you will see. Back on track and here I am on the 401, the road I did not want to be on. Have to make up time now, so the highway was the only answer. Amazingly the road was not busy then the bridge to the USA and traffic came to a halt, I had heard stories of line-ups for hours. This was a breeze and only took half an hour to get to the check point.

Passport, papers for the dog. Did I have it all? Yes of course. When travelling solo, you check and recheck and check again. US customs. Where you headed miss he asks while looking at my passport and the interior of the car. Mexico, I say. I see you have a dog, can you open the door please ma’am. Here a lump came in my throat as Seven does not fair well with strangers as I told you. Seven looked at him and froze. He closed the door. Do you have dog food? Yes. May I see it. Well that was kind of awkward but I dragged his bag of food for mr. customs officer to look at. What’s in it? Shit man it’s dog food I felt like saying. I said I think it’s made in the US and he says well it’s got French on the package so I doubt it. It has lamb in it. That is not allowed. Oh great I am thinking. Make sure you leave none in the US, take it all to Mexico. Seriously dude? And with that we were now in the US and motoring to our first stop at the Red Roof Inn Coldwater, Michigan.

into the USA

By the time we arrived at the hotel after getting lost again exhausted and starving. Seven was also totally confused.  Ordered pizza, turned on the TV, took Seven for a pee and tried to settle down for a good nights sleep. This was a whole new thing for Seven and I, being on a leash. Try telling a dog who has had free roam of 200 acres to suddenly be told hey it’s pee time, lets go. He was not amused.

The end of day one.

Saying Good-Bye

Saying Good-Bye

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Saying good-bye is always hard. But I feel it is never good-bye, more like hasta pronto – see you soon. The word(s) good-bye are far too final. Saying good-bye was really difficult. That was what it was like for Seven and I, difficult.  For me it was saying good-bye to a place I called home for 18 years. That’s a long time. That house was my nest. I felt comfortable, perhaps too much, perhaps I had become too complacent and it was time to move on. For Seven, I don’t know. That house was all he knew. He knew every corner, every tree, every bush, every smell. As shown in my last post he had his circle. It was his domain. But he had me and that’s all that mattered. As long as he was with me, he was home, minus the smells and circle of course.

We spent many days tripping around. Visiting friends, visiting those old trails. I knew it was a good-bye, a hasta pronto. did Seven? Perhaps because our home was not what he accustomed to. A tad more chaotic than usual. He knew something was up, but what?

Part of me did not want to leave. I did not want to leave that comfortable little bubble I had created over the last two decades. Leaving my best friends, my stronghold. It was scary. Perhaps Seven read my fears. I am sure he did. But we were one and we were going to do this together no matter how confusing it was for him and I. Think about it, how many people do you know have sold, thrown away, packed up and left their bubble at 68? Not many I bet. Call me crazy, call me brave but it was time. It was time to say good-bye, hasta pronto, time to burst that bubble and seek out a new life.

There were tears and big ones in private. There were many hugs. There was caution and there was help. I cannot thank my friends and my mum enough for giving me the confidence to do it. Shit how could I back out now? I was left with a few boxes, I would have nowhere to live. It was time to take that bull by the horn and do it!

Seven had no idea where we were going. Did I? Yes I had a place to go but that is a name on a map. A destination is another thing altogether. And that destination is something that Seven and I will find together.

the bubble for 18 years
hasta pronto Devon and Delphi
The Beginning

The Beginning

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Many many moons ago while staying at a wonderful drovers inn in the Brecon Beacons I began talking with a local farmer. My interest in Border Collies had only just begun and I asked him many questions.  He thought it was amusing that the dogs he and his family had been using for generations to help herd their sheep were called Border Collies. His one statement still sticks in my mind with his wonderful Welsh accent “border collies, that’s what you call them? They be working dogs to me”.  He did in fact offer me one, free.  But, alas I could not take up his offer, I was returning to Canada in only a matter of days. But from that day forward, I knew that one day I would be blessed to have one as a friend.

My first friend Deacon came to me from a farm in eastern Ontario, where they were hand picked to become herders. Deacon was a beauty, handsome and as gentle as they come. I have so many pictures of him but not digital – yes that’s how long ago it was. Sadly when he was about 2 years old, he had a seizure. I was able to curb the seizures with daily drugs but before he turned 4, he had a grand mal and never recovered. His ashes were spread with his best friend Cally, a very old calico over the fields that he loved to roam.

Before leaving the city of Toronto while Deacon was still here, Delphi came into our lives. The three of us packed our bags and headed north. Days were spent roaming the fields that surrounded the farm house. We were in heaven. When Deacon passed, Delphi was noticeably sad, alone. Yes she tolerated the cats and loved me but something was missing. Then along came Devon. They were inseparable for 13 years.  Best friends. They went everywhere with me, loved everyone (well almost) and everyone loved them.  Delphi was the boss, everyone including any dog that came to visit. She was the matriarch. Devon, well all he wanted to do was to play football (soccer) and he was damn good at it.  They are both buried at the farm that I called home for 18 years.  Bless them, they will always be in my heart.

Now my life was empty. I found myself alone. No dogs, no cats, alone. I tried to cope. Mice that now seemed to find their way into my home just didn’t fill the gap. I lasted 6 months.

And along came Seven.  That was now almost 4 years ago and what a journey we have had already and it is only just beginning.

 

 

always together
best friends

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