Day 5, Las Cruces New Mexico

Hi again from Pally.  Apparently I have a following, well deserved I'm sure, so Paul wanted me to show you more pictures of me.  Actually, he hasn't made any outdoor pictures for a long time, says he doesn't want to open the car door and wake me up.  Right!  As if that would matter.

This first one is of me trying to train Joan to pay attention to me, not some book just because it's on the NY best seller list.  I finally got her attention by putting my paw right on her glasses; that sure made her laugh a lot and I think that's good for humans, much like purring is good for me, but I digress.

Our crack of dawn departure was around 8:30.  As I'm expected to, I made a small 10 minute fuss but got pretty tired of that when nothing would change anyway.  I'll have to work on that one.

We got back on Interstate 10, that same one that was closed and caused us all such trouble yesterday. Today, it behaved a lot better.  We still saw the occasional 'damaged' guard rails on some bridges.   Now Paul finally understands why every single bridge and large culvert in Texas has the sign that bridge may freeze before road! It's hard to imagine freezing when the sun is shining and the land is totally parched from prolonged droughts.  We even saw a few water over road signs, also hard to understand when every gulch, gully, stream and many rivers are bone dry.  I understand that when everything is this dry, any water quickly runs off quickly and makes flash floods that can bury a culvert or bridge very quickly!  Good thing I'm not living here; I understand they have snakes, hawks, coyotes and all kinds of hungry beasts; I've already had all that and it wasn't anywhere as much fun as having staff to feed, protect and love you when they're awake...

The speed limits today went from 70 to 80 mph.  That's even faster in Kilometres...  Another factoid Paul was nattering about was that according to Carmen, the one that kept getting us lost yesterday, our total accent was 3750 metres, and total decent was 3050; apparently that's does not improve  something called mileage [I sometimes fall off....] at any rate, we're 2/3 of a kilometre higher than yesterday.  Some factoid indeed.

What we did see was a little over 30 miles of almost solid windmills in Texas, and about 10 miles of really stinky cattle in large cement pens.  The good thing is that many of these pens were completely empty, hope those cows escaped to a better place.

We also saw miles of scrub land, useless for anything except sheep and goats.  Those two types are not the brightest bulbs in any chandelier...

Some people buy their pets toys at every opportunity.  This is one that Joan made: she took the string that stops her from losing her glasses and tied a tissue at one end.  I sure have honed up my reaction-time playing this game with the staff; we're already on the second tissue!  Paul tells me my reflexes are right up there with Peter: fast enough to start closing my eyes when the flash goes off; now that sucker is about 1/10,000 of a second, and I can beat it every time, but again, I digress.

Shoes can be fun but try as I might, I can't get the hang of getting them on.

Mind you, they smell like the staff and are comfy to sleep on.

I found Joan finally answering her emails.

 I'll just watch a while and learn this typing thing without looking at the keyboard.

I tried it on Paul's computer while he was answering some of his mail earlier. I don't really get the point, maybe my new staff will be able to help out.

OMG! Is that a mouse? Why is Joan even bothering to play with it?

Apparently the ugly mice are supposed to taste better but this one is way too ugly, I'll pass on this one.

I don't think this is working: I'm pressing some keys and not looking at the keyboard.  Apparently, that's what you're supposed to do, but I think I'd prefer the biblical method Paul uses: seek and ye shall find.

I'll just wait a little longer until Paul needs the machine, that way he'll pick me up and we can have some quality purring time.

Day 4, Fredericksburg, Texas

Hi there, it's Pally again.  So hard to get good reliable staff these days.  I hope the new guys in San Diego have a better work ethic.

This morning, I tried to get the staff moving early, what a chore!  First you have to get their attention, then you have to amuse them with vigorous exercise where I do all the running around, then I have to get them out of this room so I can grab a quick nap.  They're suckers for a free breakfast...

So we managed to leave at about 8:25 and quickly got going after gassing up etc...  It was still about -4ºC, but Paul had the car warmed up, and we got most of the remaining ice off the car.

I had to let them know my displeasure with this travel thing, staff expect it, but after only 15 minutes, it got pretty old so I just dropped off for my daily nap.  

