Day 13 – Hagerstown, Maryland

Wow, what an exciting day!  No, I don’t mean that every day that we’re not hunkered down in the coach ripping off another 400 miles is exciting, I mean that this day was really fun!  To begin with, Don and I had a really good morning walk up into the woods above the Park, where there were lots of interesting plants and smells to investigate.  We encountered a couple of Yorkies who threatened to kill me while their boss lady had them on leash.  But when we later ran across them up in the woods, and they were off leash, they were as friendly as could be, and conducted a very thorough but gentle investigation of my persona.  We followed a rather steep path back down to the Park, and went down to the river bank, where we met some large and noisy geese.  I wanted to get to know them better, but they immediately set sail on the river, honking vigorously at me. 

After our walk, Don got the Ranger ready to hit the road, and we all piled in.  We had a brief stop in Hagerstown to refuel and get a quick wash of 2000 miles of dirt accumulation.  Thankfully, Don let me out of the truck before he did the wash, as he knows that I hate all the growling, hissing and spitting machinery in the car wash.  We headed south then toward Washington and Alexandria, Virginia, which was a long ride.  After a couple of hours, we pulled into the driveway of a lovely home, and I was introduced to a very lovely reddish coated Goldie lady by the name of Abby, who greeted me effusively with lots of kisses, like I was a long lost lover.  Her housemate, a Pekinese guy named Scooby, was also pleasantly welcoming, but Abby seemed like she had been waiting for me forever!  I was introduced to their humans, Doug and Kathy Halo, and their daughter Samantha, also known as Sammy.  They are old friends of Geri and Don, and Don told me that their first “date” was with these guys on their boat here in Alexandria, many dog years ago.  We were invited into their home, and Abby, as the perfect hostess, offered me some of her food immediately.  Naturally, I thought that this meant all of her food which was in a big bowl on the floor, and I gobbled quite a bit of it before Geri took it away from me. 

Now, you all know me to be kind of the strong, silent type, not given to a lot of effusiveness, but I have to admit that Abby’s exuberance was contagious, and I found myself enjoying and responding to her playfulness.  I was really having a good time with her!  We both got tired about the same time, and laid down together at the table where our people were sitting and talking.  The folks had a big lunch, and I heard them discussing the food that Doug had fixed, including what he called a torta, and Geri claimed was really a frittata, a dish with potatos, eggs, onions, and cheese.  The important thing is that Doug told Don how to make it, so I think we’ll be seeing it at home eventually. 

After lunch, Abby, Scooby and I socialized with all the folks, and Sammy took us out to the yard to keep us in touch with nature’s needs.  When we got back in the house, Abby offered me one of her treasured rawhide chews, which I gladly accepted.  Unfortunately, after I let her know that it was a particularly delicious specimen, she had second thoughts about her offer, and attempted to regain custody.  I was reluctant to accommodate her request, and retained ownership.  Our people had trooped down to the basement to see the magnificent recreation facility that Doug and Kathy had constructed, which included a home theater, a pool hall, a mini-casino, kitchen, and a truly awesome bar that Doug had designed and built with great craftsmanship.  Even I was impressed, and I let my attention wander from the chew.  Abby took the occasion to try to snatch it from my mouth, but I was determined to retain possession.  Scooby attempted to adjudicate the confrontation, and succeeded in making Abby back off for a while.  We adjourned to the front yard, and Don decided to make me do the gentlemanly thing by taking the chew away from me and giving it to Abby, which she gratefully accepted.  It took me about two minutes of reasoning with Abby to work out a deal whereby she got my duck toy, which I had in the truck, and I got what remained of the chew.  Sammy helped to implement the trade, and we were all happy with the outcome.

We all had a wonderful time with the Halos and were sorry to have to leave, but when you’re a blog proprietor, you have to get home and go to work.  So, here we are, with the chew having been chewed completely on the way home, and doing our best to put the story together.  We have another adventure scheduled for tomorrow, but I don’t see how it could be as good as today!  I’ll sleep well tonight, hope you do, too!