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My master and friend “the Gallic”
describes his plans of great adventure to me… “It’s just crazy…”
especially going towards the north pole, which for me, a Caribbean born,
loving to laze on my Concordia
terrace on the island of Saint Martin where it’s always at least 27˚C,
under the coconut trees, the cooool life!!!
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No, I’m not with you on this !!
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But one day, they put me in an airplane cage, and
the next thing I knew, we were in Miami… I was still asleep when we
arrived… Then, a friend of theirs brought us to a “truck park”! They
bought a DODGE Truck, with, I must ad, a very comfy-looking back seat…
that I couldn’t wait to nap on ! But that wasn’t the end ; after their
purchase, they now wanted BIG four-wheeler tires, a winch in the front
capable of hauling 6 tons, a cool protective grill, and a bin to store
tools in the rear trunk!!! What a toy! “A wild machine….” |
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When the heck are they going to stop thinking about these useless details… ?!
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OK. It’s true : Every night, we stopped at a different motel, but dogs
weren’t allowed in…sot hey found a solution to this.. : The Gallic would
open the room door, the Gypsy would back the truck up next to the room
door and rush me indoors when the Gallic whistled. The next morning I’d
make the return trip from the room door to the truck. No one ever noticed
I slept in « Uncle Sam’s country Hotels » but then why doesn’t the law
allow that ? I thought they liked dogs.. I often heard « Oh what a
beautiful dog !… is it a male or female ? »
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So we went off Westwards, and guess what ? Now they’re looking for a
house on wheels ! « Crazy people !! »
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After a thorough search of a good used camping car deal, one day, they
found what they were looking for in Nevada, in Boulder city, near Las
Vegas. It seems they fell on a rare find. It’s true that this house on
wheels, or « Fifth Wheel » is pretty much like a caravan but a part of
the house is hooked up in the truck’s bin… it looks stable… it needs to
be tested !
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Now what are we going to do ? Are we going to drive North or what ?
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I bet you these two are cooking up something!!
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Well, I was right !! What do you know ?! They want to redo everything
pretending that the older models are tougher than the new ones ! But the
inside still looks crappy.. with lots of purple flowers on a brown background
; the couch is plastic ; all the walls are dark and sad as is the carpet…
it’s enough to give you the blues !
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…. Inside OK but it looks so old ; I won’t last two years in there !
…
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So they’re going to redo everything : paint, floors, lights, everything
to their taste !… And you know where they want to do all this work ? And
adjustments ?In Montreal !!! In mid-winter !! It’s stark raving madness !! »
After having travelled across 24 United States states and journeyed 9482
miles, that’s 15.160_kms, we reached the
house of Steeve and Leslie, the Gypsy’s two children finishing their
studies over there. If that wasn’t good enough for us, there were 10 cm
of freezing snow outside, cold enough to keep a dog inside : « Tabernac !! »
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They were obliged to buy me a coat, for me, the Caribbean dog.. My paws
in the snow !! And on top of that, the law obliges my owners to pick up
my poop from the ground !! The Gallic tells me it’s actually good for the
trees…
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A good friend of theirs called Yvon, who always gave me a nice petting,
lent them his garage and gave them addresses of specialized craftsmen.
They even left with the four-wheeler
house for Acton Vale (100 km one way trip) to see a solderer to
have a case made in which to stock the tools…
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And the bikes as they want to buy two bikes and nothing for me ? I’ll
probably have to run behind them !
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The Gallic, being lazy, wants a hydraulic system installed so that he
doesn’t need to use a crank to get everything set up in 10 minutes flat
at each stop and he can just sit down and have a drink ! What an idea… To
look more discreet, they had the Fifth Wheel painted white so it doesn’t
look like an « ad on wheels » any more (as it did before with hideous
drawings and markings).
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So each morning ; we left Steeve’s place in Montreal to brave the harsh
cold, the icy roads, the snow on renovation the site at Vaudreuil Durion
as this country isn’t a country ; it’s winter « How I love the Caribbean !
Thank goodness the Quebec people are charming »
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Weeks are passing by and they have paint brushes, screwdrivers ; they
dismount, re-assemble, transform…
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Ah… things are getting ahead…
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This Gallic is mad, you know, and the Gypsy isn’t much better !!... I’m
waiting for spring time, I, the only dog around here…
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That’s obvious… !
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To top it all, one day or one night, I don’t remember any more, we
covered so many kilometers ; can you guess why ?? To go buy an alarm, a
miniature alarm, a dog ! Yes, they bought a Yorkshire ! They did this to
me !
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« What is this ?? At first I thought this was a gift, a toy for me. Well,
it wasn’t ! Apparently, when we travel, I sleep deeply, and we might
cross dangerous places during our trip, so his job is going to be to stay
awake and act as « watch dog » to sound off and wake us up if there’s a
problem ! And my job, since I’m trained for this, will be to protect my
team, show my teeth and maybe even bite – oh, yes, I’d like that !!
Come Spring time, before the final departure, I was put back into this
big cage to come back home ! Finally !!!...
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Oh, I wasn’t slow to hop in ! I was eager to be in the sun again, and on
top of that, Romain, the Gallic’s son with my buddy « Choki », his dog,
and Julien, the Gallic’s other son with his small daughter, Triana, who
pulls my hair a bit much (I must say this annoys me a little) and then
all the PBD team, the firm my master set up but now his kids have taken
it up and manage it and the older generation wants to enjoy life by
travelling
« Raving madness », don’t you think ? I’m sooo well in the Caribbean.
We only stayed a fortnight in Saint-Martin, just the time for the Gypsy
to catch a sunburn and then return trip to Canada.
I’m hearing the engine’s noise, we’re all leaving for the North Pole… let
me sleep and when we reach there !!! If we get there… as I’m not the only
one to believe we won’t… everyone has doubts except for the Gallic and
the Gypsy !! ; ah, they’re determined, these two…
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By the way, I’m making a bet : If I dip my paws in the Arctic Ocean I
promise to tell you about this magnificent trip.
Then, I’ll meet you in Barrow which is the topmost spot on the planet…
Finally, I think that’s the place land ends then it’s the icebergs… and
the ice field…
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….Ulla and XL… that’s us !....
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