I AM VERY SAD TO REPORT THAT BEN PASSED AWAY TODAY. HE HAS BEEN MY CONSTANT COMPANION, FRIEND AND SOMETIMES CONFIDANT FOR OVER 11 YEARS AND WILL BE SORELY MISSED. HE TOUCHED MANY LIVES WITH HIS COLD WET NOSE AND ALWAYS FOR THE BETTER. SLEEP EASY MY FRIEND AND HAVE THAT FRISBEE READY FOR WHEN WE MEET AGAIN.

Today Ben came face to face with a young chipmunk for the very first time! He was fascinated and the hippie actually went toward Ben - who of course then backed up. They spent long enough in the company of the other that I was able to go get my camera and then take these pictures. Right now, Ben is crashing around the woods right here at home following Chips.

As promised I will now start writing up a few of the little events that occurred along the way but did not get written up at the time.

THE BACKWARDS BOAT TRIP

During our wonderful weekend stay at Meredith on Lake Winnepausakee in New Hampshire there were a few things that did not go quite as planned. I have told the tale of Divot the puggle going missing for far too long and causing a neighbourhood search and rescue - only Divot knew that there...

6,023.6km, 37 days, 5 provinces, 4 states, 6 ferries, I puncture, I Cessna, 1 Jet Ranger, 1 Hippo, 1 lobster boat.......

We had a great time, more to come. Check back for the so far untold stories. And future plans.........

As we near the end of this part of our odyssey I decided that yesterday would be a good time to treat Ben to another little spa half day. Not actually at a doggy spa per se but at Park 9 in Liberty Village where he spent many happy hours in February while we down here for the month. Staci managed to find a slot for him even though she was officially full - being a dog that is liked works wonders! We drove across town and Ben seemed to sense where we were as we neared Park 9 - h...

Over the weekend I received some excellent photos taken by our helicopter pilot in Halifax. You may recall I said Ben was so relaxed on both his flights he seemed almost comatose? Well if ever you needed proof, I think this would stand up in a court of law!

As we were about to leave Charlottetown early in the morning I got talking to a media crew that were doing all the media photos for the new Toyota Camry. They liked Ben - obviously [!] and we had a pleasant discussion. On getting into the van I had a brainwave, why not let the pros use my good camera to take a shot of the meandben.com crew? They were very helpful and obliged - here are a couple of the shots. Thank you guys, you know who you are.....

Thursday of this week was another special day, and in more way than one. While some of our other ‘experience’ days had introduced Ben to things he had never before done I had myself done them all. But Thursday was a first for me too, lobster fishing! Yes we headed out on a real lobster boat and hauled traps for lobster and crab.

After learning just now that today has been yet another day of terrible rainstorms back home I hardly like to mention that yesterday dawned yet anot...

I AM JUST STARTING TO PIN UP THE PHOTOS OF BEN'S MANY 'FANS' ON THE FAN ZONE SECTION WHICH WAS INSTALLED YESTERDAY. BEN THINKS IT IS NEAT AND HAS PERSONALLY APPROVED EVERY ENTRY!

I HAVE MANY MORE TO POST. IF YOU OR YOUR PET [OR BOTH OF YOU TOGETHER] WOULD LIKE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE FAN ZONE PLEASE MESSAGE ME THROUGH THIS SITE AND I WILL SEND YOU A LINK FOR UPLOAD.

ME...

If you read yesterday's post describing our trip from Sydney you may recall that as soon as I opened my hotel room door the adulation for Ben started. Well, fast forward 24 hours, open my bedroom door and once again Ben is immediately idolized - we didn't even make it to the elevators right across the hall! Charlene works for hotel maintenance here and is very much a dog person - as you can see. We talked and swapped photo poses and Charlene eventually had to get back to work, ...

As I write Ben and I are on the Nova Scotia to PEI ferry, the fifth ferry we have taken since leaving home. Which averages to one ferry every 760km - a pointless statistic but I like it anyway. Just like the crossing from St John NB to Digby NS the sky is leaden, the rain has been heavy and unceasing with the temperature hovering around 16C. Not exactly what you call summery - even here in the maritimes.

