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Ruby Here

Ruby here,

We are a little out of sequence here, but we were excited to tell you about our big construction project first, then our historic photo's, and now the Alaska trip. This will catch you up on our winter adventures as we prepare to relate for you all our travels during the summer. As we told you in one of our postings, we were in Alaska running the Iditarod Dog Sled Race this last winter. You may be saying that's impossible and, unlike our other whacky adventures which are all true, surely we must be making this one up. You're probably saying the Iditarod is a grueling cross county 1150 mile race, run in the dead of winter in Alaska, only by experienced teams of professional sled dogs, to commemorate a heroic delivery of emergency medicine during the winter of 1925. Well, you would be right but only if you did not take into consideration the unknown super powers of the Cavalier. So let's get you caught up, shall we.

One night this last winter, during one of our late night runs to the treat store, we were sitting at a traffic light when all of a sudden Duncan popped up in the back seat (again just like the addition) and said, "Why don't we try running in the Iditarod Dog Sled Race in Alaska?"� Sydney looked at me, I looked at Sydney, and as nutty as it sounded, we knew we had found our next adventure. After all, it was winter and we hadn't been traveling and we were getting a little bored. So, we agreed we should give it the old Cavalier try. Next thing we know we are sitting on the kitchen floor, looking at a map of the US and mapping our quickest route to Alaska. One thing we discovered quite by accident; your human maps are a little deceiving. What appeared to be a distance of only about 18 inches turned into a trip of almost a week! Needless to say, we had plenty of quality time in the car together and sometimes things got a little crazy on such a long trip because we all had to take turns driving. Duncan is still fairly new at the driving thing and was all over the road for the first few miles, and it was apparent by the pictures he snapped. First I got a little woozy and queasy from all the driving and Sydney thought it was real funny.




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A few miles down the road, I was fine but now it was Sydney's turn being a little queasy. I know what if felt like having just been through it so I didn' laugh. Instead, I got really close to comfort my big sister:






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Eventually we had enough and we yelled at Duncan to stop taking pictures, keep his eyes on the road, and quit weaving all over the highway. He just laughed. Sheeesh, boys, but he straightened up and drove carefully and safely the rest of the way using the cruise control! That's all we need is to have to call Mom and Dad, tell them we wrecked their car outside Davenport Iowa and can they please come and get us. But oh what a cross country adventure we had, and the stories we could tell. What a hoot! We'll save you all the embarrassing details but the story about Duncan and the dance hall girl at that saloon in Laramie, Wyoming was very exciting. You know how the girls can't resist the charms of such a handsome Cavalier boy. We barely got out of town on that one, but as they say, "What happens in Laramie, stays in Laramie." :drivecar:


Anyway, to make a long story short, we arrived in Anchorage, bought a sled (with Dad's credit card), bought enough dog treats for a few days on the trail, and when the gun sounded at the starting line, we were off. Needless to say, even with the weight of enough doggie treats to equal the weight of a human and the supplies the other sleds were pulling, we were quickly ahead of the pack thanks to the strength of three Cavaliers. In fact we got so far ahead, I quickly took the initiative to try and even up the odds for the other sled dogs and jumped on the top of the sled, kicked back and enjoyed the view all the way to the finish line. I have to admit I looked reeeaaaaal good up there on that sled. My ears were flying back in the wind and the snow, my snow goggles were on tight, my knit cap was low on my head, and I kept growling at the packs of wolves that constantly nipped at our heels, and in between yelling at Sydney and Duncan, "Mush, Mush, (sledding terms) quicker, quicker." However, we didn't want to win in only one day and make it look too easy, so just to make it look fair, we did stop and enjoy the Alaska wilderness. This allowed us to cross the finish line about 30 minutes ahead of the closest team of sled dogs, thus bringing honor and glory to Cavaliers everywhere. However, when we went to collect our trophy, the organizers disqualified us and wouldn't give us the trophy, take our pictures as the winning team, and even confiscated all our pictures and memory cards from our camera. Their rational was that it just wouldn't look good for three Cavaliers to beat all those professional sled dogs. How could they ever explain how a team made up of only three Cavaliers beat other professional dog sled teams with 12 or more great big sled dogs per team. So we were forced to pack the car with our sled, our goggles, mittens, and hats, what was left of our treats, and slowly made our way home arriving just in time for Duncan and Sydney to slip into our comfortable bed and drift off to sleep. After all, they had run virtually the entire race all by themselves:




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I on the other hand, stayed up long enough to write this story for your benefit before I too felt my eyelids get heavy and was forced to curl up and join my sister and brother, safe in the knowledge that we were, and are, the Iditarod champions.


