On the road...

Well folks, I'm on the road! The first few days have been a learning experience for me and Stanley. I am still figuring out exactly what items are necessary, what is expendable and what I need two or three of. For example, half way through day one, I lost my crappy front basket and Stanley lost a bootie without me noticing (sorry Molly). That's when I realized that, just like carrying bike tubes and a pump, I would need to get backups of the most important heath and safety items. This leads me to my first story from the road about how truly great and giving some people in this world are.
That day, while filling up my water jugs at a restaurant outside of Point Mugu State Park, I met a veterinarian from Thousand Oaks named Edward "Bear" Thompson. We got to talking about dogs, biking and how Stan had lost a bootie and I might not be able to get him another set until Oxnard. That evening, while enjoying a burger with the family at the campsite next to me, up walks Bear with extra booties for Stanley! Both Stanley and I can't thank that man enough and hope that anyone in the area will think about taking their pets to Conejo Valley Veterinary.
Funniest story from day one definitely goes to us getting pulled over on the PCH. I had gone by one of those radar trailers that said we were going 8mph, so I was pretty sure we weren't speeding. It turns out that two members of the LA County Sheriff's Dept had been patrolling the PCH and seen me and Stanley miles and hours apart. Being a dog owner and lover, one of the cops decided that I must be doing something wrong. So there we were, me and Stanley meandering along when we were interrupted by the lights and siren of a cop car pulling us over for... suspicion of "animal cruelty." The guy definitely wanted to haul me in for something (thankfully I paid that "failure to fully clean off my windshield after a snowstorm" ticket from Tahoe), but their humane society division was ok with everything, so they let me go. It would have been some great footage, but they declined to let me take out the video camera. If anyone knows whether I would have been able to film the situation anyway, let me know. I'm sure I'll get pulled over again, and I didn't want to ruffle any feathers on my first time.
Thanks to Steve, I'm blogging from the Ventura Beach Marriott today while taking a break from traveling to give Stanley and his paws a rest. It's pretty luxurious, although the view doesn't compare to the beautiful campsites on the pacific ocean. Now we're heading to a state beach dog park to enjoy the beautiful and refreshing pacific ocean. I'll blog (that word never gets old) again soon!