Days Two and Three: Coco Gets Crazier

So far I've done better at getting video up at YouTube than blogging here; but then, Tam and Sarah's intents to blog haven't produced a post yet. So let me catch up a bit. The videos are at YouTube, though the most video-ready moments of the trip have been missed, the bear cub I mentioned on day one, and another bear-related story for later in this post.

Yesterday, day two, was the second day of travel down, and again mostly engaged in burning miles. When we weren't on the Interstates however, Sarah began to understand the appeal (and variety) of old roads, as we went through the towns of Southwest Virginia, ranging from industrial and railroad towns that were long strips of trailer parks with double-wides, to charming towns like Abingdon, where the State Theater of Virginia is located and there's a flourishing artistic community. Otherwise we cut across northeastern Tennessee via the Tri-Cities and the new (well, we first used it two years ago, so still new to us) I-16, down to Asheville.

It was a nice hotel, a Comfort Suites, and dog-friendly as well. But we've discovered that many pet-friendly places put all the pet rooms in a single corridor. In Asheville, as in Roanoke, there was a dog in the room across the hall. Actually, in Asheville apparently two, crated, and while never actually seen, clearly of the small, shrill, yippy persuasion. When they started out, Coco responded with wild barking and a furious attempt to go through the door. Fortunately the desk clerk actually found this amusing, but I think he was off duty when it started up again around dawn. Tam and I thought we were off-duty too, being sound asleep, until our dachshund went off.

Now, this was not the first problem of the day. In the afternoon, Sarah wanted to swim in the pool and since the night before we'd had no time and the next few days would be poolless, we decided Tam would watch her while I either stayed with the dog in the room , or walked him outside. We tried the latter first, but when he saw them going to the pool but me pulling him the other way he started barking, leaping about madly, and trying to bite through his leash.

You see, Coco tolerates me. He understands that during the school year, I'm home on Fridays and no one else is, so I'm his sofa/food source, but when either Sarah or Tam is available, I'm dog food. He's a ladies' dog; I'm the only adult male he doesn't act like he wants to dismember, and he's not much better with males Sarah's age. We think his bark is worse than his bite, but don't plan to test it.

As for other dogs, forget it. Though we met Coco at an adoption fair where he was around a lot of other dogs, as he was at his (brief) foster home, he has challenged other dogs at every opportunity, not just on his home turf but in public places. At the vet's to get checked out for the trip he tried to go after a Rottweiler; once at Great Falls he tried to go after a pair of mastiffs; he's also confronted a German Shepherd. That any of these dogs could snap him in two with one bite seems to elude him; dachshunds, or at least Coco, seem unaware that they're five inches tall. Of course, they were bred to go after European badgers, so perhaps foolhardy courage against impossible odds is in their DNA.

We've already decided we need to get him a chain-based leash. Two of the three we brought on vacation are partly chewed through by day three.

But this maniacal hound of hell is not the homebound Coco. He's a sweet, loving, totally loyal ultimate cuteness, so long as no other dogs, or adult males other than me, or most females for that matter, enter his field of vision. (My physical therapist after my surgery came to our house three times a week for three weeks and he went berserk every time.)

Of course, we decided to get him obedience training. We even paid for the course. Then I broke my hip.

Anyway, we need to keep him fairly sequestered, so logistics are a problem. Day three (today if I post this by midnight: anyway, Monday, August 23, was spent mostly in Cherokee, NC. I'll post more on it later, though, except for this one story alluded to earlier: our second missed video moment. Sarah and I were shopping while Tam had Coco duty; we'd just switched shifts She was walking him when they came upon one of many bear sculptures in Cherokee (like a number of places they encourage artists to address a common theme: Norfolk does mermaids, Winchester, apples, and Cherokee, bears.

Well, as Tam tells it (I hope she'll tell it herself here), Coco saw one of these bear statues, and started barking and growling at it, all the while with his tail between his legs. He wasn't, apparently, trying to attack this bigger challenger.

But what kind of hound dog doesn't know a statue from a real animal?

