Brians Bus Adventure: Pets

I think it is worth noting that pets have added unplanned challenges to the bus conversion. I am traveling with my dog and two cats. I have to accommodate them constantly. It seems every little thing I do has to be done with pet planning in mind. Even now as I sit in the library, my furry friends are on the bus in the afternoon heat. Although I have it well insulated, much better than a typical car (even more than most RV's) but not so good as a house. All window are tinted and have drapes on the inside. Walls have 2 inches of foamboard insulation. Roof is painted with reflective white elastometric paint. Floor has a half inch foam board, then half inch subfloor then carpet or linoleum. The small space still heats up quickly. Think about how long it takes your car to get hot on a summer afternoon after you turn off the air conditioner. My bus takes about 15 minutes. I need to be able to circulate a breeze in there without losing my animals or possessions. It is too expensive to run the generator all day (about a gallon of gas an hour), so this past week I became a master screen builder. Well, 'master' may be a bit generous... but the screens are holding up and don't look too bad either. I had to custom fit the long back window that flips up, the side emergency door and the front door. The front door has only a bottom half screen that my clever cats (think of the penguins from the cartoon Madagascar) have learned to get around and over. I close and lock front door when I leave the bus. So now I can spend a little time indoors working on my blog, finding out how to build a better bus, search out the best deals in town... instead of running in, checking email and running out. I'm back in Greenville and the weather is wonderful. While I was in Columbia, it was so hot that if I left the animals for 15 minutes they were all panting (bad sign when cats are panting).
The heat isn't the only problem area. The very fact that my critters are independent like me makes them want to go out and explore at every stop we make. This is rarely a good idea for them as truck stops, rest areas, parking lots and other high traffic areas are not pet friendly. Every time I leave I have to make sure none of them is lurking around the corner ready to make a mad dash the second I crack open the front door. This also goes for my re-entry onto the bus. This is one of the things I have learned the hard way. I have lost both cats during this trip. Miss Priss (not a sissy name, just one that reflects her delusional impression of self grandeur and her mistaken idea that her every wish be catered to) hopped off the bus in a Bi-Lo parking lot in Greenville but I went back there the next evening and she came strolling up with the 'what took you so long' attitude. Oscar jumped ship at the same Bi-Lo, and being a simpler thinking beast, it took me two evenings of going back, walking around the parking lot calling his name until he ran out from underneath the shed next to a Wings restaurant. I don't know if he was expressing his thanks for coming back or if he was complaining about camping outdoors for two nights but he was sending out meow's like a kid trying to get a parent's attention. Mom, mom, mom, mom...meow, meow, meow, meow. I use Nala, my black lab to help keep things in order. She is protector of the cats and playmate, but strangely she likes no other cats. I mean she Really doesn't like them. It is the only time I have to worry that she will run off /or cross a road without my permission is when another cat is visible. I don't like to walk Nala on a leash, the only times I do are when she has lost her ever loving mind to hyper activity, when walking around other people who may have an irrational fear of all dogs (parks), and high risk or legally required areas.
The cats are verbal when they want food, Nala just gives me the look, that unfortunately I confuse sometimes with the I gotta pee look.
Other idiosyncrasies of pet travel: When I drive Nala insists on sitting on the front step, next to the window of the front door. Only once have I forgotten to latch the door before taken off. At the first left hand turn the door starts to open...thank God for my Matrix like reflexes. I think it scared me more than her.
The cats usually find a comfortable place to chill (which I use the term comfortable loosely, as no ride is truly comfortable, like riding a roller coaster isn't comfortable). But every once in a while they will engage in cat wailing, hair raising, skin crawling simulated mating. I suppose it is to provide me with the same comfort my driving is giving them. They are both fixed and they have never done this before but have done it 4 times now, and only while I am driving. I solve the problem by sending Nala back there by suggesting there are foreign cats onboard and they are hassling our family cats. She dutifully zooms back there calms things down and comes back with the 'I took care of it' look and resumes her spot at the bottom of the steps by the door.
All the pictures I have of my road mates are spontaneous, none are posed. I have missed many a good shot before I learned to keep my camera in my pocket at all times.
I truly enjoy traveling with my pets. I have worries ahead that I don't face now. If I am out camping in some remote area where I don't have to keep the animals out of traffic what new dangers do I have to look out for? Bears, coyotes, foxes, scorpions, lost/trapped pet. I have all the animals trained to come when I call. The cats have a special 'no fooling' call that I use only in emergencies, they have been rewarded with their favorite culinary delight - pure tuna juice.

Walmart People Watching