Day 34 – Tuckertown, Rhode Island

Wow, did it rain last night!  No thunder or lightning, just a lot of rain beating down on the roof of the coach, so loud that I had trouble sleeping.  Don said that he did, too.  Didn’t seem to bother Gracie or Geri, though.  The result was a very late start on the day, not much happening before eight or so, and very little after that.  Geri took Gracie and I out for a short excursion, just as the people down the way were heading out with their two Black Labs, one a strapping young man, the other a three month old puppy.  A funny thing happened; when Gracie saw the big Lab, she went kinda nuts, and started barking and howling, while lunging so hard on her leash that she tore it out of Geri’s hands.  She went running at the big guy, yapping wildly, and started cavorting around him in a strange little dance.  It was like she was really glad to see him, like a long lost lover, and still kinda mad at him for leaving her.  He wasn’t at all sure about her intentions, and was loudly requesting his master to keep him safe from this potential predator.  The man’s wife took the puppy back into their coach to keep him from any possible trouble, while I tried to follow her to introduce myself.  Geri wasn’t really happy about anyone’s performance in this melee, and let it be known.  We were both chastised firmly, and Gracie was kept on a very short leash afterward.

Later, Don took us out for a longer walk, and we were both under orders to behave ourselves.  He never had to yell at us once, and we all had a good time.  When we got back to the coach, Geri and Don started their planning for the next stop on the trip, which appears to be in Connecticut, not far away.  Seems that they have another friend they want to look up, and there is potential for dealing with the money machines that they are so fond of.  When they had taken their planning as far as they could without getting into a serious disagreement, they got Gracie and I into the truck and we all went over to Joanne’s. 

Joanne had gotten back from her trip to West Point a little earlier, and was in the midst of saying goodbye to Marie, who was leaving to head up to Maine for her summer of theater.  I was happy to get to see Marie again, as she treats me with great affection.  Once she had departed, our people, including nephew Matt, assembled at the pool to engage in further discussions on the incompetence of contractors and pool people, and to figure a way to drain some of the water from the pool, which was overfull due to the rain.  I watched as Don maneuvered a hose out of the pool, pulled it down the hill, and then put it in his mouth, apparently sucking on it.  I thought it looked a little strange, but it apparently had the desired effect, as water started coming out of it.  I was doing my own inspection of the pool deck when I noted that there were some interesting piles of dirt just beyond the deck, sprouting some vegetation.  I decided to look a little closer, and wandered into what was really a mudbath, created by the rains.  I immediately realized that this was a problem, and attempted to extricate myself from it.  Unfortunately, with each step, I sank a little deeper into the mud, until I was immersed in it halfway up my legs.  I heard a lot of shrieking and whooping from Geri and Joanne, and I immediately surrendered myself to Geri, ‘cause I knew that she would know what to do about this problem. 

Anyway, I got a good hosing down and was banished to the veranda until I dried off a little bit.  Gracie thought it was pretty funny; so did Don and Matt.  Geri and Don took off then to do some shopping, and I took a much needed snooze.  When they returned, Gracie and I got our dinner, and the human gang headed out to get theirs.  They came back a few hours later raving about the great Italian food at the place Joanne had chosen.

After some conversation, Geri and Don packed up all the stuff they had left at the house, put me in the truck, said their goodbyes, and made our way back to the Campground.  A little TV, a bit of blogging, and then to bed. 

We all want to thank Joanne for her wonderful hospitality, our opportunity to meet Matt and Marie, and to Gracie for being a splendid hostess for me.  We always have a great time here, and only wish that Buzz could have been here to share it with us.  Maybe next time!