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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Smell the Roses
Err Travel · October 1, 2002

My wife Linda and I occasionally would load up our SUV with a cooler, a change of clothes, and our dogs of a dozen years, Mackie and Murphie. Off we would go for the day or the weekend.

Looking back, I now realize how much our furry companions helped us appreciate some of the often overlooked pleasures of travel. Here’s what they taught us.

Travel near. How many of us spend time and money—too much of both—to reach the other side of the globe, yet haven’t fully explored our own back yards? On day trips and even half-day trips we have found much of interest close to our own neighborhood.

Get outside. There is much to see in nature. We are especially blessed. We live across the street from a California redwood state park where we enjoy ambling through the cathedrals of Sequoias as much as walking through any manmade edifice.

Carry water. Always a good idea.

Share the experiences. When you travel with those you love, you get an extra benefit of sometimes being able to act as a guide—pointing out a special detail that others may have missed.

Take breaks. On a long trip, nothing beats taking time out for a good pee.

Smell the roses. Some of the most interesting parts of travel do not involve elaborate expeditions or expensive tours. Our dogs often found interest and pleasure in the simplest events: A running squirrel, a grazing deer, a pesky jay, a passing bug, and lots and lots of flowers. Indeed our four-legged escorts would invariably stop to smell the roses… and the azaleas… and the rhododendrons… and…. [Although Linda and I didn’t quite share the same excitement in the passing bugs, we did enjoy the flowers.]

Make friends. Mackie and Murphie had no problem “introducing” themselves to other dogs and people we would meet along the way. No matter how brief the encounter with these strangers, they always came away with their tails wagging. They were happier for the experience. And so were we.

Epilogue. A few weeks ago, my wife and I made a heart-wrenching decision. After learning that Mackie had a non-treatable brain tumor that could only cause her to suffer, we chose to have her euthanized. (I'm still grieving at the loss of our little traveling companion. I certainly didn’t make it through this column without having to wipe my eyes more than a few times.)

I mention this because one of the ways suggested by grief counselors to get through the heartache of losing a buddy such as Mackie is to write about her. So although I hope that the furry pair you see pictured here help you appreciate the small pleasures of travel, I selfishly wrote this column for me. I think it helped.


Dr. Terry Riley is a psychologist and travel security authority. He is author of the popular book Travel Can Be Murder. Visit his site at http://www.appliedpsychology.com or e-mail him at terry@ticked.com.