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Roanoke: Day One

Day one of the 2010 vacation was mostly a driving day, pushing to Roanoke, VA. The dog behaved well in the car, but not so much around other people and, particularly, other dogs. Though we did end up taking the Interstate the last 75 miles or so of the 250 mile trip, we also did one stretch of Skyline Drive.

And what surely was the high point of the day came on Skyline Drive, when we came upon a black bear cub playing by the side of the road. Despite having three cameras, plus three phones that take pictures as well (also a Nintendo DSi) for a total of at least seven photographic devices (not counting the webcams), of course none of us got a picture. Wed didn't linger because we assumed Mama bear was somewhere nearby.

Besides not getting much sleep last night, I find that my surgeon was right and I need to move around every hour or so; long stretches in the car are uncomfortable.

More as we have something to report; Tam and Sarah say they want to post too, so keep watching this space.

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Counting Down to Vacation

Saturday we leave on a delayed and truncated vacation, giving the family some much-earned respite in a difficult summer largely devoted to Tam and Sarah having to nurse me through my broken hip, surgery, and convalescence. (And Tam settling into a new job: same organization but new department.)

Instead of two weeks driving across country to Missouri and back in July, we're making do with a one week trip to the Great Smokies in August. And because we're insane, we're doing it with Coco, our dog. That means not a lot of eating in restaurants; lots of picnics, drive-through, carry-out, or delivery to the hotel. We might save money.

We'll be carrying two laptops, a netbook, and two smartphones so we should be pretty well wired and equipped to post to the blog, Flicker, and YouTube. Tam wants to blog more, and Sarah wants to try it, so you may see both of them here. The Flickr and YouTube accounts, because they show Sarah's face, are family-and-friends only, and while we've invited many to join our list few have, but the invitation is still open. (Either post a comment in the comments box (click on "Comment" below) or send me an E-mail.) We may also do short posts on Facebook from time to time, though we'll keep our main posts here. Though I have a dormant Twitter account I don't tweet: too talkative for that. Can't keep to 140 characters. (My work blog, the MEI Editor's Blog, does feed post titles to the MEI Twitter feed.) Besides YouTube videos we might try a podcast our two.

So do drop by.

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On the Road with Coco

The summer that disappeared is proceeding apace with tomorrow being the first of August. Plans for a two week driving vacation to Missouri in July were vetoed by my broken hip and the doctors saying I couldn't drive so far so soon (they're right: I need to stretch my legs frequently). We're going down to the Great Smokeys for a week in August instead, and will try for Missouri later, perhaps over the holidays.

We are, wisely or unwisely, thinking of taking the dog along on the trip to the mountains, and to try out the feasibility, we're doing an overnight tonight in Winchester, VA, only 75 miles or so from home (in case we had to bail). We're at a Comfort Inn; our usual Hampton Inns don't take pets. So far, it's working. He gets upset when one of us isn't with him, but is enjoying the outdoor time. A video of the day, or parts of it, is on the private YouTube channel.

More blogging coming, I hope.

A Missing Month

On the night of June 1/2, taking out the recycling, I fell and broke my left hip. On June 3, I had full hip replacement surgery, so I now have a bionic butt, so to speak. A month later, I'm still on a cane, just beginning to ease back into going to the office. The Journal will go to press a couple of weeks late for the first time in my tenure. My backlog is proliferating. I've lost a month of my life

My family has been magnificent. They have supported me, nursed me, put up with me. My boss and staff have been supportive as well, so far, but there's a lot of catchup to do. Today I found myself snapping at Sarah, who after all is enjoying summer vacation, and realized I had my priorities wrong: family is more important than work; it's my family that sustained me through this nightmare.

Until June 3, I had spent only one night in a hospital as a patient: when my tonsils were out at age four. I've only broken two little toes and cracked a rib: never a broken bone of bigger import. I was expecting to have a hernia fixed this summer, perhaps in late June, had all this not happened, but that would not have even required an overnight in the hospital. Then, suddenly, a broken hip, major hip replacement surgery.

Our original vacation plans were for an ambitious driving trip to Missouri the last two weeks of July. We were even planning to take the dog. That's gone with the wind now; maybe something could happen in August if I work like hell all July, but the long trip is probably put off till some future point. I can't do long driving without frequent stops due to worries about clotting, the doctors say; I don't have the stamina rebuilt yet anyway.