Apparently, the roads were quite dry and the Interstates were all open, so we just zoomed along.  After about an hour, the temperature was +4ºC and rising quickly.  Even in my jail, I could see that it was sunny almost all day: a great improvement over that place in Florida.

All along the interstate, there were signs of fresh tracks in the grass, likely unwillingly made by cars and trucks just sliding off the road during yesterday's ice storm.  The really strange thing is that unlike ice storms up north, these ones disappear without much of a trace within a day!  The only signs of yesterday's storm were large chucks of ice that fell off trucks and cars and did not melt until noon or so when it was almost 15ºC.  Neat or what?

Oh, I nearly forgot: some bridges had lots of sand left over from the storm, one in particular was like driving through a child's sand box, whatever that it.  Sand in a box, sounds like a litter box doesn't it?

After the long day, I'm bushed, Joan's almost bushed, and so is Paul; like I said earlier, it's hard to get good staff these days...

Good night!

Moss Point Mississippi to Lafayette Louisiana

OK, this is Pally.  My staff had a tough day, so I gave them the night off: I'll write the blog.

First of all, people don't usually realize that us cats, the cool male ones, actually can communicate with Apple computers; this has been a trade secret for years, sorry if this is a spoiler.

We stayed at the La Quinta in Moss Point Mississippi last night, a neat place that I enjoyed a lot.  The staff left me alone while they had breakfast: not a big deal, I just kept exercising and doing laps around the long room.  Neat or what.

I gather they were concerned about the weather since they turned on that infernal TV that makes such loud noises for those damn useless commercials, and watched the so called weather channel.  What a joke, they keep repeating scenes of Atlanta with all the storm disasters, cars and trucks in the ditches, and total mayhem. They hardly mention the area where we want to go.

By around 11:00 am, something apparently called 'crack of dawn', the staff started packing, making sure I didn't see what's going on.  Really...   I mean, Really!

Oh well, Paul managed to get the car doors open, got the car started, jacked up the heat, and started stuffing all our stuff in.  Of course, I'm usually the last in: an appropriate late entrance...

I've been a reluctant traveller: what the hell: loud noises, jerky car moves and I'm stuck in a cat carrier.  The staff covered the door with a large piece of cardboard, with lots of packing tape [Paul's a kind of a wrap, then wrap again, kind of guy.]

At any rate, I meowed because the staff expected me to, but I got tired and fell asleep after about a half hour.  Mind you, my event recorder kept on recording until they let me out of the cage.

The roads were apparently very good and dry, the bridges not so much.  Paul was driving at 30mph over the frozen bridges, and Joan's comfort zone was more like 15mph.  The usual 'discussion'  ensued and we all survived.

The Interstate was actually quite dry and routine speeds were the norm.  The bridges were a lot different: Joan's comfort level came into play, the bridges were absolutely frozen with a fine pebble to make it even slipperier.  I'm with Joan, my comfort level was getting upset by the slight slip and sliding motion...  Slow down!

We actually saw some cars that lost control on the sheer ice on the bridges: not any serious issues, just serious embarrassment when the Sheriff shows up.  Even on the dry parts of the Interstate there were cars in places where they didn't belong.  It must have been just awful last night, but that's not my concern; I was sleeping relatively constantly.

After about an hour of driving,  the 'authorities' closed the interstate 10 so direction control was given over to Carmen, some fairly stubborn electronic machine.  I don't understand why she can't accept that the "interstate is closed", so don't use that route.  Sounds pretty easy to me, and I was pretending to sleep soundly.  Oh well, Carmen sent them all over the place, I'm not sure exactly who was more upset, Joan or Paul.  

The air got blue at times, I think it was those damn tractor trailers: they're noisy, stink, and make it difficult to see ahead, but I digress.

All in all, a trip of a paltry 221 miles that should have taken 3 hours and 14 minutes, took the better part of 6 1/2 hours. Thank the Great Provider that we got here safely.  Staff were less impressed, being totally lost in Baton Rouge Louisiana seems to have upset them a lot.  

Having to stop into a Police station for information is apparently a girly thing since Joan insisted on it.  Good thing too, we would have never found the right route without ignoring Carmen: she was totally fixed on the Interstate 10 route.  Maybe Carmen will blow a fuse soon.

