3.10.2006

On the Road Again

Moxie & I pushed off around noontime today and put in some 250 miles to end up on Virginia's Eastern Shore. We couldn't have asked for a prettier day to do just about anything... temperatures apparently soared into the high seventies in suburban DC and an electronic sign in breezy Ocean City registered 64 degrees. What a great day to introduce this puppy to the Atlantic coast!

We stopped in Ocean City with hopes of playing on the beach and roaming a deserted boardwalk, then crashing in town for the night. But among the hundreds of hotels and motels in that gauds-ville, only a half dozen accept dogs according to the local Chamber of Commerce. We called or visited three of them. The first one is closed until April, the second could only offer a smoking room, and the third wanted what seemed like too dear a price for a far-flung location. (This last one also stipulated that a guest dog must weigh less than 25 pounds. Moxie weighed in at 25.1 pounds at yesterday's vet appointment!) So we opted to push on in search of room at a more dog-friendly inn.

We did park and enjoy the sights before leaving, though. Moxie seemed overwhelmed by all the new on the beach. Sand underfoot, crashing waves, salty water, screaming seagulls... all required urgent sniffing/watching/tasting/barking. A kite that looked like a black shark merited a particularly ferocious response -- barking and lunging toward it as if it were some attacking bird of prey. The boardwalk, too, provided much entertainment for my puppy. All the people and dogs to greet and sniff... a day in paradise for Miss Mox.

Geographically speaking, the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia is quite lovely. The land lies low and flat, and today many fields were a bright shade of spring green. Houses lining the highways are Tara-like in their stately statures -- lots of pillars and porches. While Virginia's part of the peninsula would be an unfortunate place to be a chicken -- we passed sprawling complexes of both Tyson and Perdue -- it seems a lovely place to live as a person. But besides those poultry plants, there wasn't much evidence of an employment market. I did grab a local newspaper in the hotel lobby... the Eastern Shore Post touts itself as the only locally-owned rag. I don't think the climate here would work for Moxie & I in the long-term, though. With each day she seems to favor cold weather more clearly. And I'm no fan of southern summertime's hot humidity.

Tomorrow we'll aim for North Carolina's Outer Banks. If we can find acceptable (read: cheap with fast internet) lodging, we may spend a few days there. Please share your suggestions!

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