Somewhere on a path, far, far away

Another day, another path. I just luv paths becuase I don't need my leash (no cars, you know; and no other people or dogs for that matter -- we live in the boonies, man). So you can see how happy (and cute) I am.

Walk softly, but chew on a big stick

This should scare away the big dogs. Look at me -- I'm one ferocious beast. They had better let me pass, or I might shake this stick at them. Growl.

Finger lickin' good

Yummy. Alpha's got something on his fingers, and I like it! It tastes a little like strawberry jam. My skills de palette are quite amazing.

Lovin' my Dad

Look, another shared photo. My generousity surprises even moi. And look at my Dad -- isn't he the cutie-pie here? Nope -- just kidding -- still me. But I do love him, even if he makes me pose for photos all the time! I know it is to make Alli happy. And maybe Greg if he ever visits -- do you Greg?

Me and my Mom

Hey look -- finally someone in the shot other than just me. See I'm not the camera hog -- it's all Alpha's fault. But Mom was giving me a hug, and Alpha had his camera at the ready (big surprise there). And look -- no blink! Yeah.

Some froggy leg action

Oh you know how it goes. After I get a bath, and get dried off, I still need to wring out the belly fur. So out come the froggy legs and some petting by Mom. And that makes me very happy. Not to mention cute and adorable.

Did I mention cute?

Sleeping with (on) my Mom

One of my favorite positions in the evening. I join my Mom on the sofa -- then on her footrest -- and then on her legs. This way she can't move at all. I've got her pinned. It means I'm superior (was their any doubt?). Not to mention cute.

Waiting till Alpha says 'break'

After being a good boy and walking on my training leash, Alpha stopped at the apple orchard. He tells me to 'sit' (and I do). Then he takes off my training collar and tells me to 'stay' (and I do). Then he takes his sweet time until he finally says 'break' which means I'm no longer under voice command, and now I can run around like a maniac (and I do).

Squinting at the camera

Yes, once again, Alpha has posed me like some vapid model. Hey, I've got my pride. So I squint when I see the flash go off. But it doesn't work -- I'm just so naturally cute, I can't even spoil the picture. Sigh. I guess I'll have to play along.

Field of dreams

Check out the field behind me. Blue sky atop rolling green grass, dappled with split rail fences (and real horses). This is very picturesque -- I call it my field of dreams. As you saw yesterday, it even has a pond in the lower forty. What more could you want? (Alpha says to own it ;-)

Another pond

Look what Alpha found on our walk -- another pond. (This is really good becuase mine looks really yucky these days.) And this one has a big granite island that Alpha and I jumped on to.

Long wet grass

Alpha took me through a bunch of fields near our house. This one had long grass that still had lots of morning dew. So I'm a little bit disheveled as a result. But I'm still cute -- I'm always cute!

The parents return, sans Alli

Well, the parents returned very late tonight (actually, the following morning). Frito was very excited to see them, but of course is still missing his girl. Alpha took Frito out for a long walk in the morning, through lots of fields, so he could run free. You can see that is always a high-point of his walk.

Snoozin' all the way home

All in all it was a great road trip. I got lots of walks and activity, so I'm pretty tuckered out. Which is good, given the long car ride still ahead of us. I think I'll just take another snooze in the car. Now I'm officially a road-trip pooch.

Post-trip update: Alli liked Dalhousie, and Dalhousie liked Alli -- so she is going to go to school there beginning this fall semester. So my parents and Alli get to make this drive all over again. But this time, I think I'll stay home. That's a lot of driving!

Guess where I am

Well, now were at the border with the good 'ole USA. One last picture to prove I was in Canada.

Tiptoe through the kelp

Alpha wanted to look around the bend; the girls thought he was nuts. I think they were right. Have you ever tried to walk over kelp? Very slippery. Alpha even took a dive (aka fall), but my four-paw drive proved quite stable.

Now that's a lot of rocks

On our final day, we left early in the morning to see some sea caves at low tide. That was a bust, but check out this beach -- now that's a lot of rocks. Imagine this as a jigsaw puzzle.

Who's on the furniture?

There was a sign that said no pets on the furniture. Clearly they don't know who they are talking to; I am very careful and won't cause any problems. Besides, I'm adorable!

Check out the new cottage

This is the new cottage -- just built in the last couple of years. Very nice, especially compared to the "rustic" one we had last time.

Right next door

Well guess what. We decided to stay at the same place on the way back home. Only this time we got the cottage on the left. Sure looks peaceful this morning.

Goes with any color

Now you might think these colors clash a bit, eh? But don't you think I manage to make them both look good? That's because I can go with any color.

Can't touch the floor

Well the good news is they at least let me come on the tour (hey, I want to check out the university too). But they'll only let me come inside the buildings if Alpha is holding me. It's OK -- I got used to it.

Hydrate or die

Now we are back at Dalhousie for Alli's campus tour. It's still really hot, so I'm going to load up on the water.

Frito cools off

It was still pretty hot in the sun, even on the water. So I found this cool fountain and thought I'd wander in for a quick drink and some cooled paws.

Down at the waterfront

After Alli's meeting, we checked out of our hotel and took a spin past the waterfront. Really nice. A big boardwalk with lots of restaurants and shops. We didn't have too much time there, but this is a nice aspect of Halifax.