All in all, I've had a great day: I slept most of it, the cardboard door cover stopped any attempts I might have had about escaping that way and thus damaging my dew claw again, and time sleeping is good for the soul.  Hey, I'm only a kitten, or very young teenager.

Oh well, this new dwelling, the third La Quinta in a row, seems just as interesting as the others.

Of course, when the staff release me from my daily bondage, I have to get to work: secure the premisses.  

After some food and drink, and maybe some food and drink relief, I systematically have to suss out the premisses.  Staff read the internet and book stuff, but nothing beats my nose at the scene.

Here I am checking out this cheap piece of motel furniture.  So far so good.

It's really been a long day, the staff were highly frustrated, and I have to relax. [Jan said so.]

Somehow, relaxing is contagious, which is a good thing. I inspire it often, and I'm good at it! [Image removed at request of sleeper...]

Maybe tomorrow I'll let the staff take over this blog thingie, it's more work than I really need. Keeping staff cool is a full time job.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I disposed of a 'baby' tooth in Lafayette Louisiana, how cool is that.  How many cats do you think can claim that?  Besides, as a new teenager, who needs baby teeth.

Do you think the tooth vary will visit?  Please?    signed Pally

Pally's Second Day On The Road

Today was day two, a day of storm warnings, reducing temperatures to below freezing, and constant rain.  A good day to stop at 1:00pm, Central time.

Pally took less time to settle down, but still shows signs of being a most reluctant traveller...  Oh well,  maybe day three will be better.  Today was definitely better than yesterday, so the trend is definitely going in the right direction.

Here's Pally surveying the world outside: rain, freezing rain, ugh. Left early, [8:15 or so] then an hour later we turned our clocks back an hour, and drove until 1:00 pm.  That probably counts for being our best departure time this decade, maybe even this century...

Ok, Ok, so now I'll write the blog for you: I'll talk, you type...

Well, this blog thing is pretty easy, I think I'll just pose with an assertive look for a cover picture or something.

Oh, I almost forgot: Paul asked me to include a picture of his car, all covered in freezing rain.  Kool! 

Pally's First Road Trip

Today was Pally's first road trip.  Not without 'issues' but by and by, not a bad day at all.

The first hour or so was spent in the Cat Carrier, AKA prison.  Lots of complaints in the form of meowing, meowing and louder meowing.  I was driving, so was otherwise occupied.  My trusty navigator [the human one] was fretting as usual, so Pally was removed from his cell and unto Joan's lap.

There was a great deal of fidgeting going on, and on, for almost an hour...  Eventually, Pally was back in his jail, and resumed his meowing until we put a coat over the door.  Golden silence!  Magic for sure!  Pally eventually fell soundly asleep for the four or so hours left.

When we decided to stop in Tallahassee at the Quinta, Pally was essentially sonked out of the picture.  

After food, water, and kitty litter were unloaded to the Quinta washroom, Pally was released into a closed washroom with Joan while I moved the rest of the stuff in.  While that was going on, Pally drank, ate, pooped, pee'd and started snooping around.

This little fella quickly forgot his confinement and the noisy trip; he was now running around, chasing strings and the laser light, finding out about what a bed was all about, etc. etc.

Here he's playing with Joan's eyeglass string.  ... and likely claiming my side of the bed...

Glasses and a good book: what could be better?

Mind you, Joan's side of the bed feels pretty good too...

What is it with these phones?  They are fun though...

Ok, this is my spot.

Maybe this chair beside the bed is better...

Pally was telling about his fly-fishing exploits when he fought a fish this big...

Maybe this chair by Paul's computer would be a good place to crash...

...or maybe the camera bag, or the chair by the bed, or...

Sounds like Pally has survived his first day of travel without much trouble: running around, jumping on and off chairs, beds and what have you, and nary a limp at any time.

Hey!  Life is good!  Off to San Diego!

This and That and a Hot Rod Car Show

Firstly, this is a 'do not' sign with consequences fairly obvious.  Peter spotted it when he and I went to an interior flee market.  This little space has chairs and tables, and I guess they didn't want patrons to smoke there since they also had a good sized propane, the elephant, in the room...

