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| Smokey doesn't mind boxes but hates crates. And cars. |
This blog post was dictated by Smokey the Cat. And why not? When Pat's away, the cats will play.
Pat had to drive to Austin a couple of days
ago. “Field trip!” she said. I told her I might rouse myself for field mice but
won’t go anywhere in a car with her. I have my reasons.
Pat puts me in a crate to ride in the car.
Excuse me? Nobody puts Baby Smokey in the corner crate.
Those Buc-ee's billboards offend me. You know, the ones like “Eat here. Get gas” or “Your throne awaits.” Also, when did we start glorifying beavers? Pat says Buc-ee’s bathrooms are nice. I wouldn't know. She puts me in a crate, remember?
Pat hisses when she sees bumper stickers that say, “Secede.” They annoy her. Me, I don't have a problem with the sentiment. What has the federal government done for me lately? No Cat Left Behind never made it out of committee.
Pat drives a subcompact. I like my space. (Put a cat in a crate inside a subcompact, and what do you get? One of those Russian nesting-doll thingamabobs. Wait! I'm Texan.)
There are too many 18-wheelers on I-10. I lost
my great-grandfather to one of them.
Pat worries about calories and cholesterol and won’t
stop for kolaches at Weikel's or Hruska's on 71. Huh? Even a cat knows kolaches fuel Texas
road trips. If I ask nicely, think she’ll bring one back for me?
Do you know any cats that enjoy road trips?
Know any dogs that don’t live to jump in a vehicle and ride into the sunset?
Have you been to a Buc-ee’s? What’s your
favorite food item there?
8 comments:
I've never had a cat who could stand riding in the car, although I had one who literally chewed her way out of a cardboard carrier and spent the rest of the moving trip from Louisiana to Texas draped across my shoulders as I drove. The poor dog had to ride on the floor on the passenger side, hoping the a/c would drip on him.
As for Buc-ee's, I noticed recently that they've opened one in League City. Not exactly a road trip, but I may have to go visit to see what all the fuss is about.
Oh, Kay! I'm not sure I could make it from Louisiana to Texas with a cat draped across my shoulders. Hope the poor dog got some frosty drops.
To fully appreciate Buc-ee's, it helps to have been on the road for at least two hours. I've visited the one in Bastrop several times, and the bathrooms still seem oasis-like to me. The soap dispensers! The sanitizer-gel dispensers! The sheer number of stalls!
Smokey's voice makes me smile! It's a shame about the 18-wheeler though.
I had to Google Buc--ee's. I've never heard of it. I learned they have the cleanest restrooms in America--and a YouTube channel. :)
Hi, Coleen,
Yes, it is a shame about that 18-wheeler. Maybe all cats hear similar family-history stories, thus the widespread-among-felines fear of car rides.
Buc-ee's restrooms ARE nice.
I've never had a cat so I can't say I've endured a road trip with one. My dogs all loved riding in the car/SUV/truck whether it was a long road trip or a spin around the block.
An exception was my last dog and my current car--he hated sitting in the front seat of my Boxster and tried to crawl onto my lap while I was driving--all 70 lbs of black lab over the stick shift in a 2-seater sports car. After a couple disasters, I always borrowed my husband's SUV to haul him around.
Never been to Buc-ee's. I'll remember about the restrooms though.
Lark, I can imagine you and a 70-pound black lab squeezed behind the wheel, and the image is adorable. I understand, though, that shifting gears would be tough. Visibility? Forget it.
I'll bet your dog loved those rides in your husband's SUV.
For anyone on a road trip through Texas, Buc-ee's is an essential stop. If you're on 71 to Austin, though, the coffee's better at Hruska's and Weikel's. (I avert my gaze from the kolaches because the cheese ones are deliciously bad for me.)
The one cat I've had hated riding in the car - would yowl the entire time - UGH! With my dogs, however, no one dares to say the words "bye-bye" near them or they bolt out the door and into the garage! We had one dog who used to bark at semis every time we passed one LOL! No Buc-ees around here, I'm afraid...
Hi, Jennette,
Dogs make cats look bad, what with their enthusiasm for car trips, the way they stick their heads out the window and enjoy the open road, and did I mention their enthusiasm for car trips? I dread taking my cats to the vet. The worst part is the trip there. The vaccines and exams are easy in comparison.
You'll have to come to Texas and experience Buc-ee's. I foresee a motorcycle trip in your future.
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