Giving Frito a lift

Of course Alli will give Frito a lift. Who wouldn't want to give this cute guy a lift?

Please carry me

Well, there's been lots of walking so far. And frankly, I'm getting a little pooped. So hey, Alli, can you please carry me back to the hotel.

Big dog on campus

Look out everybody -- there is a big dog on campus. Hey Alpha, be sure you get my good side. And check out the light -- I don't want my face to be too shiny. Yeah, lookin' good.

Can you do this?

Speaking of tongues, and while we pass the time waiting for Alli, I'm just wondering if you can do this? Talent, man, we're talking talent here.

I'm hot!

OK, this great sunny weather is now making me very hot. And you know we dogs don't perspire (how gross), we just pant. This gives you a chance to see my tongue freckle. Pretty cool eh? (And how do you like my Canadian accent ;-)

Waiting for my girl

Well, yes, actually I can complain. It sure seems to be taking Alli a long time in there.

The outsiders

Now we get to visit Dalhousie again. Alli has some interview with some admissions lady. I don't really understand, except that they wouldn't let dogs in the administration building. So I'm stuck outside with Alpha waiting for my girl. But it sure is a beautiful day, so I guess I can't complain, right?

Fetching the paper is easy!

Back from my morning walk now, and I think I'll fetch the paper for my parents. Oh look, somebody already did that. Boy, these guys have it made.

Why is this tiny room going down?

OK, Alpha is taking me out for my morning walk. I like walking through the hotel hallways, but am not too sure about this tiny room that goes up and down. Hey, whatever it takes to get to some grass.

Dinner in the bathroom?

But what the heck? Dinner in the bathroom? Hey, would YOU like to eat dinner in the bathroom? Oh well, I guess we all pay a price to travel in style.

Wow - my own hotel room!

This is really cool. Alli found a classy hotel that even takes pets. Check out this nice place. And once again, I get to be with my family

Checking out Dalhousie

Well, we finally arrived. This is the ultimate purpose of our road trip: to let Alli check out Dalhousie University in Halifax Nova Scotia. She is considering going there instead of Chaminade. Why? Languages, I hear. Parlez-vous français? Classics, et al (get it?) But no one knows yet. Alli's mulling over her options.

p.s., it's my anniversary of joining the Crisp household. It's been six years of dog-heaven. And that's like 42 years of people-heaven, so eat your hearts out ;-)

I love my girl

Sure, you already saw this picture with the full sign. But you need to see a close-up of me and my girl. We are such a team!

I'm an international pooch

Well, it's official. We made it to Nova Scotia (which translates to'New Scotland', according to my girl). Sure enough, there were bagpipers playing for us at this rest area. We only cared about the nice field to walk in, and this sign for proof of my travels.

Another rest stop, another walk

It was a very long drive to Halifax. About 8 hours per day (and two days each way). At least my family took frequent breaks, and each time, I got to take a nice walk. By the way, if you type "in the middle of no where" into Mapquest, you'll find the route we took ;-)

With my parents on the top of the hill

Another neat part of this location. My parents took me on a walk up to the top of a nearby hill. It had a 360-degree view. And when Alli took me up here, we saw deer! It was getting late at night for this picture. That's another thing I like about road trips -- you get to stay up late!

Posing on a rock

Clearly Alpha had a hand in this. Posed like a model on a rock. It's a real pain with all the photos that he takes, but hey, my public is waiting, so I appreciate it is an important activity. Thanks Alpha -- even when I seem fed up sometimes.

With my girl on the dock

They also had a dock (and a paddle boat, but we didn't get a chance to use that). But as you can see, this is best place to be, because I'm with my girl. It was so much fun to go with her on this road trip. Thanks Alli for letting me come!

And a boardwalk!

Here's another cool feature. The pond kind of dumps into a swampy area, and it would be impossible (for humans) to get around. So they put up this cool boardwalk. I used it too, since Alpha didn't want me to get lost.

A rustic bridge

Check out this cool bridge. The cottage was just about as "rustic". Mom actually wondered how I was going to get across. For goodness sakes, doesn't she know I'm a dog!

A pond to walk around

Here is the first cool thing. Our cottage was on a small pond that we got to walk all the way around (that's my cottage on the other side). Alpha took me on many walks, and since I was such a good dog, I didn't need to have my leash. Almost as good as being at home! (No frogs here.) But oh so many new smells!

First night's cottage

Here is where we spent our first night -- at a cottage hidden deep in the Canadian woods. Alpha found it when we stopped at one of those visitor centers. It was one of the few places that accepted pets (they can be such snobs). But it turns out it was really cool, as you will see in later posts.

Looks cramped, but really it's cozy!

Hey, look at me -- I'm a big dog. I got in the car all by myself, and now I have this very comfy bed right at Allison's feet. I usually sleep when we're driving. Unless of course Alpha starts taking the turns a little too fast.

Getting back in the car

Alpha says that all big dogs jump in the car themselves. They don't cower in the corner and wait for their parents to pick them up shaking. So since I'm on my first road trip, I'm going to do what the big dogs do. Get in the car, I mean ;-)

Look what one of my fans gave me!

Frito was much adored at all of the rest stops. He even tolerated a passel of kids wanting to pet him. One of the information ladies in the visitor centers thought he was so cute, he should have a big dog bone. Frito held on to it until he reached our sleeping destination, and then decided to chow down.