First Flight!

Making tracks on Oceano Beach

For the past few years, we have been taking advantage of the Minnesota Education Association (MEA) fall convention with its two days of no classes to take a fall trip.  This year, we decided to fly to California and revisit the town of Oceano, which is very slightly south of Pismo Beach.  We think is it one of the few beach areas to allow all and any four wheel drive vehicles to drive on it: dune buggies, pick-up trucks, and even huge (really HUGE) motor homes.  Though this steady stream of vehicles parading up and down the beach is odd, it has kept the beach from achieving the kind of popularity that drives prices up and regular, non-extremely wealthy people such as ourselves away.  The vehicles drive slowly and the ocean drowns out their noise.  Call me crazy, but I find this peaceful and a bit of a return to a California past: Beach Boy days, Happy Days.  Throw in the Oeano Diner and the dune buggy store called Kick Sand, and Oceano is the perfect place to get away from the present...a good vacation indeed! 

Visiting the Reagan Presidential Library

Gracie had been with me for a couple months when we decided to go on this trip to Oceano, and thanks to the excellent handouts that IHDI provided, we knew to tell the airlines that we would be traveling with a service dog.  Because of our advanced planning and Bruce's professionalism on the phone, Delta assigned us bulkhead seats both going out and coming back becasue we were to be traveling with a service dog.  I'm not sure what might have happened had we purchased tickets at the last minute.  The bulkhead seats are the ones right behind the business class section and so have no seats that recline into the space.  Delta also told us we would need her shot record from the vet, which I got the day before we left.  We needed to show that when we showed our tickets and our own IDs.  Going out, we were in a larger plane, so there was more room on the floor for Gracie.  Our plane coming back had less space directly in front of us for her.  Of course, she was more nervious going than coming back.  As a result, she spent some of the time going in my lap.  She stayed on the cabin floor on her rug the whole trip back.  I brought the rug (bathmat without rubber backing) that she is used to lying on at home with us for her.  When I put that on the floor of the plane, she got right on it and settled.  Can every IDHI trained hearing dog be as wonderful as Gracie?  If so, I am truely amazed at their ability to select and train hearing dogs.

Hiking the Bob Jones Trail in Pismo

I also followed IDHI's advice about feeding before traveling.  I gave Gracie less food the day before the flight.  The morning of the flight, I took her for a long walk.  Then I fed her a tiny bit (she is used to eating right after a morning walk, I so I fed her) and let her have a small drink of water.  As soon as we got off the plane in L.A., I found a grassy area that the LAX has just for dogs (pretty neat!  I might not have noticed this place otherwise.  And, like much of the public areas that we saw in California, including the beaches, this area had a dispenser of pick-up bags for poop.

We met Bruce at the rental car bus stop.  When the bus arrived, Gracie hopped on, welcomed by the driver.  In fact, we only had one incident in California where Gracie's presence was questioned and that was at a small beach grocery store.  When we explained that Gracie was a service dog, though, the clerk said, "Oh" and allowed Gracie to stay in the store. 

Gracie cuddles with Bruce

Gracie settled right in at the one-room condo we rented two block from the beach and across the street from a state camp ground.  She loved walking on the beach, and when I started picking up sand dollars (the Oceano beach is litered with them--if one gets there before the vehicles run them over), Gracie started to help me by digging them out and then picking them up in her mouth.  She was also interested in catching one of the nimble sea birds on the beach.  The birds were not interested in being caught.  The contest gave Gracie a lot of good exercise...until a bird-loving beach life guard called her out.  "No dogs on this beach, " he told us--we were on our way back to the airport at this time and very close to L.A.  When we told him she was a service dog, he reminded us that a service dog had to be on a six foot lead (she was) and under control (she was...but didn't appear to be).  I reigned her in, of course.  I don't really think she was terrorizing the birds, but rules are rules.

