The Trip Down or How I Entered Florida $600 Lighter In The Wallet

After stuffing the two ‘tranquilized’ cats in the specially purchased carrier behind the seats of the standard cab truck and collecting Bill at the farm, we hit the road.  Otto continually communicated his displeasure, while Bob tried to make himself as invisible as possible.  After six hours, ALL parties had had enough and the cats were put free in the back of the trailer.  There, they promptly curled up in their small individual carriers and shut up for the duration of the day’s drive.  We overnighted in Murfreesboro, at a Hilton Garden Inn that was pet friendly.  Both cats objected throughout the night to being confined to a crate large enough to house Elsa the Swiss Mountain dog.  If I wasn’t questioning my sanity at the start of the trip, I certainly was at 3 a.m. 

Day two began with the cats in the back of the trailer and peace and quiet in the truck.  Despite a 22 gallon tank and 14 mpg at 65 miles per hour, when the driver (who shall remain nameless, but if you know then you know) is clocking 88 miles per hour because the beast of a truck can make it seem like a whole lot less, fill-ups occur fairly frequently.  Sleep deprived and tired at the end of the day, I left my wallet in the restroom at a Pilot gas station outside Valdosta.  Fifteen minutes down the road, I realized I did not have my wallet (and my Tile indicated it wasn’t in the truck).  Back we went to the Pilot station, where I thankfully collected my wallet with driver’s license and credit cards intact. We hit the road with no recriminations from the driver and crossed into Florida 15 min later and $600 lighter in cash that had been pilfered as the cost of not decamping with the entire wallet. Ouch. We overnighted in Ocala.  The cats spent the night in the trailer.

Day 3 was a short drive to Wellington through some nasty rain and the discovery that the townhouse is every bit as nice as the pictures indicated. The cats have settled in, all the lovely furniture is covered with waterproof covers, and any piece of art that could be knocked off a table or credenza has been placed out of reach of cat paws for the duration of the stay.  We finished the day with a visit to touch base with Laura Ashley and to check on Galatea.  Never one to cuddle, the mare was downright stand-offish and clearly enjoying the very spacious stall straight out of “Horse Beautiful” that she has been assigned.  The rain down here has been so bad, that the arenas everywhere are standing water.  Just as well, as I could use a day or two to de-stress before I hit the saddle.  It appears that Laura has plans for Galatea and me.