When I told my dog park friends that I'd be hiring a car to drive Doris and me from Chicago to Los Angeles for a weekend event, they protested.
"Three days in a car!" Bethany said as she put a hand on my arm, as alarmed as if I had announced my pet and i would be hitchhiking the route.
Another friend painted images of motels on the road: seedy travellers, moldy walls, and stained linens.
"We'll take Doris for the three days," Bethany said.
Thus bolstered by concerned friends, I safely flew to Los Angeles and returned in the same condition. Because I am old, I thought it beneficial to share what I learned.
1. While I prefer to get to the airport two hours before boarding, others do not. If you want to keep your anxiety level in check, follow your own preference.
2. Travel with a companion. On the flight to L.A., my young friend, Lauren, a seasoned flyer, was my seatmate. She took over check-in and other details. As I watched her manage, I was able to float above the terminal's tumult.
3. Deposit your dog with a friend who also has a dog. Updates by Bethany assured me my shelter dog was behaving normally. And reports of sightings by other dog parkers confirmed that my 3-year-old Terrier-Jack Russell mix, was comfortable without me.
4. I'm grateful I'm fit. I swim three mornings a week, walk Doris three to four times a day, eat healthily, and stay an ideal weight, Thus, my physical condition enabled me to enjoy all of the weekend festivities.
I climbed steps at the hotel, trod hills at the ceremony in the park, and at the party, along with the other giddy guests, danced for hours.
5. A male companion is not needed. Three of us from Chicago, plus my niece and step-niece from Kansas City, left husbands, boyfriends, and plus-ones at home. An absence of caretaking was our reward. We didn't worry whether our partner was feeling excluded, having fun, or drinking too much -- concerns that would have subtracted from our own enjoyment.
Additionally, our impromptu women-only gatherings -- around the pool, or at an early morning coffee shop -- were highlights of the weekend.
6. Watch your consumption of alcohol and other mind-altering substances. While lounging around the pool upon our arrival from Chicago and Kansas City, we enjoyed hamburgers and fries. This writer sipped a Tequila Sunrise and inhaled itsy-bitsy puffs of a legal substance.
After a jovial hour, we departed to our hotel rooms to nap before the 6:30 dinner. Darkened shades and a most comfortable bed sped repose. The loud ring of the hotel phone awakened me. Then a knock on the door with, "This is a wellness check."
I retrieved my watch and phone that had been napping on their chargers. A quick glance flashed 7 p.m. Startled, I wondered what time zone my two devices were in. It couldn't possibly be Pacific Standard Time. It was.
"We worried about you!" all chorused when I made it to the hotel's dining room. "You're never late!" I was. I had a good excuse, and a story to retell.
7. Don't count on the hotel concierge to have your stored luggage ready at a moment's notice. Remember the scene in "Terms of Endearment" when Shirley MacLaine screamed at the nurses to attend to her daughter?
When the car arrived for the airport, I raced to the hotel desk to retrieve my bag. The desk was vacant; I was Shirley. A few howls brought someone running.
8. Check your luggage on all trips. I didn't intend to check luggage on the flight in. But Lauren checked hers, so I copied her action.
On the trip home, sans Lauren, my desire to speed out of the airport and return as quickly as possible to Doris convinced me to take my bag aboard. As anticipated, a tall gentleman did the hoist. But the only space available was two seats behind me.
Perhaps you're not surprised to learn that I spent four flight hours worrying about how I was going to push backwards through fellow passengers to plead for retrieval.
9. Upon return, don't be distressed if your pet --she was dropped off home an hour before I arrived --is perplexed rather than ecstatic. While I hugged Doris and sobbed, she looked over my shoulder to find her absent hosts and dog buddy.
10. Consider ignoring well-meaning friends who urged flight over car. Despite others' warnings, that highway route, with dog at my elbow, may have been the best choice for someone my age with an unabated anxiety level.