Now that I have a titanium butt, I can sit and blog more readily; perhaps I'll be posting here more often. I hope so. I've been forcibly reminded what's important.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Recycling Bin

For now, I'll use the same post I posted on the work blog:

In case you've been wondering where I've been: on Tuesday night while taking out the recycling, I fell and hit my driveway. Hard. An ambulance ride later I learn I have a broken hip. Yep, the thighbone was no longer connected to the hipbone. After two immobilized days, l had a hip replacement yesterday. So I'll be having even more fun at airport security from here on out.

I'm still in the hospital, and my first priority is the summer issue of the Journal, but on the other hand, I'm going to be immobilized for a while, so when I can I'll resume regular posting, perhaps later today.

Sorry if there are typos. Blame the painkillers.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

It's not just about the beach. Not with two live wars. For my ancestors who fought in most of America's wars, my friends who served in Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan, and especially those who didn't make it home, ave atque vale.

The Space Station, the Shuttle, Venus and the Moon

In 1957, a month after I turned 10, I watched the launch vehicle of Sputnik I go by in orbit (the satellite itself wasn't visible 5to the naked eye, but the booster remained in orbit too). Though I didn't become a father till past 50, tonight I took my daughter out to watch the moon and Venus in conjunction, as well as the International Space Station passing by the moon and Venus with the Shuttle Atlantis in pursuit, on Atlantis' last mission.

Three quarters successful. In the 15 minutes between the ISS' passage and the pursuing Atlantis' scheduled arrival, some light clouds rolled in near the horizon, and whereas ISS went up to 52 degrees elevation, Atlantis was much lower down and so we didn't see the shuttle, but she did see the station sail past Venus and a crescent moon lit by earthshine. Cool.

Mother's Day Weekend

A fairly quiet Mother's Day weekend. Everybody was tired. Saturday was an errand-running day; Sunday included a Mother's Day brunch at our local Indian restaurant, and not much else.

Baltimore Again

A great, warm day. Almost summery. We went to Baltimore. Rejoined the Aquarium. Visited the much hyped jellyfish exhibit. (Fascinating, if a little smaller than some of the TV ads had implied.) I took 19 video clips. Sarah took 184. I will put this together evenutally, but since Sarah may have essentially videotaped the whole aquarium, it isn't going to work as a ten minute YouTube.

Tomorrow, we're going to try to get the dog out somewhere, which has not worked as well as we might have wished.

The 10th Birthday Adventure

Beginning April 9 and ending earlier today we have been engaged in the week-plus-long celebration of Sarah's 10th birthday. (I know, the cake is short a couple of candles. She said not to put any more on.)

I've posted to Facebook a couple of times, to update folks, but I should record the fuller version here for posterity.

The actual birthday weekend began with Friday the 9th, the day before her birthday, since her school was closed for the week after Easter (and I work from home on Fridays). So it was an old-fashioned "Daddy day." She had asked for lunch at La Madeleine, which I had promised to accommodate, except our local branch was closed for technical reasons. (Oven or refrigeration I would assume.) So instead we at Moe's Mexican semi-fast food, and then went to a local music store because one of her requests was a keyboard. Though we were prepared to order online, in fact she found one she liked within our budget, so we bought it on the spot. We also visited Best Buy for a video game and a DVD, and Tam gave her clothes.

Friday evening was a standard evening at home, but Saturday was entirely her call. She wanted to go to the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, MD, one of her favorite museums on sea life. We did so (Sarah and Tam trying to see a snake swimming under the boardwalk in pic at right), had barbecue for First Lunch and crabcakes for Second Lunch (sort of high tea: when we're on the road and there's good food to be had, we do not limit stops). Sarah used to order chicken fingers at the crab place. Now she likes crabcakes. A sign of maturity, but of course it costs more.

We went on down to Point Lookout, where the Potomac flows into Chesapeake bay, and collected seashells along the bay (the final picture below), then returned to Virginia, stopped at Hard Times Cafe for carryout chili (another specific request), and headed home.


