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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Weekend in which Gimli pulls an all nighter and we encounter a freaky rest stop

This past weekend, the three of us went on a roadtrip to visit our friends in Chicago.  Mike and I have driven there and back many times, but this time we took Gimli with us.  And it was the first time Gimli crossed the border into the US.

From the time he saw the bags and his travel crate sitting downstairs, he knew something was up.


We left home around 5 am and headed to the Sarnia/Port Huron border crossing.  The US Customs agent didn't even look at Gimli's vaccination records.  Instead he asked us if he was up to date, we said he was and he let us through.  Isn't that always the way though?  You have documentation and they don't want to see it.  The time you don't have it, is when you really need it!

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Gimli stayed awake for the entire trip and then proceeded to stay awake all afternoon and evening.  Our friends have two dogs - a British Bulldog, Nugget, and a Terrier mix, Penny, and Gimli would have nothing to do with them.  He sniffed a little and walked around their house a little, but spent most of the time next to either Mike or myself.  We even put him out on a tie down so he could get some air and run around a little outside, but did he?  Nope, he sat in front of the door and stared back at us.


We kept him in our room overnight and I doubt he slept very much.  I didn't sleep well and it seemed every time I woke up to adjust my pillow, I heard him licking his lips and moving around.

We left around 8 am the next day, Sunday, to drive home.  It was a very short trip, but we mainly went down there to see our friends and to pick up our Haunted Mansion merchandise that we had shipped to their US address.

I could tell Gimli was tired during the car ride back home, but did he sleep?  Not a wink.  I caught him nodding, but he'd wake up and then look around with those beady, brown eyes as if to say, "Why are we still in the car?"

After what seemed like ages, we stopped at a rest stop before we crossed the border at Port Huron.  This particular rest stop was a bit removed from the highway and you had to go up a little hill to get to it.  (Red flag #1.)  If I was a woman driving by myself, there is no way I'd stop there.  Of course, Mike's in a wheelchair and has poor balance so I really was a woman driving virtually by myself...

We stopped and took turns in the washroom, which had been recently renovated.  It must be part of the trap to lure you into a false sense of security. Gimli left his mark in a couple places and while I was waiting for Mike to return, I took Gimli to the other side of the rest stop to sniff around at the "Dog Run".  That's the green area in this picture.  As Gimli and I were exploring the grassy area, I heard a few pops, that really sounded like they were in the wooded area behind us.  I'm naive when it comes to things like this and it really didn't dawn on me that they were gunshots, (Red flag #2), til I was back at the car and Mike commented on them.

(Yes, I'm really going to survive the Zombie apocalypse!)


Looking around, I commented to Mike that this place looked like one of the dumping grounds or the place where the killer grabs his victims straight out of the television show, Criminal Minds.  I can just picture it now, the BAU profiling this dude who likes to hunt and who preys on naive, weakling women, who have cute doggies and who stop at this particular rest stop.

Check out the rest of the pictures and you'll see what I'm talking about:




Who's going to hear you scream amidst the trees?

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