All this new stuff is scary!

Motelling it.  In our younger years, we traveled by private plane and stayed in motels and hotels.  A lot.  It wasn't until Joan suggested we buy a motorhome (when Steph went off to college) that I learned to appreciate the convenience of trading off speed for having your own bed, bathroom, kitchen, and living room when traveling.

Little Isabella is almost 5 years old.  Prior to this trip, she has spent one night in a motel, when we returned to Texas after my Mother's funeral.  This is a traveling cat.  All the rest of the miles, she has had familiar surroundings.

The first night out, she was not a happy girl... she missed her boat, and it was obvious.  Carrying her into the motel, she flailed in her carrier.  She never flails in her carrier.  If she had a tin cup, she would be rattling it against the bars!

Last night wasn't so traumatic.  But, we learned from the first night... when we had to move the bed to get Izzy out from underneath it.  This bed was on a platform... with only a small opening near the head of the bed.  I said, "We need to stuff pillows in those openings so Izzy can't get behind the bed."

When we let her out of her carrier, she slinked (slunk?) between the platform of the bed and the bedspread.  I said to Joan, "Iz thinks she's pretty clever, hiding there."

Once we were settled in, Joan and I went to the restaurant in the motel.  When we came back, we found that Izzy had pulled the pillow out from where we stuffed it... I could hear her laughing and saying, "He thinks he's so clever, trying to keep me out from where I want to go."

The cat has a point.  I'm also doing better at understanding her.

This room has a king bed... it was pretty luxurious having all that room... not have to play footsies if you don't want to... plenty of room for a cat right down the middle.  This room is bigger than the room from the first night - room for a cat to run and play.  While there is plenty of opportunity for climbing in a boat, there is not a lot of "running room."

All things considered, Izzy is doing OK with this new form of traveling.  We'll see what day 3 brings.