Travels with Savannah: The Original Canine Blogger

By CP Kramarsky

There is no available information at this time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 23, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453585108

Book preview

Copyright © 2010 by CP Kramarsky.

Library of Congress Control Number:         2010914282

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

87436

dog1.jpg

In Memoriam

Savannah Kramarsky

1996-2010

Acknowledgments

With love and thanks to the world’s greatest Cap’n, David Kramarsky, for the adventure of a lifetime, to Wendy Reingold for layout and cover design, and to all of Savannah’s admirers who begged that her blogs be turned into this book.

Contents

Introduction

11/17/2000

Getting to Know Me . . .

Getting to Know All About Me!

11/21/2000

It’s a Wrap!

11/28/2000

Starting to Feel Normal

11/29/2000

Making Progress

12/2/2000

Getting into the Groove

12/3/2000

Da Good Life

12/7/2000

Life Must Have a Porpoise

12/10/2000

The Promised Land

12/13/2000

The Intracoastal Waterway

12/15/2000

The River of the Unknown

12/18/2000

Slow—No Wake Zone

12/20/2000

Miami HO!

1/7/2000

The Sactuary

1/11/2001

Happy Days are Here Again

Everybody sing!

1/29/2001

Boat Dog

2/10/2001

The Poop Deck

2/26/2001

Anchors Aweigh!

2/27/2001

REAL Boating

3/5/2001

Aquatic Cowboy

3/8/2001

Electricity 101

3/15/2001

And the Rest is History

3/20/2001

The End of Chapter One

6/15/2001

The Move

6/29/2001

The Woods

7/4/2001

The Drive-In

7/23/2001

Safe Haven

8/4/ 2001

Bal’mer

8/1/2001

The Vineyard

8/23/2001

The Black Dog

+9/1/2001

Sweet Jane

9/9/2001

In Mourning

9/14/2001

The Twin Towers

9/21/2001

Bal’mer Redux

9/24/2001

Almost Heaven

9/28/2001

Busted!

10/2/2001

Be Like Unto The Dog

11/4/2001

Southbound Adventures

11/9/2001

Coinjock

11/10/2001

Bath

11/12/2001

Washington, NC

11/17/2001

Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah

11/21/2001

Going to Surf City

11/28/2001

River of Fear

1/2/2002

Where Have All the . . .

1/15/2002

There’s Nothing Like A Nice Hot Shower

1/212002

Don’t Call Me Ollie

1/20/2001

Rivers of Grass and Nights of Light

2/2/2002

Bye Bye, Miss American Pie

2/9/2002

Bahamas Ahoy!!

3/19/2002

Marsh-Mellow

4/1/2001

And It Came to Pass

4/21/2002

As the World Turns

4/26/2002

Butterflies Are Free

4/30/2002

Anchoring, Unh! Good God, Y’all

CAPTAIN’S LOG 05/05//02

5/17/2002

Apocalypse Now

5/20/2002

Press Release: Cruisers Get Key to City

5/28/2002

Why Does All This S**t Keep

Happening to Us???

5/22/2002

Hickville, USA

5/25/2002

World News Tonight

5/31/2002

Time and Tides

6/5/2002

The Ratings

6/6/2002

A Quiz

6/24/2002

Fireworks!

7/10/2002

Leaving Charm City

7/22/2002

Sayanora Godspeed

10/3/2002

Landlubbers

11/2/2002

Williamsburg

1/29/2003

Costa Rica

05/11/2003

Twister!!!

5/21/2003

The Great Loop

5/22/2003

The Guard Dog

5/28/2003

Rollin’ on Da Ribah!

6/1/2003

The Game

6/3/2003

Real Boating

6/11/2003

The Lock Ness Monster

6/23/2003

Two Buck Chuck

7/1/2003

Gimme a C!

7/8/2003

Tim’s Place

7/24/2003

Barry Who?

7/25/2003

I Found My Thrill

8/3/2003

Farewell Canada

8/11/2003

Yoopers!

8/27/2003

That Toddlin’ Town

9/5/2003

Lots O’ Lock

9/152003

Handycap Parking Only

9/22/2003

My Old Kentucky Home

9/25/2003

Closing the Loop

10/19/2003

Breaker, Breaker One-Nine

10/26/2003

It Glows in the Dark!

11/15/2003

Opa!

Happy 2004

1/20/2004

Polly Want a Cracker?

2/1/2004

Greetings from the Sunshine State

3/20/2004

The Road Trip

4/1/2004

Seasons Change

3/30/2004

Spring Sprang Sprung

4/15/2004

Nothing Could Be Finer

5/5/2004

This Lousy Teeshirt

5/15/2004

Jaws!!!

7/7/2004

You Know You’re In Canada When . . .

7/23/2004

Je M’appelle Savannah

7/25/2004

Bark Harbor and Beyond

9/15/2004

The Seasons Change

11/1/2004

The Promised Land

11/5/2004

Paradise Found

12/25/2004

A Christmas Miracle!

1/5/2005

Pollyanna in Paradise

Travels with Savannah—1996-2010

Introduction

This is a true story. My husband and I, both inexperienced sailors, decided to buy a boat and take it down to the Florida Keys for the winter. And, of course, our beloved dog, Savannah, would be traveling with us. These are the email messages she sent to family and friends for five years keeping them up-to-date on where we were and how we were doing!

11/17/2000

Getting to Know Me . . .

Getting to Know All About Me!

