This morning we got up at 6:30 and by 8:00 AM we were on the road home! With Lizzies' issues we needed to get her home and back in her own backyard and bed so she could begin to settle down and feel more like herself. We drove 10 1/2 hours and arrived home at 6:30PM. A very long day to say the least. We knew we were close to home when we went through Houston and the temperature was 100 degrees! It did get hot up north, maybe 89 degrees, but no humidity, so we didn't notice the heat as much.
It was good to sleep in our own bed for a change and to just take time to unwind and just relax. Sometimes I still feel like I am driving down the road! Lizzie is better but we are going to have a consultation with our vet to see what we can do to make future trips more pleasant for her or decide if she needs to stay with someone while we are traveling - which we would hate to do since she is so bonded to us, We made four vet stops for her along the way and all the vets concurred that Lizzie suffers Travel Anxiety. They prescribed everything to try too calm her down, but the medication did not work. Finally the last vet we saw prescribed human tranquilizers for her and that helped some but didn't last as long as we had hoped. She could not stay still in the truck. She was tearing herself up in her crate to get to the cars and trucks passing us so we took her out of the crate and she played ping pong with herself between the two back windows chasing the cars and trucks. She never laid down and she would not eat or potty when we stopped for potty breaks. Once we got to a campground she was better and would walk to do her business, but then wanted right back in the RV. She never did this before when we traveled so we aren't sure why she has suddenly developed this issue. Anxiety in dogs is the same as anxiety in humans and having been there myself, I felt truly sorry for her. This is the first dog we have had that has had this issue.
On this trip we visited or passed through 18 states, 2 countries, saw 48 lighthouses, traveled 7,415 miles, got 15.4 MPG, and we were reported missing for 43 days!
Now it is back to the norm or our "senior" schedule of appointments and volunteer work until next year. We did learn a couple of things this trip:
1. Do not travel during tourist season.
2. Make campground reservations early.
3. Be prepared for the unexpected! (one lost foot jack, trees (TV and Wi-Fi reception), check all wires and connections in RV periodically along the way, as things come lose when you least expect them to.....)
We enjoyed our trip, and we always enjoy the lighthouse hunt, but we are thinking that next year we may head west to Colorado and the National Parks, just for a change of pace. We will see, the sea may beckon us back as there are many more lighthouses to see!
We did check off two Bucket List Items:
1. Visited Canada (Twice)
2. Visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The family and friends we visited and met along the way made the journey that much more enjoyable!
God has truly blessed us in our travels and we are grateful for His travel mercies and care for us as we traveled down the highways and by-ways of our land.
Til next year...........Jim, Joan, Lizzie and "Speedy"
