My First Camping Trip

Spent a lot of this past week thinking about our recent camping trip. Went to a cabin on Lake Buchanan with Mom & her friend, Beth over the February 8 weekend. Sophie, and her friend, Toby, also came. Mom kept talking about how heavy I was & how much I've grown, but every time I looked at the 100+ lb specimen of a black lab, Toby, I thought she must be getting us confused! Toby & I DO have similar traits, tho - we're both gentle, laid back & pounce like ponies!  It was my first time walking on a leash, and I think I kept up with everyone just fine. I started to balk until I saw Sophie & Toby prancing while leashed, so I followed suit. It's weird, because whenever I do something well, the humans praise me & act like they've never seen the action before! But Sophie & Toby didn't seem to mind, so I just took it all in and, well, maybe puffed out my chest a little bit...

It was a cold, wet weekend. When inside, I found a great spot on a bottom shelf to curl up in to sleep. (My Mom laughed when I went into the bathroom with her & laid down on the floor in the small space behind the toilet!) There was only one other cabin dweller there, so we got to walk without leashes most of the time. Beth drove the hour there & back; I slept on my Mom's lap while Toby & Sophie rode in the dog hammock in the back seat. The cabin was heated, so we enjoyed playing inside together, too. Walking near the shore was especially fun! We found a couple of dead fish, but weren't allowed to take them back to camp. I guess the humans didn't consider that a 'civilized' thing to do! We were all disappointed that we couldn't have a fire due to a burn ban, but for awhile the lightning cracked across and lit up the sky. When it did, we could see each other in the dark. It was so cool! I wasn't even scared! Rain poured down on us, but we didn't care! And when we did, we just walked back inside.

Now, maybe I exaggerate sometimes, & maybe I'm not the most modest of canines...sure, I don't always do the right thing, but I've got youth & the learning curve on my side!  Sometimes I peed on the floor, and I pulled the broom off the wall, running around with it until discovering it was too wide to get under the bed. (That's where I hid the shoes, raw hide chews & the rest of the toys!) I single-handedly chewed up the newspaper, but waited until after Mom read about Judge Anderson's court hearing. I licked the outside of the trash can, & attempted to jump over the firewood set to blockade us on the porch. I sometimes missed a step & rolled down the steps like an acrobat! (The fluffy & agile exterior is for safety as well as for show, you know!) What a great adventure; we're already planning our next trip!     (February 13, 2013)