Penelope's Inaugural Trip

I love camping but I finally decided my days in a tent were over. Too much crawling around on the ground. So I bought a new-to-me pop up camper trailer. I named it Penelope PUP (as in Pop Up) after one of my beloved pet cats who passed away in 2006. Since I was in naming mode, I also christened my pickup truck as Ranger Rudy, in honor of another pet who is no longer with me. I stole the idea of using Ranger in the name from a friend who named his truck Ranger Rick. I don’t feel bad about copying because he bought a Ford Ranger after he saw mine and fell in love with it.

After towing a trailer for the first time (from eastern Long Island to the Poconos), and after somewhat successfully figuring out how to back it up, I am now on a week long inaugural camping trip. Unfortunately it is 98 in the shade. The thought of doing anything outside is absurd. Fortunately the pop up has air conditioning. So I am “camping” inside my pop up with the AC running and looking out at the parched grass and the heat waves rising up from the roadway.

At least I have music, videos and internet. Thank you Mr. Laptop and Mr. Droid. Through some magic called tethering, I am able to access the internet on my laptop through my cell phone’s data connection. Not to mention a refrigerator to keep the beer cold, a microwave if I ever get hungry, running water, and a few other perks. Isn’t technology grand?

This isn’t just the inauguration of Penelope PUP though. It is also the first time my cat Osito has gone camping. When we first arrived he shrieked for 20 minutes to express his disapproval of being forced into a new domain. Then he looked out the window and saw Nature! Not the usual pigeons on the phone pole and the potted plants on my balcony back in the city, but real honest to goodness trees and birds and chipmunks and all matter of walking, crawling, flying and slithering creatures. Now he is loving it here.

Yet another first this morning. Osito’s first time outdoors on a leash. I spent the past few weeks trying to acclimate him to wearing a harness. I wanted to be able to let him sit outside with me without fear of him wandering off or chasing some critter into the woods. He had an unexpected reaction to wearing the harness; he just plopped on his side, convinced that he was unable to walk. Well, so much the better. The leash wouldn’t even be necessary.

But this morning I harnessed him up, took him outside, and for the first time attached a rope. He forgot all about not being able to walk. Look at all this Nature! He spent the entire session straining at the end of the rope to explore further and further. After 15 minutes we retreated to the air conditioned pop up. It’s just too bloody hot for all this.

Now exhausted from all the excitement, Osito is sleeping. Maybe I’ll do the same.