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P.S. You should have seen Dad's face when he went out to get the paper the morning after we got back and found a giant dog sled strapped to the top of the car. We posted a picture of him and his expression on the Cavalier web site "Human Talk". Too bad you can't see it. Every Cavalier who sees it can't stop laughing. Stay tuned because in our next post we'll tell you all about our summer travel adventure. I won't spoil it now, but the three of us climbed the 3rd highest peak on the East Coast of the US, so watch for our story.

Ruby and Sydney and Duncan in Virginia :paw:

In case you would like to know more about the Iditarod race and the dogs involved, you can find out more at the official web site (of course without our pictures):

http://www.iditarod.com/
 
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Ruby, Sydney and Ducan,

Wow what a trip. I'm so sorry that your pictures were confiscated. I would have loved to see them. The three of you are quite savvy.

I can't wait to read and see your summer adventures. Duncan needs more adventure, he's a little behind and needs to catch up with his sisters.
 
Ruby, Sidney and Duncan:

Thanks for the travel log. Bud-Bud saw the photos over on Human Talk but would not let me see them!! Bet they were a hoot.

Looking forward to reading about your summer adventures/
 
Wow....what a trip you guys went on!! What a shame you weren't able to bring back any pictures...but I believe you!!!! Can't wait to hear about what you did this summer.
 
Ruby Here,

Many of you are probably looking to see if we have started our stories from our most excellent summer vacation. However, we are afraid our tales will have to wait a few days. Sydney and I are ever so worried. Our brother Duncan went in to have a bad tooth fixed last week and the doctor said he found a few sores on his gums and on his tonsils. Given Duncan is only a little over 3 years old, the doctor doesn't think its cancer and he thinks it may only be an infection. But just to be safe rather than sorry, he took a biopsy and sent it to a pathologist. In the event it is only an infection, the doctor also started Duncan on some antibiotics. We are all very, very worried and are afraid it may be something so serious, and we don't want anything to be wrong with our brother. So until we get the results back on Monday or Tuesday, we are going to take a short break to support Duncan. We hope to be back next week with good news so we can resume our story. In the mean time, please think of Duncan.

Ruby and Sydney and Duncan in Virginia :paw:
 
Oh, Ruby and Sydney, I know you know you are worried and afraid. Hang in there and we will all hope and pray that Duncan is okay.
 
Ruby here,

Thank you to all of you who been thinking and sending good thoughts and writing to show your support for Duncan. It has given him so much pleasure to read all your posts. He even read them again this morning over breakfast and they made his tail wag so hard. But we finally got the call this evening from our Vet that from one respect we were anxious to receive while at the same time were dreading beyond imagination. After probably the longest days of our lives, the Vet called this evening to give us the results of Duncan's pathology test. It was very hard to answer the phone when we saw it was the Vet's phone number. Dad reluctantly picked it up and when he didn't say anything for a few minutes we knew the news wasn't going to be good. And then, all of a sudden, the biggest smile that we have ever seen broke out on Dad's face, he gave Mom a big hug, then they both gave Duncan a huge hug, and we knew then that Duncan was going to be okay. The Vet told Dad that the test had come back late this afternoon and it was benign and there was no indication of cancer. To say Duncan, Sydney, and I were estatic would be putting it mildly. You can't imagine the relief that the test results provided and we knew that our new brother was not seriously ill. We were so happy and, after so many days of the pressure of not knowing anything, we couldn't contain ourselves with the news. Duncan dashed out the back door and started running around the yard and we were chasing him and we were all barking. Duncan has another appointment with the Vet on Wednesday for a follow up and will have to stay on his antibiotics for a few more weeks.

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Duncan wants to thank you all so very, very much for all of you who have been thinking of him during the hardest few days of his life. It helped him through it all knowing so many people were supporting him. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you all.

Ruby and Sydney and Duncan in Virginia :paw:

PS We are going to take a few days to catch our breath and then we will get back to where we left off before our recent adversity to tell you about our summer vacation and show you our vacation pictures.
 
I've only just seen this now, I'm sorry you had to go through this worry and I'm very happy it's all going to be ok. :D
 
Oh hooray!!! I had a big smile myself when I got the part where Dad got the great news!! What a relief!
 
I'm so happy to hear Duncan will be ok :D What a relief.

I'm really looking forward to hearing about your summer adventures when things are back to normal there!!! :hug:to all of ye!
 
Sydney here,

Duncan had his follow up at the Vets today and he is doing very well and the lesions and inflammation are almost completely gone now. We again thank all of you for your kind words and thoughts. It saw us through a very hard time. Of course, Duncan was a poor sight when he came home from the Vets office that first evening after his surgery so he curled up in one of the wing chairs in the kitchen. Mom and Dad didn’t mind considering what he had been through. Notice his little shaved right leg where they had the IV in. We felt so sorry for him and we occasionally helped him lick his leg.

