Weird goodbye, pack and prep

So on the way home last night I asked Ali if she minded if I stopped by to see the dogs which she said was fine.  On the way there I stopped by Sports Authority, looking at things for the trip.  I wound up not buying anything other than a cheap pair of sunglasses for the trip.

I always was a big fan of Ponch from Chips/T-1000 Terminator 2 style sunglasses. The huge mirrored lenses when combined with my buzzed hair and facial scruff I am sure to accrue while on the road it will make  for an interesting visual.

When I got to Ali’s place Sadie was inside by herself, meaning Ali was out walking Nicki.  I hooked up Sadie and went out to find them.  Once I did, we handed off, I took Nicki back while Sadie did her business.

I have started a new “thing” with Nicki.  When I am at Ali’s place we play the elevator game.  Instead of making Nicki climb and descend the steps with her aching back legs I pick her up and carry her up or down the two flights of stairs.  When I first started doing it Nicki was uneasy, thinking it meant something suspicious was going on like possibly a bath.  She would lay down and try to avoid it. Now she actually stands there and waits for me to grab her, like she actually enjoys the zero effort trip to the second floor.

I hung out at Ali’s place for a little while with her and the girls, talking about the trip and other things.  Ali is actually going to be out of town for part of the time that I am, the first time we both have been out of Naples at the same time in different locations.

It felt a bit strange saying goodbye to everyone since typically every road trip out of the state I have ever taken has involved some combination of Ali and the dogs. It’s just part of the new world we both live in. I gave both the girls a kiss on the head before heading out.

When I got home I had no time for farting around like I did the night before.  I spent a couple hours attending to trip related items as well as sharpening my mental list of things to get handled before shoving out tomorrow morning hopefully sometime around 4AM.

I will be leaving work early today to knock out the last minute items, including mowing the grass, regardless of the amounts of water that are still on the ground.  Hell even if it is pouring I will be out there on the tractor, knocking down what I can.

The rest of the evening will be a whirlwind of activity with Cindy showing up later to help me batten down the hatches.

I’ll be trying to blog as time allows while on the road.  I am bringing the wifi hotspot to potentially allow me to type away while rolling along at 70 mph.    I look forward to creating a new set of road trip memories to supplement my already impressive collection.