Yesterday I had to drive to Syracuse for the day and as it was sunny (if cold), I thought Fifa would enjoy an outing rather than sleeping on the couch all day long.
In my SUV Fifa is fine on the back seat but for Scrat (my campervan) I have a soft travel crate for her. If she ever comes camping with me I could also set it up outside in the shade. For the 2 hour drive to Syracuse, she kept a close eye on me.
Fifa is still energetic despite turning 9 two weeks ago but her muzzle is so gray…. š
After arriving in Syracuse I filled Fifa’s bowl but she refused to drink. She enjoyed a short walk and spent a lot of time sniffing every tree and mailbox post (so many strange dogs compared to the usual ones at home).
Although “Spring” and Good Friday it was really cold. It was around 40 but the wind was blowing hard. I had only brought a light coat and no gloves or hat (I do have extra hats and gloves in Scrat but didn’t bother grabbing them before the walk). We rewarmed ourselves in Scrat and then I did my task of moving boxes into the van. I let Fifa sit up front with me.
With some more time to kill, I told Fifa we would go for a walk in Liverpool, down by Onondaga Lake.
For the 10-minute drive, I let her ride shotgun.
We parked by the Salt Museum.
https://onondagacountyparks.com/parks/onondaga-lake-park/salt-museum
Of course, it was even windier at the lake but it was brilliantly sunny and beautiful.
We walked about 2 miles in 35 minutes and that was enough for me.
We stopped to load the last of the boxes into the van and then Fifa slept all snuggled up in her crate/lair for the 2-hour drive west to Buffalo.
There had been some congestion in the morning but it was worse on the way back. I guess it was because of Good Friday. At least 5 or 6 times each way (of the 140-mile trips) there were giant highway alert signs. “Prepare for heavy traffic April 8th/Eclipse”. I had my dash cam snap a few photos but forgot to download them to my phone last night. The media and local politicians in Buffalo and Niagara Falls are preparing for the Eclipse as if it will rival the zombie apocalypse of World War Z or Zombieland.
The long-term forecast showed clouds for Buffalo recently but I am going to wait at least until it is 5 days before to start obsessing. I plan to drive as far SW or NE as necessary to find a sunny spot. The kid is coming home for the weekend with a few friends but I don’t know if they plan to go to one of the many music festivals/viewing events or just head to a park. I would rather experience it myself in nature. With Scrat, I can camp in any state park or sleep in a hotel parking lot (stealthy as he is), people talk about staying at Walmart but that seems like a way to get stabbed.
I did notice that Venus was just to the left of the moon this morning while driving to swimming. I wonder if any of the planets will be visible during the eclipse?
Today is a big day. It is Holy Saturday, Purim, and Doctor’s Day!
National Doctors’ Day is a day on which the service of physicians to the nation is recognized annually. The idea came from Eudora Brown Almond, wife of Dr. Charles B. Almond, and the date chosen was the anniversary of the first use ofĀ general anesthesiaĀ inĀ surgery. On March 30, 1842,[24]Ā inĀ Jefferson, Georgia,Ā Dr. Crawford LongĀ usedĀ etherĀ to anesthetize a patient, James Venable, and painlessly excised a tumor from his neck.[25]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Doctors%27_Day
But because Dr. Long was a small-town physician he did not publish his results until AFTER the famous 1846 Ether Dome demonstration at Mass General in Boston (in the Boston Public Garden there is a huge obelisk commemorating the event).
Dr. Long is remembered in the U.S. Capitol where he is one of the 2 sculptures representing Georgia (each state has 2 in Statuary Hall).