Question for the curious:  what is this all about?  First grandchild to answer gets a hug, others will get somewhat smaller hugs too.

 Peter, our new friend Rick, and I went back to the Naples Botanical Garden.  Here are a few more pictures from there.

This next one is a butterfly pupae, likely a Queen or Monarch butterfly.  This is a few days away from becoming a full grown butterfly, how cool is that?

These gardens have a lot of bamboo: this is the Buddha belly bamboo.

Here's the bark of a Rainbow Eucalyptus.

This is a Queen's Wreath, or sand plant, which looks very similar to another favourite plant whose name escapes me at the moment..

These gardens seem to have many bromeliads, of which the best known is likely this pineapple plant.

And now a short car show.

This slightly used car was for sale and I would have liked to buy it for Caitlyn.  I didn't have enough cash, so I thought I'd just make a picture for her.

The car show had a lot of hot rods, but it also had a few well put together antiques: this one being a 1941 Chevrolet, with just about every optional GM product available at the time.

Here's another question for the grandkids: what kind of car is this?  ..and how many doors, hoods and trunks are open?  Usual rules, hugs will follow.

Every car show has one...

This is likely the most valuable car of the show: a 1965 Cobra 427.

As to my first question, here's a hint.  This is the same animal just seconds later.

We're off tomorrow, heading for San Diego.  More to follow

Birds, Birds, and a Museum

The writer's strike is over, for now.  Negotiations are ongoing and time will be found to update this thing.

A week ago or so, I went on a docent run tour of the Ding Darling Reserve.  Touring such establishments is always much better when someone volunteers to lead the way and this tour was no exception.

While I waited for the guided tour to start, I spotted these two orchid seed pods.  The orchid itself looked quite happy in the crotch of a tree.

Here's a shot of an osprey flying through some God-rays.

I hadn't realized until now that Cormorants and Anhingas were so different: coloration, size, and most of all, the Cormorant has a hooked beak while the Anhingas have a needle like beak.  Here are three Cormorants.

Next are two panoramas of various birds that come to Ding Darling.

This is when I made the second big discovery: shorebirds are best seen at low tide.  DUH...

The shorebirds actually follow the low tide northward, eating all day long.  When darkness shows up, they all fly back to their favourite roosting place.

Here are four Roseate Spoonbills and a single Ibis, flying into the pond with the birds above.

Nearer the far shore, these sandpiper like birds were putting on an areal show.  They do this so that predators can't focus on a single bird to target, so they all escape.

These two fellas eat the same way: by filtering the water over their lower 'jaw' while walking forward.  Here they are almost walking in step.  One is the Roseate Spoonbill, the larger one is a Wood-stork.

We visited Canadian friends down here for a quick two week visit and walked the south end of the Fort Myers Beach beach, where we saw the Osprey finishing a fairly large lunch...

Nearby was this Great Blue Heron just posing for pictures...  ... in full breeding plumage!

The beach also had this very intricate sand sculpture.

Last week we also shared another adventure with Jan when we went to the Ringling Museum in Sarasota.  One building is filled with a huge model of a railway circus.  The model took about 50 years to build and a year and a half to put together.  It is still being expanded and might never be finished.

Here's a model of  circus wagon being pulled by 8 horses.

A train circus has about 2500 employees plus the performers, etc, as well as animals etc...  Feeding 3 meals a day to 2500 staff involves a dining tent.  This next shot is a cut-away so you can see inside this huge tent.  What a production.

Here's an overview of the Carny part of the circus.

The model-maker obviously has a sense of humour...

Behind the large room, there is this smaller gallery of horse and circus parade items.  Jan and Joan are looking at less than a tenth of what they had!

In one of the back rooms, they had a circus cart filled with spare parts.  I really liked the lighting.

Outside, they had a big courtyard next to one wing of the art museum.

This is just one of many murals by Rubens, there were at least six others in the same room.  Spectacular and awesome!

This was the second room we saw, all rooms were designed for their content and all are different.

Back to the outside courtyard on our way out to do our usual snooping around before driving home.

And lastly, here's a growing Pally at rest.