When Ben woke me this morning to announce he considered it high time I ...

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Tonight we are in Charlottesville PEI. It was a long and very wet drive today and this evening we have stayed inside pretty much, drying out and enjoying a faster internet connection than we could get on Cape Breton. And now you, gentle reader, will benefit too - no reading to be done in this port except the caption to the photos.

BEN FORDS THE FLOOD AT OUR CABIN IN CHETICAMP

It was a longish travel day yesterday and I was just too tired to post last night. Briefly, before we set out today to Caribou to get the ferry to PEI I can tell you that the remainder of the Cabot Trail was just spectacular. Unfortunately the weather was too windy for the whale tour boats to go out yesterday so we continued our drive to Sydney - the only place I could find a room for the night. We stopped a number of times along the way - and Ben enjoyed himself on the beaches....

Today we were made to pay for weeks of perfect weather. It rained and then it rained harder and then it rained harder still etc etc etc. Flooding in the streets of this ocean front town. A parade planned to celebrate Natal Day in NS and Canada 150 had to be cancelled because conditions were so bad. Ben and I stayed indoors as much as we could. Did laundry at the laundromat. Spent a while on itinerary. Read, paid bills and did some online banking and went out for dinner. No...

Here are the photos that took a long time to upload last night. So long I fell asleep waiting and when I woke this morning they were gone! A lengthy exercise because they have to be selected and then individually resized.

LOOKING FOR MR FROG - A FAVOURITE PASTIME FOR BEN

I am in love. Well, yes, with Ben of course - but now a new love has entered my life. You think the Pacific Coast Highway is picturesque? Well in the words of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”. The scenery along the Cabot Trail has to be seen to be truly appreciated, it is stunning. I once drove the Icefields Parkway with friends, we were in separate cars and when we stopped after a few miles one of them said to me "I have run out of Oohs already"! The ...

A few photos that I have been unable to upload until today.

BEN ON THE LUGGAGE CART

ALISHA AT THE HOTEL IN HALIFAX

NEIGHBOURS AT BELLE COTE - L to R, Sabrina, Asher, Sarah and Jennifer from Toronto

SABRINA AND ASHER DRYING OFF THE SWIMMER!

I can delay no longer the need to put pen to paper [so to speak] and tell as best I can about our experiences here on Cape Breton. The photos can come later. I would be a terrible customer for Snapchat or Instagram……

From time to time most of us will experience that need to wind down from our busy lives in order to attune to the rhythms of a vacation destination. When living and working in London I recall a couple of vacations to St Lucia where upon arrival I was driven almo...

A few random thoughts from me as I wait to find high speed wifi to upload pics to go with the usual diary narrative.

From time to time I find - as do many, I suspect - that a piece of music becomes inextricably linked with a place or a particular time. Sometimes both. And so it is that whenever I play The Pretenders first album with the rasping punchy vocals by Chrissie Hynde I am immediately transported to the rainswept hills above Dunquerque in northern France as I toured ...

THIS IS THE PHOTO OF BEN RIDING THE LUGGAGE CART THAT I COULD NOT GET TO LOAD LAST NIGHT. LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT WORK TODAY.

Today it was finally time to pack and bid the Marriott Harbourside in Halifax farewell. It had been a great stay but 5 nights in one place and it is time to move on. Five nights and there is a lot of packing to be done when travelling with Ben. While bellhops and valets are very helpful, if I'm absolutely honest I prefer to take my time and pack into the van in a very unhurried fashion. And so when I took my first trip to the underground garage today a lonely bag cart was just...

This morning we awake with the anticipation of the helicopter tour. We had to catch the water taxi across the harbour to Dartmouth and then walk a short distance to the ‘helipad’ which in reality was an unmarked piece of carpark soon to be a building site. Every trip these days will likely provide a couple of obstacles for Ben - stairs are difficult for him now if steep and especially if slippery [read uncarpeted]. The water taxi was not too bad however and he perched himself...

