My heart is into home right now after a rigorous first five months of travel this year. I’m content with the relatively hassle-free enjoyment of home life. Next week, I do have an appointment with the TSA to enroll in their accelerated security program, hoping to cut down on waiting time and avoid the hassle of taking off my shoes and belt. It’s worth the $85 fee, especially for international travel. I do have a love for hitting the road, but it sometimes gets to be a bit much!

I have only two flights booked in advance at this time. One is for my August 68th birthday party in Steamboat, Colorado and in early September, and the other is for my step-daughter’s wedding at the Presidio in San Francisco. I seem to be in the midst of the first travel lull since  retirement – at least a conscious break from airports and especially lengthy flights that tend to kick my butt. My wife, on the other hand, is traveling to Phoenix in two weeks. I also agreed to stay home when she travels to Los Angeles in July. While she’s gone, I did commit to drive the pups to the Oregon Coast to play on the beach with my friends’ Golden-doodles and spend the night at their Netarts home. We’ll also chauffeur them to Vancouver, B.C. in July for a long weekend. After summer comes to a close, I’ll have recovered enough to join my wife on cross-country business trips to New York City and Chicago, while we’ll continue to discuss Florida or Palm Springs. 

We still don’t know yet about the Superbowl in Miami next February. Our reservations are still questionable and tickets yet to be fully secured, although we have a source.  I will also soon be making airline arrangements to Egypt next October. This morning, however, I’m in downtown Portland for the American Heart Association 3-mile walk. As we wait for the start, I will get in a few miles to maintain my running streak. Tonight we’ll see “Rocketman,” the Elton John story. Tomorrow morning, I will thankfully wake up in my own bed, with a month of such comfortable home life ahead. 

As I continue to write on the morning after, the dogs were perhaps a bit over-stimulated about participating in the Heart Walk. I pushed old lady Tinker, “The Poopingest Pup on the Planet,” in her stroller, while my wife led a frightened Tally on the leash. She’s the youngest of our two schnauzers, who loves to romp but was clearly afraid of the humming noises that the car tires made as they crossed the Hawthorne Bridge. As we approached the end of the course, I stopped to give Tinker a final potty break but quickly discovered it was too late. The Heart Walk suddenly became the “Poop Walk!” Typically, she barks when she has to go, but instead she quietly let loose. “Silent but Deadly,” they say, and I had the unpleasant task of cleaning up the mess that was all over her paws and butt. It was not the kind of donation that the Heart Association was expecting!

We got through this morning’s “Schnauzerthon” without another incident. Next weekend, we’ll participate in another fundraiser and hopefully our only donation will be monetary. We’ll buy some Wet Wipes to keep in the stroller just in case. My heart goes out to Tinker who now is over 15-years old (105 dog years) and slowly losing control of her aging body. The stroller allows her to still go along with us on long weekend walks that are frequently for a good cause, considering the dry weather associated with this time of year in Portland.