On Sunday it was quieter; we took the dog for a walk mostly, though we did get lunch at La Madeleine, which had reopened since Friday, thus crossing that request off the list. And then we did the big dinner she had requested: Peking Gourmet, a very upmarket Chinese place in our neighborhood. (In the link you can see the many pictures on the walls: this was a big hangout for the George H.W. Bush (Bush 41) Administration, but also draws lots of other celebrities. We knew we'd never get it on Saturday (the actual birthday), so we did it on Sunday. Mom and Dad splurged for Peking Duck, the specialty; Sarah had a Singapore noodle dish.

That was the actual birthday weekend. But she had also asked for a small sleepover with some of her best friends, and since one of them was in California on the actual birthday weekend, we put it on the following weekend, this one. Her friends — Elizabeth and Katerhine — got together at 6:30 yesterday and finally dispersed at noon today. They may have slept in there somewhere. Despite a TV, a laptop with Internet, and a Wii with three controllers and several games, we did get at least one "Mom, Dad, we don't have anything to do." All requested snacks and stuff were provided. Late at night they started on ghost stories. They were up long past Tam and a bit past me, but were still up by 9:30 or so on Sunday.

So there. You only turn ten once, and while this one has left the budget a bit thin till payday, I think we delivered in style. Every requested meal and venue, within reason and budget.

Ten years. In July we'll have been her parents for nine. And in only eight, she'll be going to college. A watershed has been passed. She's not a little kid anymore.

I feel old. But then, I'm 62, and most of my contemporaries were doing this in their early 30s. So I guess I am old.

Into Spring: The Dog is Crazy but the Snow is Gone

After the record-breaking snows of winter, which amounted to 57 inches at National Airport and 62 inches at Dulles, spring is welcome relief. Last weekend was in the low 70s, sunny, no humidity. So we took the family — dog and all — to Great Falls.

Coco is mostly a very sweet dog. He loves human contact, whines when we go to work, is pretty gentle except when protecting a bone. But Great Falls this weekend was dog walking central: everybody was out, and so Coco, who is none too tolerant of other dogs, simply went completely Incredible Hulk on us. Violent conniptions, trying to chew through his leash, etc. Even a proffered hot dog did not assuage him. Among those he sought to challenge were two enormous mastiffs who could have swallowed him whole without stopping to chew. For his safety and ours, we departed quickly. This is not a good augury: he hates to be home alone, but if he's going to melt down in public if other dogs are present, we can't take him on our day trips on weekends. He needs some dachshund school.

Other news: Tam is shifting jobs, still within AFA, but moving from the magazine to the membership side; we hope it will be a good move. My job has been crazy due to deadlines and staff transitions, but as we come into spring I hope to blog more.

Also: Sarah has her own computer now. The hand-me-down Windows ME computer I had given her a couple of years ago isn't good for much more than a paperweight these days, so we bought her her own Dell laptop for schoolwork and other things. Mostly she watches video on it, but that's okay if homework is done.

I really do intend to spend more time here.

Relaxed

May everyone be this relaxed.

A Thaw from The Long Winter Silence

It's been such a godawful winter — Washington broke all existing snowfall records with something like 56 or 58 inches (and that's at the airport, where the measurements are usually lower than places farther from the river), mostly in three big storms of about two feet each. Work's been stressful, we've been dealing with some (non-serious) medical issues, and the snows were horrendous. I've dropped out of sight on this blog.

Today was still chilly and breezy, but it's March, it was at least sunny, and a lot of people were on the road. I think we all are hungry for spring. Left, Coco and Mom feeling good about things at Jammin Joe's BBQ, a barbecue joint with only outdoor tables.

More soon, but we're coming back, and I don't plan to ignore this blog so much.

The Snow is Several Dachshunds Deep

We' ve now had a near record snowfall that seems to be in the 20 to 25 inch range over most of the area, up to 30 in places. It's the second huge fall of the season and the fourth or fifth overall. When did we become Buffalo?

At left, Coco contemplating the wall of snow where we're shoveling out the driveway. This snow is several dachshunds deep.

Both our jobs follow the Federal government, which has already announced it's closed on Monday. So, of course, are the schools. Our neighborhood has not yet seen a plow, though we did get the driveway clear with the help of friends. But till the streets are plowed, we aren't going far.