“Hello Ruby, we’re home.” I call to my dog.
“Happy, man is here. Hungry.” Ruby thinks. She can’t speak but her tail action speaks for her.
We’ve been gone for nine days, our longest vacation in a long time. We had a house sitter (really a dog sitter, but house is an H letter) to watch the house, feed the dog, take care of the mail, feed the dog, take out the garbage, feed the dog, and water the plants; you get the idea that feeding the dog was her primary function. And taking care of any by-products that she may accidently produce indoors.
“Boy, it’s good to be home.” My wife interjects between hugging the dog and hauling in our luggage.
“Hope the dog didn’t leave us any hidden treats.” I begin a search of her habitual spots for depositing hunks of dog by-products (I call them landmines in the backyard). None found, good dog gets a treat.
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| Ziggy! |
We left right after the Thanksgiving Holiday with a stop in Houston at our favorite Houston restaurant, Kenny and Ziggy’s Deli . It is our habitual first stop. Kenny and Ziggy’s is across the street from one of Houston’s busiest mall, and it is Black Friday. Horrors. Hordes of shoppers and traffic. I could use a vacation just after this experience alone. Fortunately, my fears were not fulfilled. It was crowded and there was a bit of traffic but bearable.
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| Corned Beef and Pastrami Sanwich on Rye |
We had a great trip except for a wasp bite in Jamaica, a bounced credit card charge due to an entry error and upon return to port found that one piece of our luggage went missing. About 70 miles from home we receive a call, our luggage has been found. Another cruiser picked up our luggage and just arrived home to discover their error. Luck was in our corner because they lived in San Antonio and we would pass by their home to pick up that piece. They now had realized they left a piece in Galveston. It is strange how one person’s luck can be another’s misfortune.
We just drove 260 miles from Galveston Texas to San Antonio and are just happy to be home. The dog is obviously very happy to see us, so she promptly pees. After her initial excitement she drops down and watches us unpack, start laundry, put unworn clothes away and a bevy of other activities. While we are busy and not paying attention to the dog (normally the center of our attention) she pees again.
“Welcome home people. Don’t leave me again.”