A good friend from Florida is the winner of the challenge to guess the distance Ben and I have travelled in the van at the point we reached Halifax. As we rolled into the hotel parking garage the trip odometer rolled around to 2,700km. Well done Charles, you are the winner by coming in closest to that...

It has been idyllic weather in Halifax the entire weekend. I claimed it slightly too hot, Ashley slightly too cold so we both got by. Ben just took it in stride although there were times we sought put the shade of a big tree or two. It has been lovely to watch the activity and eat at the waterside under a cloudless sky the entire weekend.

The Tall Ships rendezvous celebrations have continued unabated the whole time and tomorrow at noon there will be a huge sail past as they ...

This is the little competition I'm running to see who can guess how many km/miles are now logged on the van since we departed Tiny two and half weeks ago. It is a nice round number now we have reach Halifax. The prize is a $100 donation to the charity of your choice. Entries accepted until midnight Monday 31st. Act now, just send me a message with your number and state if it is Miles or Kilometres.

Time is running out! Several really good and close guesses now. Some fo...

Halifax has the best doggie smells anywhere in North America - just ask Ben. We walked out to see the tall ships this morning and then grab some breakfast. Every lamppost, utility pole, street corner and fire hydrant was the scene of intense inspection by my four legged friend and it made for slow going. Ashley, displaying a naiveté that only somebody that has never owned a dog could, asked “Why don’t you walk in a straight line Ben”? Dogs don’t do straight lines and in a city wit...

We have been on the road a little over over two weeks now and I am glad to be in Halifax where we are spending four nights in a waterfront hotel. A chance to get the van properly unpacked and cleaned and, hopefully, do some laundry which has not been attended to since our stay with John and Ginny at Lake Winnepausakee last weekend. It mounts up!

Ashley flew in yesterday to spend a few days with us and this morning we plan to take a walk along the waterfront and see the tal...

The ferry sailing on Thursday afternoon was uneventful, we boarded and had a crew member show us to an elevator as Ben would not have made the steep stairs nor the escalator. We chose a quiet corner in one of the lounges and he slept the entire way across save for the occasional petting from passers by. Unfortunately visibility remained poor so no photos from the part of our t...

Well, not everything on a trip of this duration can be expected to go completely smoothly. Today I had a booking on the morning ferry sailing from St John to Digby, NS. Or thought I did. My suspicions were aroused when I looked at the confirming email last night - whereas on the telephone at the time of booking I recalled the ferry sailed at 8pm the email said 11. Nice I thought, time for a little catch up on sleep. I had just done three pretty long days and could do with the shut...

So if you are reading these in order you are likely wondering just what made yesterday a 'banner day' for Ben. Well as you know this trip is to give him a bunch of experiences and memories he and I will never forget. On the road in to Bar Harbor I had seen a sign at the side of the road which planted the seed of an idea which I now wanted to explore. I parked up and entered a very small and brightly painted office and spoke with Tammy and ten minutes later emerged with a reserv...

After the poolside shoot we packed the van and set off into Acadia National Park, home of Cadillac Mountain which at 1530' is the tallest spot along the eastern seaboard. We joined the procession of cars driving carefully to the top under a blue cloudless sky. Do you ever get tired of me say 'Ben loved it"? Well maybe it is just a measure of the little guy's zest for life, but he truly did. It probably didn't hurt that he had barely jumped out of the van before being adored by...

Yesterday was a banner day for Ben and by extension, for me. On Tuesday we had departed Bretton Woods in gloom and rain and headed for Bar Harbor, ME. Somewhere else I had never been. The journey was cross country on minor roads and took far longer than predicted. While Ben is an excellent passenger there is a limit to how quickly one can go over broken and sometimes wildly undulating pavement.

I had booked us in to one of the nicer establishments in town, right on the wate...

