Country Dog

Dear Sophie,
What a week this has been! Your 36th flight was the longest journey of your life (so far) ... 4-1/2 hours on an airplane, not counting an extra hour on a commuter plane after that.
You were one tired dog at the end of each day as you accompanied me to the Edwards family reunion. We stayed with my cousin Jim and, right away, you met up with his Schnauzer mix D.J. I figured as long as you were romping and running around the back yard with him, and sharing your cookies and string cheese with him, you pretty much hit it off from the start!
We mozied about historic Bristol on Thursday and visited a haunted train station. Did you see the ghost of Arthur Slaughter? At one point, you acted like you did! Hey, how did you like being in two states at the same time as we walked from Tennessee on one side of the middle of the street to Virginia on the other? Can't say either one of us have ever done that before.
Saturday was the reunion in Ewing, Virginia where, aside from a few walkabouts here and there, you didn't have a whole lot to do other than enjoy being in the clean air and cool grass. Unfortunately, that was the weekend of a war re-enactment in that same park, and the booms of the cannons firing rattled you like there wouldn't be a tomorrow. Overall, I think you enjoyed the reunion, but I'm equally sure you were glad when it was over.
After that, we drove through Ewing, tiny as it is, to see some of the old hangouts and the warehouse-invaded lot where my Grandma's house used to be. A trip to a cemetery in Middlesboro, Kentucky to pay our respects to Grandma and Uncle J.C. took up the rest of the day before we headed for home.
Sunday, we visited two other cousins who hadn't made the reunion, and you were as good as gold (NPI) as we drove through miles of scenic Virginia highways to their homes.
So now you've added four more states to your geographical repertoire ... North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky.
Sophie, I don't know what I'd have done without you these past several days ... probably done a whole lot of falling, tripping, bumping into things, and getting lost. So thanks, big dog, for making this wonderful pilgrimage ever so much more magnificent than I could've ever hoped for.