The drive up to Lake Geneva went well. We stopped at an outlet mall so the girls could do some back to school shopping. About a dozen pairs of shoes later, we headed to Wind Point Lighthouse, perhaps my favorite place to relax. Holly enjoyed both stops. She was happy to be in the car, especially since Holly sat in her usually seat while the blond twin crammed herself into the tiny third row seat near all the luggage.
When we arrived at the cabin, Holly was a little nervous. She's nervous by nature, so we expected her to be nervous in a new place. The owner's dog and Holly played in his backyard for a while before we took her to the cabin.
Holly doesn't like to walk on hardwood floors. She has fur in between her paw pads courtesy of the Great Pyrenees part of her DNA. She slips and slides a lot on hardwood floors. She stood on the entry throw rug until I threw a beach towel on the floor. She moved into the main room, sniffing all the way.
It wasn't long until the girls and Holly settled into their room to watch the Olympics. Holly stretched out on their bed like she owned the place. Since they let her take up most of the bed, it wasn't hard to understand why she thought it was her bed.
Traveling with Holly meant we had to adapt some of our normal routines. She came with us most places, even though this meant one person had to stand outside with her. When we ate at Gordy's, we sat across the street at the picnic tables with Holly. We left her at home to eat at Daddy's Maxwell's. We were four days into the trip when we went to breakfast without her. She wasn't happy, but she was settled enough that she didn't cause any problems.
We only had one problem, which came in the middle of our vacation. One of the most beautiful things to do in Lake Geneva is walk the lake shore path. All around Geneva Lake there is a public access path running in front of the beautiful summer homes. When we were at Gordy's, I decided to walk the lake shore path back to Williams Bay. The sign said it was about two miles. It was a beautiful night. Daddy was taking the girls to the beach. I said we'd meet them all there.
The problem was I forgot to ask Holly if she wanted to walk. Within a few minutes it was clear that Holly was not happy to be separated from Daddy and the girls. She kept trying to pull me up every set of stairs or walkway to get back to them. I kept pulling her back to the shore path, but she wasn't happy. The water lapping on the shore was soothing to me and terrifying to her. Holly spent the entire time with her ears back, jumping every time there was a strange sound. She didn't want to cross the bridges or walk on the path.
She finally got her wish to go back to Daddy and the girls about a mile into our walk. As I looked down to step onto a bridge, she tried to go up the adjacent stairs. I fell, scraping my leg and bruising my forearm. I tried to continue walking, but a few blocks later I called Daddy to come get us. I was really angry. Holly was so happy to see Daddy.
For the rest of the trip she stayed as close to him as possible. She hardly let me hold her leash without getting very nervous.
Overall I'd say our first trip was a success, despite my injuries. I don't know how much traveling Holly will do, though. The Dalmatian part of her personality is a bit too nervous to enjoy her time away from home.