Florida!

We're back in the cold and snow now, but we spent Christmas and the New Year in Florida with my parents in The Villages. Since it's on the blog, you know Maggie went with us... which, of course, means we drove down there from Chicago.

The first question we're asked (maybe the second, after "You're DRIVING?!") is "How will Maggie do in the car?". Let's see... Maggie loves being with her mom and dad - the car puts her about 2 feet from both of us; she loves her bed, which fills up the entire backseat; and she just in general loves the car anyway. So 17+ hours each way is really heaven for Maggie. I think if we drove to the southern tip of Chile, Maggie would be OK with that.

I'll break down some of the highlights:

Maggie @ the grandparents
This first picture is from the day we arrived. Maggie was so tired (from what, we're not sure) she fell asleep with her face in her food bowl... snoring. This was the first new thing.










This photo is Maggie and I both taking a nap out on the lanai after another rough Florida day.














Maggie decided to prove us wrong at every turn and exhibit behaviors that she doesn't show at home. We've talked about how Maggie is always in her bed here and doesn't wander the house. Not necessarily true at the grandparents (and like good grandparents, they encouraged her "bad" behavior). We'd leave the house with her in her bed, and find her in "her spot". Her spot over the duration of the trip was a corner by the fireplace\tv and at her back was an army of a dozen teddy bears to stand guard. No matter where else we wanted her to go, all she really wanted to do was sit by the bears.

On one outing we'd left her in her bed in the guest bedroom. We came back to find her on the floor, surrounded by confetti. It turns out, Maggie decided to get into a bag on the floor, take out the plastic box containing two doggie Christmas cookies, and devour them. Granted, these Christmas cookies are one of her favorite treats in the world and we left it on the floor about 8 feet from her bed... but Maggie just doesn't do that! Well, she didn't do that. The treat bag was subsequently relocated.

Maggie liked the lanai, as long as someone else was out there with her. Maggie just doesn't like laying outside without someone else with her - at least that's consistent between Chicago and Florida.

Golf Cart
One thing we both looked forward to was Maggie in the golf cart. Like most things, Maggie didn't like it at first (at one point she tried to jump out at about 20mph, but her mom was having none of that) but by her third trip she decided it was pretty cool.

Sophie

Maggie made a new friend, Sophie. We drove (in the golf cart) over to Ron and Penny's house to meet their new family member. Sophie is a little bundle of energy who would wear out even the Energizer bunny. Maggie doesn't always love smaller dogs, but Sophie was very polite (especially given it was her house) and made Maggie feel right at home. Here's a few shots of the adorable duo.

Dog Park
There was a dog park just about a 5 minute drive from the house. It was a nice, HUGE park, especially by Chicago standards. And had one thing Chicago parks just don't have - grass. Maggie had a blast there, and her grandparents got to see that she really does run and play - after seeing her lay around for a few days I think they were skeptical.

The Drive
As we mentioned, she loved the drive... here are a few photos of the happy girl.

"Are we there yet?"