Losing one of our travel companions...

After a lifelong battle with a birth defect that involved his liver, Cosmo lost this battle on March 21, 2011.  After the trip to Virginia Tech in August, he had a wonderful 7 extra months.  Cass and I both feel that it was some of his best and we were truly blessed to have that extra time with him.  We had promised Cosmo and each other that we would take care of him and we both agreed in a quality of life, not quantity.  Neither Cass nor I could stand to see him suffer. It is a tremendous feeling to know that Cosmo waits for us at The Rainbow Bridge where he is running amok, chasing kitties and is happy and healthy. 

He was a brave little dog, courageous in many ways and always adventurous.  He enjoyed travelling in the motor home as much as Cass did and was always ready for a R-I-D-E.  We'll miss our little travel-mate and all the laughter he brought with him.

Here is a picture of our boys, Cosmo and Patrick.  It was taken in Key West, our first trip in the RV.

April 1, 2011

If we were gone for 2 minutes or 2 hours, when we would walk in through the door, we would be greeted by Cosmo and Patrick.  Cosmo would twist himself in to a "C" shape.  I would pick him up and he would be frantic to cuddle me.  Soon he would give a huff and completely relax against me.  A few nights after we lost our Cosmo, I had a dream just like this.  It was so comforting.

Cosmo running to me.



Waiting for a Shuttle Launch (November 3, 2010 - Wednesday)

The Shuttle Discovery was scheduled for a Monday, November 1st launch. It was rescheduled for Tuesday, then today, and now tomorrow. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to see it.

And while we were nervous and worried about how Cosmo would do on this trip, it seems that it is Patrick who had to be taken to a local Vet down here. He has been vomitting for the past 3 nights. What made us the most worried was his refusal to eat this morning. Patrick never refuses to eat!

Cass found a vet down here and Patrick swallowed a nose off one of his hedgies and irritated his stomach. He's on puppy amoxicillin for 5 days.

Pelican Roost, NS Mayport (October 24, 2010 - Sunday)

I thought we left 5am behind when we retired but we were up at 5am, packed and on the road at 7:45am... arrived at NS Mayport at 3:30pm. But there was a method to our madness... we wanted to see how far and how long we could actually travel. Also, we wanted to see how well Cosmo and Patrick would do! We drove 7.5 hours... I drove about 5 hours and Cass drove the rest. Cosmo and Patrick did great! And for the first time, I napped while she was driving!

Since we arrived here a day earlier than originally planned, we are back in the 3rd row... far from the ocean/river view that we have been fortunate to have our previous stays here.

Blacksburg, VA (08-01-10)

photos from Blacksburg, Virginia

We left Calabash at 10:30am and arrived at New River Junction Campground in Blacksburg, VA at just before 5:00pm. The campground has water and electric and a dump station, no cable but free WiFi.

It is on a beautiful spot, on the bend of the New River surrounded by mountains... and train tracks. If we weren't here for Cosmo, Cass would be out fishing and we would probably do some tubing!

But we are here for Cosmo who was acting lethargic for a while. We brought him to our vet and they did some tests but they couldn't put their finger on what it was. Finally, Cass realized that he was showing alot of the same signs he had shown 7 years ago when we discovered he had a birth defect called "portosystemic shunt". After more tests, bloodwork and an ultrasound, they confirmed that Cosmo's liver was the problem. Half his liver was not working at all and the other half showed an "infarct", a growth. So Cosmo is working on approximately 20-30% of his liver.

We brought Cosmo to Virginia Tech because it was recommended by our vet. They admitted Cosmo for 2 days. They did more bloodwork, another ultrasound and decided they needed to to a CT Scan and a biopsy.

They had to put him under anesthesia which proved difficult for Cosmo, he had a hard time being put under and a very difficult time coming out of it... to the point they kept him an extra day.

We stayed pretty close to the RV most of the time Cosmo was at VT but we did drive around their beautiful campus and through the town of Blacksburg... a very quaint town. We drove the windy, narrow roads up and down the mountains and it reinforced how much we enjoy being flatlanders!

We will take Cosmo home, keep him comfortable and ensure his quality of life continues!

St. Augustine (January 1, 2010 - Friday)

We arrived at NAS Mayport on Tuesday, December 29th and absolutely loved the area where Pelican Roost RV Park is located. It is right on the mouth of the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. We saw so many boats, so many HUGE boats going up and down this river.

We had a beautiful view of the water and the Navy's ships!! This gentleman stopped by and mentioned that he too towed a Lincoln MKX behind his Class C and asked Cass how ours towed!

On December 30th, Cass drove me around Jacksonville and Jacksonville Beach to show me where she grew up! Here is the house on Fairway Lane that she grew up, where she burned the kitchen trying to make french fries...

We drove through the cemetary where her mother was buried...

.

.. where she went to

school...

... and where her father had bought a place on Sawgrass!

We left for St. Augustine on Thursday, December 31st. It was a beautiful ride down Rt. A1A! We are staying at North Beach Resort. According to their brochure, it "is located on a barrier island, common along the Southeast Atlantic Coast. This unnamed island extends about 35 miles north to Mayport, at the mouth of the St. Johns River and 3.5 miles south to the St. Augustine Inlet, where the Matanzas and North Rivers join and open to the ocean. Both rivers are tidal saltwater and are part of the Intracoastal Waterway." This campground abuts the Intracoastal and we are just across the street from the ocean and about 4 miles from downtown St. Augustine.

It rained all day here so we took it as a day to watch "Julie and Julia"... great movie! Cosmo and Patrick took it as a down day too and slept with Cass on the couch! It's a rough life for two little dogs but I think it is fair to say that they have adapted very well to being travelin' pups!

South of the Border (08-19-09)

We took a "shakedown cruise" to South of the Border. Driving the RV is getting easier with each trip, big or small we take. The ride was approximately a 65 mile drive from door to door, mostly a 55mph to 65mph road, a 4 lane road to a 2 lane road so it was a nice combination of driving experience. The weather was just about perfect...

Cosmo and Patrick are really enjoying their RV and we have been making sure that getting them used to being in the RV and travelling is smooth. We have spent time with them in there parked in the driveway. Cosmo did fine on the ride sleeping either in his bed or under the dinette or on the dinette bench. Patrick on the other hand, is needy and insecure and wants to sit with whoever is NOT driving!


Beth drove to South of the Border...










Cass drove home...













Cosmo slept...












Patrick did not...










And if you are thinking about going to South of the Border, don't bother...