Far From a "Hideaway"...That's for sure!

After  three grueling weeks in Scotland on business while I held down the homefort here, Marty returned home on Friday and had just about enough time to unpack and catch a few zzz’s before we headed out Saturday morning for a visit to southern Virginia. 

What would be the attraction luring us so far from home?  Well, that’s an easy answer:

Don’t you love the matching shirts?

As you may note,  Buster was along for the fun. 

For those of you who might not know, Buster is our 14+ year old Jack Russell Terrier.  He became an “only” dog about a year and a half ago, when Lily, who was nearly 16 herself, moved onto greener pastures.  Buster had quite a difficult adjustment after she was gone, which really surprised me, because considering how much abuse she gave him, I would have thought he’d be shouting,  (or should I say barking?)  “Allelulia!” from the rooftops.

Amazingly, he has become an extremely easy traveler, and whenever possible, we try to bring him along with us.  He is nearly deaf, and has obvious sight limitations, which are actually advantages to us, because we don’t have to worry about him spotting or hearing another dog, which, in the past, would have caused quite a stir, as anyone who knows us personally will verify.

As the quarters are a bit tight at our daughter’s home,  I had booked a room at a place called “Flo’s Hideway” that is located off a quiet little street in town.   We were all set up to stay in the Safari Room, which in itself sounded like quite the adventure.  

I was packed and ready to go on Friday night when I received a very last minute call from the “Marty, the Booking Agent” (I'll call him MBA to avoid name confusion)  in regards to my paid-in-full reservation.  Flo decided that she could not accommodate Buster, despite this man attempting to persuade her to stand up to her part of the bargain. 

MBA was eager to help us find a replacement room, but I knew there would be nothing comparable to what I had reserved, as it is very difficult to find non-smoking accommodations here in Southern Virginia.

After nearly an hour searching, we were able to agree on a room at the local Holiday inn Convention Center.  MBA sweetened the deal with some perks, and we headed down as planned with Buster.

When we arrived at the Holiday Inn, we were surprised to find that we had a penthouse suite.  It appears that MBA must have felt so bad for Buster that he set him up with his own room.  He even has his own HD television!

But we didn’t stay long to enjoy the facilities as we were eager to begin the fun that we had driven so far for.

Now I ask you…..doesn’t that smile make up for any inconvenience?

Upon return to our room for the night, it became quite obvious that we were far from the tranquil and serene “hideaway” that I had originally booked.

The highway noise is so loud that Marty felt like he was still driving, duking it out with the semi’s on the road. 

But I have to admit…..Buster loves the place.  He had no problems settling right in and making himself comfortable.  And, to top it off, he had some real excitement when Marty went to take him out before bed last night.

They were standing at the elevator door, waiting for the ride down, when the doors opened and Marty went to walk inside with Buster.  Much to their surprise a man stood there with a huge Pit Bull who could probably have swallowed Buster in one bite.  

Imagine one of those cartoons where the eyes of the characters pop out of their heads a few inches when surprised.

Well, picture Marty and Buster with kind of effect.   The Pit Bull made the first move, and Buster was ready for the fight.  After all, things have been a bit dull in his life as of lately.  Marty stepped back, let the man and his dog get out of the elevator, then jumped inside with Buster for the 10 flight trip downstairs. 

During the entire ride down the elevator, Buster was excitedly jumping up and down barking over and over, as if to say, “Let me at him!  I could have taken him!  Where is he?  I could have taken him!!!”  He hasn’t had this much excitement in ages!  You'd never have guessed he was an aged dog, that's for sure!

Yep……Buster sure loves the place.  Aren’t we lucky for that?