On Friday morning we left the first hotel and headed Downtown to the Doubletree where the Reunion was being held. We rode the MAX, which is a light rail. We don’t have light rails in Cincinnati, so Mom was a bit nervous about being in a new city and not knowing exactly how to purchase tickets and find the tracks. Luckily, a lady helped us buy a ticket and told us which track to wait at. It really wasn’t confusing at all! Silly Mama.
Riding on the train was very fun, it was pretty crowded, but there was a group of very nice people and they helped us out. Mom never did figure out where you put your ticket once you get on the train??? LOL
When we got off at our stop, we were right in front of a park. Mommy took me to relieve and we happened to come across a lady who was relieving her dog too. She had a female yellow lab, and it turned out that we knew this lady from Facebook too! We talked to her and her friend for a while and then we separated after checking into the hotel. Mommy and I went to our room and I had some water and some ice cubes (my favorite). We were just heading downstairs to register when we ran into the same two ladies in the elevator. They invited us to lunch with them and we had a great time.
After lunch, we went to a new relieving area, inside the parking garage. They filled a large box with pine shavings. I wasn’t really sure what to think of this… I know I’ve never seen anything like this since I’ve been home, but maybe I had seen something similar as a puppy… So, it smelled like pee, so I gave it a shot. I used the boxes almost all weekend without problems, but I still prefer the grass. I’m not too picky though, when a man has to go, he’s got to go!
After a nice lunch with our new friends, the six of us (3 humans and 3 dogs) attended the workshop for GDB Alumni Chapter Presidents. I don’t recall much of the meeting though, as I took a much needed nap. I did end up twisting out of my harness a few times during the Reunion. So, Mom tightened the strap so that it now fits more snuggly.
The rest of Friday was spent meeting new people and hanging out. Saturday morning, we had some activities in the morning and afternoon, then a nice awards banquet that evening.
Sunday morning we had another brief meeting and then loaded onto a bus and travelled to the Boring, Oregon campus of Guide Dogs for the Blind. It was about a 30-40 minute bus ride, so I took a nice nap.
When we arrived at the campus, we took a tour with a very nice volunteer, who had raised two puppies for GDB. We then ate lunch on campus, and did a little bit of shopping in the gift shop. Mom also found out that one of the handlers there had a dog named Moose, who happens to be my brother! So, I got to see Moose and sniff him a bit. We were both in harness, so acted very professional. I’m not sure I recognized him, as we haven’t seen each other since we were young pups. He is a bit darker yellow than I am.
We then rode the bus back to the hotel and hung out there for a bit longer. I also got fed a light dinner (like 2 hours early), and I didn’t complain at all! Mom didn’t want to feed me too much since she knew we had to fly that evening. Then, we hopped back on the Max light rail and headed towards the airport. We met a very nice lady from Canada at the train stop. Mom really likes the light rail and wishes we had something like that here.
At the airport, we found the relieving area and then headed inside. We got to our gate and waited there for a bit. Our first flight to Los Angeles was delayed by about half an hour. We were a bit worried that we may miss our connecting flight back home, since we had a very short layover. But, that flight had been delayed too, and was a very short walk from the gate we arrived at. One of the flight attendants, for the flight we were going to be on, was nice enough to take me outside quickly. I was very grateful for that! I was kind of restless for that last 4 ½ hour flight… I kept shifting around as this was the most cramped seat we had so far. Mom couldn’t get comfortable either, so we really didn’t sleep.
We arrived back in Cincinnati at 6:45 AM our time and were both feeling kind of yucky. Mom was tired and felt nauseated, and I was starving and really had to pee! Mommy took me to the relief area and then fed me my breakfast. The same flight attendant who took me out in L.A. gave Mom a bottle of water and cup for me before we landed, so I was very thankful for that too!
Of course, Grandma had to take Grandpa to work, so she was really late picking us up. We headed straight home and crashed… I was soooooo happy to see my bed! I pretty much slept all day, I even slept past my 5:00 PM dinner time, which I’ve NEVER done! I did wake up around 6:00 and ate dinner. We went to bed early that night and headed back to work on Tuesday. Of course, I’ve been able to catch up on my beauty rest here at work too.
I’m still a bit jet-labbed! Get it? J
That’s all for now, I’ve got to go back to sleep!
Mambo
anewleashinmylife 