Blasphemy!

More than one person has written in insinuating that our absence from the blog was due to Max having gone Hollywood and thus forgetting all of the little people who made him who he is today.

To prove that this is in NO WAY true and the tabloids SHOULD NOT BE BELIEVED, Max has decided to chew up the symbol of all that is wrong in tinsel town. Good-bye, movie star white sunglasses!




Please rest assured that our absence was due in full to technical difficulties resulting from the spillage of a cocktail...umm...the spillage of a mineral water onto the owner's beloved MacBook...it took almost three days (it coincided with the launch of the much-coveted iPhone 3G S) to receive the diagnosis that the repairs would cost just 2-3 hundred bucks less than a brand new MacBook Pro with more power and a more durable (read here: can withstand a little sprinkle or two before morphing into a lava-lamp-like structure) body.

We have now upgraded and plan to continue to work hard to meet the demand of our ever-growing fan base.

Thanks to all of you, and as they say here in LA: Love you, mean it.

Max's new hobby

Max is lovin' our new pad north of LA. He has a new friend, Gracie, a 9-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, plus bunny rabbits running all over the backyard for them to chase, AND a bird in a cage RIGHT IN THE HOUSE!

Note Max's new hobby -- bird watching:



Seriously, he can lay there for hours and watch Homer, the cockatiel eat, walk, peck, you name it...note the gate and the vacuum cleaner blocking the table on both sides...Max has been known to stand on his back paws to get closer and to totter the table the bird's cage is sitting on.

Max sez: "Jackpot!"

Getting Gas

Just thought I give a shout out to Chris Stavinoha who used to tell his wife, Katie, to fill up the car when the tank hit a half tank. Katie and I would P-shaw this advice...I often tempt fated by driving until the light comes on.

WELL, once I left Lubbock, TX, (in fact it sort of started between Fort Worth and Lubbock), gas stations noticeable thinned out...the East Coast and the area of Texas/Oklahoma where I grew up, all have gas stations ever mile or so...but here -- WITHOUT WARNING -- you can go as much as 100 miles without a gas station!

When driving up to our hotel near the Grand Canyon, my gas light came on (I really just wasn't paying attention to the car, but focusing on the landscape) and my heart pounded for about 5 minutes when I came up to a gas oasis -- charging $2.89/gallon (compared to $2.49/gal before) -- and filled up.

I've learned my lesson, Chris, and am now filling up pretty much anytime I see a station and my tank is down even just 1/4 (down to 3/4) tank, but I start looking at 1/2 a tank.

We got in!

Max and I made it inside the Grand Canyon National Park yesterday (Wed, June 10) and saw the canyon in all its glory. The news for the last 3 days has talked about the beginning of the monsoon which starts next week...apparently it can rain so hard that cars are swept away...they didn't say it outright, but I'm thinking the trails aren't too safe either!

So I'm happy that we came when we did.


Max stayed in the onsite kennel for the first part of the first day because dogs aren't allowed "under the rim"...so I braved it alone...


...though, I have to say that the Grand Canyon is NOT the best choice of vacation spots for someone with acrophobia (hey, I'm not afraid of heights, I'm afraid of falling from heights). I lasted approximately 5 minutes and 50 feet before my knees began to tremble and I had to go back up.

After taking a bus tour (dogs also not allowed on bus) to Hermit's Rest (did you know hermits were religious folks? Learned that from a young Spaniard who was visiting because the GC is in their history course because a Spaniard discovered it) and having lunch in the historic Bright Angel Lodge, I went to pick up Max for the rest of the day....and Max was a ROCK STAR with the little ladies.

On Grandview Trail, this little girl had to be pulled away by her parents! She told Max, "I can't stop petting you!"


This group of young girls was distracted from their parents photo shoot by Max's cuteness...their parents started in English, but quickly switched to Japanese (I think) to urge the girls stop petting and start posing on the edge of the Canyon...I have to say they were too close to the edge for me!


We eventually got away from the tot-erazzi and got on with the tour...Max soon spotted the Abert's squirrel and couldn't help but think this was the best place ever.



This morning, we are going to jump on the morning geology tour of the Grand Canyon before we hit the road for Thousand Oaks, which is our final destination...but it's 8 hours away, so we may stop somewhere in between...if we can find anything in between...looks like Needles, CA, may be an option.

Wish us luck!

Arid America

After a brutally HOT day in Lubbock, TX, Max and I moved on to Albuquerque, NM, which is in the desert and yet much cooler! We went to Old Town Albuquerque where we stopped off at the oldest Catholic church in the USA, the San Felipe de Neri Parish. We bought a Saint Francis of Assisi (patron saint of animals) medal for Max's collar, a Saint Christopher (patron saint of travelers) card for the car and a bracelet of saints for myself...all money (less than $5!) goes to help restore the church.


That's the church behind the Punkin' Head.

Today we left for the Grand Canyon and drove and drove and drove through flat land reminiscent of Georgia O'Keefe and other artists who have depicted the painted desert...very peaceful and lonely country...proof that the planet has plenty of room.


New Mexico/Arizona border and a bit of the vastness.

We arrived in Tucsayan, AZ, and went to our hotel just outside the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Tomorrow, we go in!

More friends!

Max and I couldn't do this without all of our friends from DC to Texas. Thanks to everyone for making it possible and for such fun!


Robin, Jeb, Napolean and Phoebe Callan of Austin, TX


Max and Sammy at the Fort Worth home of Aunt Roberta and Uncle Bob...hosts to our family gatherings. (See future posts.)


Ruth and Corry Schiermeyer of Lubbock, TX with canine pals (aka "pack mates") Scout, Mia and Penny.