Stopped for the night.

We stopped 30 miles from North Carolina border over an hour ago.  We just decided Florence was a good spot, especially since we got a nice room at Red Roof Inn for only $39 and not one penny extra for the dogs.  So we decided to get a room instead of a campground. The night manager also said that if we need to stay tomorrow because of snow at home, that it's no problem.  We just have to let them know by 11 am tomorrow. I still worry about what my work will do if I call out on Monday.

I also jinxed us with the whole "Uneventful trip" post.  We stopped for gas a little while after that and I walked the dogs.  Casey had this small place, so I took Morgan to a larger spot with Elphie, as always, tagging after Morgan (and me).  I heard a noise and turned to see the ground give out under Casey; she slid down the bank and disappeared.  Literally, disappeared.  I saw we were above a drainage ditch and ran around, calling her name, but she wasn't there and with the dark, I couldn't see her, except that where she fell was another hole and it apparently didn't connect to the drainage ditch.  Scared that she had fallen so far, we couldn't reach her or that she was hurt, I ran back to the car for a flashlight and put Morgan and Elphie back there.  I ran back and still couldn't see her.  I had to run around and hang on to this fence that was falling apart, inching over.  Luckily, John reached me by then; I tossed him the flashlight so I could have one hand free.

The light showed Casey clawing her way in this hole so we could at least see her, but the ground kept sliding out from underneath her, carrying her back down.  I jumped in, holding the fence which at least kept me from going all the way down.  I was enough down that I could snag her harness and pull her up.  I couldn't get back without both hands, so John inched out far enough to first take Casey and then pull me back.

Wherever that hole went, it ended with cold water because she was soaked.  I first wrapped her inside my shirt and then in a blanket when we got to the van.  She trembled, probably more from shock than the cold, so I held her and she slowly stopped shaking.  She did want to be near John, though, even content that I had her.  She wiggled in the blanket, reaching for him, until I sat next to him while he drove.  Then she burrowed down in her blanket, the trembling stopped, and she slept.

Elphie came over to make sure she was okay; Morgan gave her a sniff, Casey sniffed back, and then Morgan took advantage of us nursing Casey to get into the lunch trash.

I'm making it sound more dramatic than it was, except for our fear she was gone, hurt, or even just the shock of the fall, trying to escape, and the cold water making our 16 year old dog have a heart attack or something.  Instead, she's taken it like a trooper.  If the fence had given in on me, the worst that would happen is I fall in the hole or down the drainage ditch; I would have gotten out.  It's not like we hang from a cliff by our fingertips.

Anyway, she's fine, I've had a hot bath, and John's thrilled that the young hottie at the reservation desk told him she likes his glasses -- "They're so retro" -- when I keep saying they're the fugliest pair of glasses ever.

We're going to stretch out in front of the TV and relax.

Good night!