Gracie listening for rattle snakes

I'd like to report that air travel with a hearing dog is a snap.  For much of the trip, it was.  Making travel plans early and alerting the airline to get bulkhead seats, having the dog's vet records for the pass through security (I also had the laminated cards IDHI gave me but no one asked for them.  Still, I am glad I had them because having them eased my mind), following the IHDI feeding before traveling advice, bringing along objects that the dog is familiar with to lay on and to chew, bringing along enough of the regular food the dog eats and some of her treats was also a must (we never would have found a place to buy her brand of dog food easily) all contributed to making Gracie happy, so we could relax and have a good time.  

The hardest part of the trip for me was going through airport security.  I knew from other things I have read that I would have to take off her collar and lead.  I didn't know that I would have to take off everything, including her vest and carry her through the scanner, though.  I am so glad that she is such a clam dog and small enough for me to carry at about 20 pounds.  Still, reassembling ourselves after taking all of our stuff off and out (laptop, cell phone, shoes, watch, etc.) was an ordeal.  Somehow, I was supposed to get all the bins of stuff and the collarless, leadless dog away from the end of the conveyer belt to do this.  Somehow I did.  In L.A., though, they made Gracie and I go though the scanner repeatedly until the only metal I could think of that might be left was the filling in my teeth.  I was so rattled after that ordeal that I almost left without my laptop and cell phone.  One of the inspection crew shagged after me.  This act of kindness successfully removed any resentment I might have been left with.  If you are traveling with a service dog, though, be prepared at the check-in.  You will have to wait in line with everyone else, and you will have to remove everything and get your dog through the scanner without a collar or lead.  I even had to remove my hearing aides, and this made following all the direction that several people were issueing all at one time VERY hard to impossible.

Gracie keeping an eye on sea birds

The trip was worth it though.  California is beautiful and hiking the hills and trails and beaches with Gracie was wonderful.  We even let her share the king size bed with us at night since we didn't have her bed with us.  If we were to go on another mult-day flying trip, I would seriously consider bringing her crate with supplies like her bed, food, bowls, etc. packed inside of it.  I would check this through like baggage.  We were okay without all her stuff, but were we to stay longer, the stuff would be nice to have for all of us.

At School: Week 8

How did I navigate the world without Gracie?  I can't imagine doing so now.  Did every week used to have highlights?  I don't think so; at least, I can't remember them if they did.  I am like Dorothy moving from the black and white world of Kansas to the technicolor world of Oz.

Entrance to the trail

1. Tuesday is our best day at school because we only have one class and an hour in the office.  This past Tuesday was especially beautiful.  Instead of hopping right in the car for the 50+ minute drive home, Gracie and I decided to take a stroll on our favorite wood duck trail.  We had just reached the practice fields--usually deserted--when Gracie spun around.  Of course I turned too and was just in time to move out of the way of a herd of men, probably a gym class out for a run down the trail.  Ball shagging was out, so instead, we left the tail and discovered a beautiful little lake nestled in the woods that made me long for my kayak.  It didn't take much imagination to picture a tiny house nestled on the shore of the tiny lake with my blue kayak  resting next to one side of my lawn chair and Gracie lying on the other side.  So, of  course, I had to recite Robert Frost's "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" for Gracie.  She seemed suitably impressed.

Tiny Lake in the Century College woods

Our second highlight of the week happened Thursday when Gracie and I picked up Nate at his apartment after we finished at school and used a Groupon to have lunch at the 50th Street Cafe.  Graice liked it because the booth was spacious and the floor was carpeted.  I liked the green beans in Asian dressing.

Gracie says, "Let's get out of here!"

Friday, Gracie and I went to the English department retreat, arriving at 8 a.m. as directed with our bottle of cranberry juice and bag of pretzels to contribute to the potluck breakfast.  This is usually an all day affair, but we left early--actually just a little bit earlier than the adjuncts in general who were to stay for lunch and then leave while the UFTs made their plans: summer classes and whom to hire and how. Because our Friday afternoon class meets only once a week and Week 9 is a short week, we decided two weeks in a row with no classes at all was a bad idea and resisted canceling class as the department apparently did.  It was a long day for us both as a result, another Fried day.  We were glad to be heading home at 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon and didn't even mind the rush hour traffic with its periodic stops due to frantic lane changes by the foolish people who persist in thinking that squeezing into the moving lane will get them wherever it is they are rushing to faster; instead, this action, particularly when practiced by so many, is what causes the traffic to stop.  For me the rush of lemmings to the sea is no mystery.  Lane changers reincarnated is what those lemmings are, justice meted out by the universe. 

