Roo Rests

The name Roo has stuck and I think it has become official. He has really been coming out of his shell over the past couple of days and is developing a personality all his own. He likes to jump up and down on his front paws when he wants to play and loves to snuggle, all very different from his big sister.

Through this experience, both of them are gaining many new nicknames. Daisy has been playing dominance games and has earned the name Head Humper, an act that Roo doesn’t seem to mind too much. It makes for an oddly disturbing sight. Roo has also gained a few new nicknames like Fatty Tub Tubs and Little Sausage which he will hopefully grow out of once we get him mountain biking.

The Arrival of Roo

Daisy and RooSunday, I returned from a week mountain biking in Vermont to find a new member of our family, Roo. Saturday, Juliette flew to South Carolina and back to pick up a little brother for Daisy. Now I am the father of two crazy hairless terriers.

My first meeting with Roo was after a very long day of new things for him. He had met Dave, Mari, Max and Daisy for the first time, been introduced to his new home and driven all over in the car.

He is still very timid and everything is very new to him, but he is settling in well. He is so much larger than Daisy was at his age that it is hard to see him as a puppy, so we forget what Daisy was like at that age. He already weighs nearly as much as Daisy and is nearly as big, but he is still awkward and has a thin layer of baby fat reminding me of a funny brown sausage.

We had originally decided on Roo for his name, but the breeder named him Satchel which stuck for awhile. I really think he looks like a kangaroo though and his timid yet brave nature reminds me of little Roo from Winnie the Poo, so I think he will be Roo again.

As I mentioned above, I spent last week in Vermont with the boys mountain biking. The pictures are nearly ready, so I should be posting more about that in a few days.

In other news, Juliette has returned from a long hiatus and has started blogging again, so check out Early Morning Navel Gazing for her latest thoughts and musings.

So, lastly, before the name sticks, do you prefer Satchel or Roo? Leave a comment and let us know.

Bike Tour of Andalucía, Spain

IMG_0119 It took me a month, but I have finally finished typing in all of my journals from our Spain trip. Over two weeks, we covered 786 km and saw three countries. Our friend’s Jennie & Rich joined us for the first half of the trip and Mari & Dave were there for the whole long haul.

To make it easier to read all of our trip journals and blog posts, I have collected them all here. I have also uploaded all of the photos from this trip to the photo albums.

My posts from the trip

Jen & Rich’s posts from the trip.

Dave & Mari’s posts from the trip.

Malaga to Toronto via Paris

I am posting my journals backdated to the day I wrote them, so read from bottom up if you have just arrived. Keep checking back, I have two weeks of journals to upload.

Up at 4 am, taxis to the airport and we are on our way home. It has been a wonderful trip and I would happily carry on, but I am also looking forward to getting home and seeing Daisy. Juliette is worried that she won’t recognize us or she has been having so much fun with her cousins that she won’t want to leave.

For our next trip, I think we would like to do something more adventurous again. I am thinking Southeast Asia, Central or South America.

Our stopover in Paris was supposed to be four hours, but the continuing eruption of the Icelandic volcano delayed it for a few more hours. The early morning, long flight and time difference is going to make it a hard day. It will be tough to go to work tomorrow.

Tarifa to Malaga

I am posting my journals backdated to the day I wrote them, so read from bottom up if you have just arrived. Keep checking back, I have two weeks of journals to upload.

After a leisurely breakfast at the café Azul, we packed our bags and began driving back towards Malaga. We dropped the bikes, girls and gear off athe the Hotel Carlos V, then Dave and I headed off to find a gas station and the rental drop-off. Both tasks that sounded much easier than they turned out to be. After many circles and wrong turns, we dropped off the van and walked back to the hotel to meet Mari and Juliette. IMG_0971 IMG_0972

We had lunch in the square below the cathedral and spent a lazy afternoon packing the bikes, doing a bit of shopping, resting and then headed out for our final dinner at a sidewalk café.IMG_0974IMG_0975