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But now that our significant and extremely stressful medical event is behind us and Duncan is going to be fine, lets move on to our summer trip. Of course, after the new addition, the historic discovery that Noah’s Ark was built specifically for Cavaliers, and then the Iditarod dog sled race, it was summer and once again time to hit the road on some of our summer travel adventures.

First stop was New York for a few days in the Hamptons. The Hamptons are located on the far eastern tip of Long Island New York, about 2 hours east of New York City. It is not merely one small town or place but pretty much refers to the entire eastern tip of Long Island. It has many small villages with names such as East Hampton, Southampton, Bridgehampton, etc., which is why it is simply called “the Hamptons”, and it is also famous for being the vacation spot for multi-millionaires and movie stars.

We go to the Hamptons every year because Mom was born in Southampton and raised in the village of Sag Harbor, New York where her family still lives. Sag Harbor was settled in 1707 and just celebrated their 300th anniversary. It is an old whaling village and was once the largest port in New York, even exceeding the port in New York City, although today it is much smaller and the place where the huge luxury yachts dock. It has managed to retain the charm that so many cities in America have lost with a walkable downtown with tree lined sidewalks. While we wish we could take all of you for a visit so you can see how pretty it is yourselves, we can show you a few pictures. Here is but a small portion of Main Street. (Mom and Dad walk down in the mornings to have coffee and pastries from Schiavonis Market with us and we all sit on a bench and watch all the people. Mom and Dad drink their coffee and everyone comes by and tells us how cute we are.)

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The movie theater which doesn't have 15 screens,


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And the Five and Dime store:

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After coffee, we stroll over to the wharf and see all the yachts. We are afraid we took this picture on the day after Labor Day and a lot of the really really big boats had already left, but we still like to hang out in Marine Park and watch the boats come and go.

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On the walk back home, we always love to stop at the Customs House. Remember how we told you the port in Sag Harbor was bigger than New York City? Well, because of all the ships that came into Sag Harbor, President George Washington created the first Customs House in New York in Sag Harbor in 1790 to collect customs taxes. Of course, we don’t really care about the taxes, we just love the big yard and whenever we pass by, Ruby and Duncan and I pull on our leashes with all our might just to make sure we get to play in the big front yard. I guess all that sled pulling in Alaska paid off, huh?

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That's enough for this posting. In our next update, we go to the beach and you can't miss Duncan's first visit to the ocean. There's no telling who we'll run into at the beach in the Hamptons, so check back with us to find out who we hobnob with.

Ruby and Sydney and Duncan in Virginia :paw:
 
Oh Duncan....you look so bereft!! But so glad you had Sydney and Ruby to help you mend. What scare you gave us all!!

The pictures of Sag Harbor are beautiful. What a unique little town. Looks like you all had a great summer. Can't wait to hear more.

Hugs little man!!
 
Glad to hear you're on the mend Duncan :flwr:
Those photos are lovely, looks like you all had a great summer. Looking forward to hearing more :)
 
Sydney here,

Of course, what the Hampton's are known for are their beaches. And it is the beach time that we really look forward to when we can hobnob with the rich and famous without Mom and Dad crimping our style. So, after our walk downtown and before it gets too hot, Ruby, and Duncan, and I sneak out of the house, load up in the car with our beach chairs and umbrella, and drive down to the ocean. This was Duncan's first trip to the ocean, so the minute I stopped the car, Duncan was off. He couldn't wait to feel the sand on his paws and the surf on his face.

The ocean was so exciting to him, he ran from one end of the beach to the other, over and over again.

First he ran to one end . . . .

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Then he turned around and ran back to us and kept right on running and ran to the other end with his ears extended to increase the cooling effect:

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After a few trips back and forth he finally started to wind down . . . . .

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and finally settling down with me to explore the sand in a more leisurely fashion as always with an eye for something dead and stinky to roll in so as to have a nice smell we could all enjoy on the drive home. Of course, after we get back, Mom and Dad always get in the car and always look at each other wondering where that stench could ever have come from. ;)

Notice also how we have the entire beach all to ourselves which is pretty amazing but it helps us keep our secret talents really secret.

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Ruby doesn't like her picture taken at the beach, because she says all that sand and salt water makes her hair all messed up and she isn't pretty, so I made sure I got at least one picture of her. My desire to take her picture when she least expects it probably goes way back to the time she snapped that photo of me typing on the computer for Human Talk at the dining room table (remember?). I really thought it was so very funny, but she chased me all over that big beach wanting to delete that picture, but I kept the memory card so you could see:

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Our time at the beach was fairly limited, because we had to get back before Mom and Dad missed us and reported all of us and the car as being stolen. But we had a fun day and as we were leaving, we told Donald Trump, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Leonardo Dicaprio that we'd have to catch them later (sorry no pictures, we promised them their privacy when we get together but boy are they a hoot).