We saw Nate again Saturday when he came over to do his laundry.  The washer, which has been not working well for awhile, didn't get all the water out of his clothes due to weak spinning.  As a result, the weight of his wet clothes did the dryer in, which led to the third highlight of the week--a trip to Sears with Gracie.  Saturday afternoon, we purchased a new GE washer and dryer from Sears and allowed the hyper salesman to talk us into buying an extended warranty.  Our salesman was like someone out of a 1950s TV comedy, *December Bride* or *Ozzie and Harriet* and the desperation he was giving off was like a cheap perfume.  Fortunately, the pair is being delivered tomorrow, just in time to wash clothes to take on our trip next week.  Gracie rides the airplane.  How to prepare?  Suggestons welcome.

View from the bridge joining the east campus to the west campus.
Century College, White Bear Lake, MN

Back to School: Week 7

Gracie reflects

It's now safe to say that my presence at school with Gracie is "normal."  This means that the highlights of our week at school together are rather dull, so we will turn to other highlights of the week.  There were lots of them!

The most beautiful fall ever!

With two face to face (on campus/F2F) classes, two hours of compulsory time in the department's writing center, and 100+ minutes times three spent in the car going to and coming back from White Bear Lake each week, three online classes and the weekly Webinars I hold with those students, all the papers and assignments to go through from all those people, plus Gracie's walks and grooming etc. does not leave us with much extra time.  This week, however, the weather was too beautiful to ignore.   So Gracie and I stole time we didn't really have and the highligts for this week are the things we did instead of what we usually do which is answer student questions posted in Discussion or sent in an e-mail messages, plan classes and Webinars, all the stuff previously mentioned, and correct papers non-stop like that woman in the fairy tale locked in shed where she was commanded to spin gold out of straw.

Highlights of Week 7: 





The Monster lurks.


1. Going to a movie--Moneyball-- with Nate and Bruce (and Brad Pitt) was highlight number one.  I had popcorn, and Gracie had her dinner.  Then we all went back to Nate's apartment for sandwiches--subs, really. Gracie sat on the couch...but don't tell Nate's girlfriend, who was out of town Monday, about that.
2. Taking not one but two long bike rides around Lakes Harriet, Calhoun, and Isles was highlight number two +.  It was at Isles that we spotted the roving dinosaur that last fall was in Lake Harriet.  We were so excited we had to stop and try to capture it...in a picture.  Here you see the beast hiding in the weeds with downtown Minneapolis in the background.





Gracie rides


3. One day we shot home from the campus earlier than usual.  Of course, we put in our office hours and spent our time in the writing center and taught our class.  But we are not being chased out of the office that we are so graciously allowed to use by other part-timers this fall as we were all of last year and so have been staying a bit longer to try to stay on top of all that straw that must be spun.  This day we didn't though.  Instead we hurried home to ride our bike to Lake Calhoun for a walk and lunch with Bruce and his cousin Idy.  Idy had not met Gracie before, but no one would have known that by the enthusiastic way Gracie greeted Idy.  We ate at the Tin Fish, which was scheduled to close for the season today--but how can they as the 80 degree weather persists?  Thanks to that 80 degree weather, the Tin Fish was not out of chowder like they usually are by two in the afternoon.  Ahhh.  When we returned to our locked bikes, we were greeted by a couple with two miniature dachshunds.  The couple was very interested in Gracie's bike riding arrangement.  I expect to see the four of them zinging around the lake in a similar rig next time we manage to get away.
4. Friday I now call Fried Day because it really is too exhausting and by the end of it, both Gracie and I are fried.  We have to be on campus by 10:30 a.m. (four hours later than usual but with a three hour class planned and in the can); in the writing center by 11:00 a.m.; and in front of students from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.  They don't always leave right away.  We often end up staying until 4:30 p.m. or later.  Then there is the rush hour traffic mingled with the heading-up-north traffic.  We are lucky to get home by 6:30 p.m. 