Hi! My name is Savannah. I am a beautiful black and tan dog, and my owners, Mom and Dad, have recently bought their first boat. It’s a 36’ motor yacht they have named the Lazy K, because they think boating is going to be a lazy kind of life. Lazy K is a used 20-year old boat which hasn’t been out of its slip for many years. Mom and Dad plan to take the boat to Florida and then the Bahamas. They expect me to go with them. I must say that while it is true I am part Lab and love to swim, I am a VERY spoiled dog. I have always been an only dog, and, as such, have always had my owners’ full attention. I have had my own doggie door to get in and out of the house at my pleasure and have always slept between them in a king-size bed. I’m beautiful and smart and I know it. And, I’m not too crazy about this boat. It makes a lot of strange noise and I’m afraid I might be a little seasick. After all, I’ve never done this before. I’ve also heard things like being on board for five months and other frightening statements. I feel okay when I’m wrapped up in my Mom’s arms, but I’m not sure she can hold me all the time. My Dad says that I will love it and that soon I’ll be running up and down the swim ladder to do my business, but still I’m not so sure. And, maybe for even better reasons. Like, my owners aren’t really very experienced with boating! They’ve only been sailing a couple of times with friends down in the Caribbean, and I can’t understand how they think they can pilot a boat down the Intracoastal Waterway to Miami all by themselves. And I’m not the only one who thinks this way. When my Dad was getting the boat serviced prior to our departure, he mentioned to the mechanic that we were taking the boat to Florida. The serviceman’s eyes bugged and he said, You’re taking this boat to Florida? And Dad says, Yeah, do you see a problem with that? And the mechanic says, Yep. About three off the top of my head: 1) You have never taken a boat that far. 2) It’s an old boat you don’t know very well. And 3) This boat has never been that far. All I can say is that you might expect to have a few problems. But were we daunted?? No way! So this, then, is my diary of our adventures as we take the boat south from Annapolis, Maryland.

11/21/2000

It’s a Wrap!

I can’t believe we’re safe and sound in Norfolk!!! We have had two amazing days. We left homeport in Annapolis at 9:00 Sunday morning under overcast skies. Mom and Dad put my bed up on the bridge by the steering wheel and I settled in for the long ride. All systems worked perfectly, and although it was cold, I was toasty and warm in my Day-Glo orange sweater and life vest. We made good time, sometimes up to 13 knots, and made it all the way to a marina in Point Lookout at the mouth of the Potomac River by about 4:00. BOY! Was I glad to hit land again! I mean I was okay, but there’s nothing like terra firma! I hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink all day, so I was ready to EAT! Mom had cooked up a bunch of food in advance so we ate something, I’m not even sure what (and didn’t CARE!) Marinas typically provide electricity and running water and, sometimes, cable T.V. This particular marina didn’t have cable, so we watched sketchy TV until about 8:00 pm and then we all turned in. After such a long first day we were happy but exhausted. It’s REAL cozy with the three of us in a double bed!

We were up and out about 8:00 the next morning, and while I was prepared for what I had faced the day before, I was NOT prepared for the chop that we ran into in the lower Chesapeake Bay. Windy and rough!! I mean we bounced so bad, Mom and I headed down and snuggled and held on for dear life in the heretofore-mentioned double bed! Let me tell you, Norfolk Harbor was a beautiful sight! Not only had we arrived safely, but the US Navy ships were pretty and the Norfolk skyline gorgeous, with all the downtown buildings outlined in white lights. Dad’s eyes really lit up when he saw a Hooters right at the marina! So we had a very pleasant night, although they kicked me out of the bed and made me sleep in my own bed ON THE FLOOR. But I’m okay today. It’s sunny, but freezing because of the cold front that came through so we decided to stay in port until the weather breaks and the docks are no longer icy. Dad went to get some cruising guides for the Intracoastal Waterway and Mom did some laundry (who has more fun on this boat?!). I’m lying out on the deck in the sun, greeting other boaters as they pass by.

One of the first things we have discovered on this trip is the many other wonderful people who are boating, too. While Dad was checking out the bookstore, he met a fellow boater named Greg. Greg and his wife, Karen, are taking their sailboat down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).

Remember I told you Lazy K was a motorboat? Well, the reason it isn’t a sailboat is because a sailboat is too slow and it takes a lot of work: hauling sails in and out, jibing and tacking all day long. NO! We wanted a LAZY trip.

But some people do like sailboats, and Greg and Karen have owned several over the past few years, and ENJOY sailing. We liked them anyway—so much, in fact, that we got together for dinner last night. That’s what boaters do. They befriend each other as easy as that. Mom and Dad also shared a bottle of Mount Gay rum with Greg and Karen, and then went to bed a bit earlier than usual. That’s also what boaters do.

11/28/2000

Starting to Feel Normal

All is going very well. We have settled into a pattern now, heading out by about 8:00 am and cruising till around 3 or 4:00 when we find a nice marina for the night. I spend most of the day in my nice bed on the bridge where I can keep an eye on the Captain and the Admiral (Dad and Mom, respectively). However, it was so pretty leaving Norfolk that the Admiral and I sat on the bow and waved at everyone. The Admiral said I looked yare (which is pronounced YAR) which I guess is good, since she’s always telling me how pretty and smart I am. I also heard the Captain say that the Lazy K was yare, too, and he was smiling, so I’m pretty sure yare is a compliment.

We left Norfolk in a little flotilla with Greg and Karen, but soon left them in our wake. They caught up with us that evening in Coinjock, NC, where we