After a full day at the beach for Mom and Dad (nap time for us back at the house), it was time for our favorite part of the day - DINNER! Mom and Dad drove over to Montauk to eat some really good fresh seafood at Montauk Harbor. And since we are already there, we always like to stop and walk around Montauk light house. Like the Custom's House in Sag Harbor, this light house was also commissioned by President George Washington to help guide the ships into safe waters on their way to Sag Harbor.

While we were there, Duncan managed to snap this picture of me and Ruby so you too can see what the light house looks like. I think he’s beginning to get the hang of using the camera but he still sometimes takes a picture of his paw instead of us.

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Before we knew it, our time in Sag Harbor was over but if you are ever in the Hamptons in the summer, be on the lookout for three Cavaliers in downtown Sag Harbor or passing you on the way to the beach. It was now time to move on to the next leg of our trip, traveling to Vermont by way of Connecticut and Massachusetts. We'll update you on what we saw and what we did along the way. Can't promise much mischief, but if you know us, we're bound to find something interesting along the way. Just ask our best buddy Jack Nicholson - right Jack?

Ruby and Sydney and Duncan in Virginia :paw:
 
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What an inspiration you are Duncan. Being that we live close enough for a nice drive out to the Hamptons, I almost never think to go. What a great idea for some nice fall pictures. My husband was working in Sag Harbor towards the end of the summer. I'm sure he didn't know about it's history. He will now, thanks to one smart puppy;) Thank you for sharing and glad you're feeling better.
 
Ruby here,

Sorry we have been gone for a while. We have been so busy. First was the little medical relapse with Duncan, who is better thank you. Second, there was of course Christmas. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. But I will have to admit that while everything about our little secret is still secret, Duncan's second Christmas with us caused Sydney and me a frightful scare. It seems as much as we warn Duncan about not doing anything that will reveal our secrets to Mom and Dad, lo and behold what should happen but Mom caught him making his Christmas list. However, to Duncans credit, he thought very fast and . . . . . . well, lets just save that little story for another time. Let me just say that so far our little secret about our talents remain a secret and you will laugh when we tell you how. But first, we have to finish telling you about our vacation trip.

After we left Sag Harbor New York, we took the ferry from Orient Point, New York across Long Island Sound and landed at Groton Connecticut. Driving north across Connecticut and Massachusetts, we soon arrived at our destination, Burlington Vermont.

Burlington is such a pretty town located on Lake Champlain and directly across from New York state. The weather was so very warm and splendid, so we ended up spending a lot of time down by the water relaxing and taking in the sunshine. Here is Sydney getting a little bit of sun:

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And then there was Duncan who decided he too needed a little time basking in the sun himself:

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Personally, I think I cut the most striking pose by the waters edge, but since its my turn to tell this segment of our story, I guess I will have to leave it out. But just for the record, you would have been very impressed with my look.

Continuing on through Vermont, we stopped at the Ben and Jerry ice cream factory. Darn what a shame that all three of us are lactose intolerant because we could have eaten that factory right out of business. Thats okay because I would occasionally bark at something and when Dad looked away I would lick his ice cream cone. I though it was funny when he kept saying that ice cream didn't last nearly as long as it used to.

After leaving Burlington, our next stop was Stowe Vermont, which is famous for its skiing, but as you can see from this picture, there wasn't any skiing going on while we were there.

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And of course, no visit to Stowe would be complete without stopping at the Von Trapp Family Lodge. Most of you are familiar with the Von Trapp family from the Sound of Music so you are aware that the real Von Trapp family, after escaping from Austria, settled in Vermont because it reminded them so much of their beloved Austria. They opened a lodge in the mountains above Stowe and Capt Von Trapp and Maria are now buried here. Although we found out later, dogs are not allowed, but we did manage to sneak this picture before we left.

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Dad lived in Germany for almost six years so he was telling Mom later how he could see how much it would remind them of Austria because the lodge looked like so many of the houses and buildings in Germany and Austria. Hopefully, one day you can visit Vermont and see Stowe and the lodge too.

Leaving Vermont, we drove on to New Hampshire and saw a Moose which Duncan and Sydney barked at but it didn't budge. I asked if we could take it home as a pet, but Mom and Dad didn't listen. Sydney said later that if we could have only gotten Mom and Dad out of the car, we could have put that Moose in the back of the car and snuck it home, but they never got out.

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Our trip continued to New Hampshire and the highest mountain peaks on the east coast of the United States, Mount Washington and then onto Massachusetts. But that's where I'll have to end my little story for tonight. I have got to run now because Dad is coming down the stairs. Check back in and I will show you where and how the American Revolution started.


Ruby and Sydney and Duncan in Virginia :paw:
 
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