Early morning is spectacular

5. Saturday, to atone, we got up at 3:30 a.m. and got to work grading student work and doing site maintenance for Week 8.  At 6:30 a.m., I got this picture of the sunrise.  At 7:45 a.m., I put Gracie in her kennel box and went to the YMCA for the Saturday morning Body Flow class.  Of course, Gracie and I had to take a long walk when I got home.  Then back to work until 4:20 p.m. when we went to Zach's to pick him up to go to Bruce's cousin Joni and her husband Steve's farm outside of Prescott, WI.  What a beautiful place that is.  And what a perfect opportunity there for Gracie to practice her dog to dog etiquette, which is admittedly a bit rusty.  After some early growling and lunging, however, Gracie went into tolerance mode.  I suspect she wanted to run around like the other dogs, but I kept her leashed to me, as the good service dog she is.

Today--Sunday--we were up again before dawn and back at the computer.  I think I am nearly up-to-date.  None too soon either as two classes are turning in papers tonight (electronically) and one class will be turning in papers Tuesday night and another class Thursday morning--hard copy, the only one that comes in that way and a sort of treat for me as I get to write on those papers with a green ballpoint.  Then one more class turns in their papers Saturday night before 11:59 p.m.  Though the weather this week was wonderful, Gracie and I are hoping the weather this coming week is not quite so inviting.  As I relate the story of the week past, I realize that what has been sacrificed is my sleep (since Gracie works in her naps while I'm grading, peddling, driving, etc.) Maybe we'll go to bed early tonight.  Say good night, Gracie!

Good night

Back to School: Week 6

Hightlights of week 6:

1. Being stopped by the campus security:  "You can't bring a dog in here," said the head honcho, approaching us rapidly down the still deserted hallway--deserted except for the three of us, that is.  "This is my service dog," I said calmly.  I had my backpack slung over my right shoulder, Gracie's leash in my left hand and the handle of my briefcase on wheels clutched in my right hand.   It was 6:30 a.m., and Gracie and I had been up since 4:50 a.m., taken two walks, had breakfast, and driven for 50 minutes through not quite rush hour traffic.  We were alert, in other words, and looking our best.  "Oh," the security office said.  "I didn't know."  Then he bent down and patted Gracie on the head. 
2. Taking a poetry walk at the Silver Lake Regional Park: Dogs are allowed on paved paths, so Gracie wasn't the only dog there.  I'm still avoiding other dogs a bit because Gracie is definitely nicer to people than she is to other dogs.  We walked on the paved trails, stopping now and then to listen to local poets read their work.  It was delightful.  If we had thought to bring her life jacket, we could have gone canoeing too.  Drat.
3. Getting a compliment from a colleague:  While I was sitting at the instructor's table in the campus writing center and Gracie was on her bath mat under the table, another member of the English department stopped and said, "I wish my students were so well behaved."  I assumed she meant Gracie though I was well behaved as well.
4. Going to the Unitarian Society to watch Nate's documentary film:  This was a new place for Gracie since we stopped attending before she joined us--years before, actually.  The film was all ready running when we arrived, so we slipped in quietly and sat in a chair by the door.  Gracie sat in my lap.  Then she sort of guarded the door, growling softly each time someone came in, peeked in, or even passed by the door.  Though I'm sure her intentions were good, I had to tell her no each time.
5. Going out to eat after the film with Nate and Bruce:  I wasn't sure how this was going to go since Gracie not only sat through the film and the question and answer session afterward, she had also gone to school with me earlier that day for what is out longest day: an hour in the writing center, an office hour, and a three hour class.  She was terrific though.  Gracie knows what a restaurant is--even this one where she had never been before.  She settled right down under the booth until we got up to leave.