Some photos from the Lake Winnepausake weekend:

BUDDY AND BEN LAY SEIGE TO THE FRIDGE

AT PLAY AT THE COVE

Possibly I made a mistake. Yes, I know that sounds quite shocking but it is nonetheless true. When Ben and I peered out from behold the curtains this morning there remained a very stubborn layer of dense grey and white cloud right across the Presidential Range of the White Mountains and it blocked any view of Mt Washington completely. But we could not hang around to see if the promised break in the clouds would actually materialize, we had a date with Bar Harbor to keep. By 10.30 ...

Today was a day I had anticipated for a very long while. It was the day to drive to Mount Washington, the most prominent mountain in North America east of the Mississippi, 6,288 feet of New Hampshire granite. The mountain is famous for its wildly changing weather and at its summit hosts a climate research team year round. Today the weather was not changing at all, it rained and rained and, yes, rained some more. I passed one 'scenic overlook' sign after another on the winding...

THE NUMBER ONE HUMAN FAN!! WAKE UP..........

It seems that Ben has fans from around the globe and across species!! Here is MG, a lovely little cat that lives on the south coast of England reading Ben's blog at home. If you have a pic of a fan why not send it in and be published!!

An unplanned emergency this afternoon. John and Ginny had taken all of us over to a small beach at the end of a cove on the property. Ben and Buddy took to the water which was fresh and clear and cool chasing sticks. The two of them are quite competitive together and so Ben was delighted to find that Buddy will not let his paws leave the bottom - every stick that went too far out was his!!

While we all stood there enjoying the antics Divot, Ginny’s puggle took off into the w...

I am sitting on the deck of a lovely lakeside home in Meredith, NH as I write. The hot and humid weather has finally broken and given way to a dry, cool and breezy couple of days that are just wonderful after the recent heatwave. The summer Sunday boating activity is nice to watch and Ben is enjoying laying at my feet snoozing after a morning of playing with his new best friend, Buddy. Buddy is about two years old to Ben’s 14 and is of uncertain heritage but I have offered to eat ...

Yesterday was yet another hot and sun filled day, I was very glad to have not too much to do. After a quick breakfast it was over to the old house for a few photos with Ben and then down to Rutland. Ben had an appointment with the Petco Grooming staff and I was not about to miss having him made into a sweet smelling version of his current self.

Killington is a very small town in terms of permanent population. When I lived there it was thought that full time residents number...

Yesterday was another lovely day with bright sun and some very warm weather until a brief but sharp thunderstorm in the early afternoon. We did not do too much except run down to Rutland to book Ben a doggie spa morning for Friday and have a photo session with Pat at a local duck pond. Ben and I had been invited over to the old house for lunch by Nigel and Leta but it had become so hot I went alone and left Ben indoors with Pat and Walter.

It is a lovely thing to visit a...

Another day dawned hot and sunny and Ben’s good form of the previous evening was clearly going to continue. He probably likes Pat and Walter’s house in particular because the stairs and most rooms are carpeted and that gives him good grip. On hard floors he is liable to slip over easily now the hip is so bad. Getting up wooden stairs is now very difficult for him.

In a previous life I once lived here in Killington. I took up mountain biking to get fit after breaking my leg i...

Today dawned bright and warm, a good omen for the drive from Montreal down through the Green Mountain State to Killington. I had lived in the Killington ski resort town from 1997 to 2003 and enjoyed the healthy lifestyle that goes with mountain living.

A very good night’s rest at Loews in downtown Montreal saw Ben and myself out for an early morning walk before the heat of the day set upon us. He was clearly still feeling pain from the bad left hip and progress was shall we ...

I wish to thank every single one of you that has responded to this project. It warms my heart to have so many good wishes and such positive feedback, thank you from myself and from Ben. As you may imagine it is an intensely personal experience I am having here but it gives me a lot of pleasure to share it with you. Please share to anyone you think may enjoy

Today we waved fond farewells to our racing friends as they set off home to Rochester, NY and Toronto. It had been a wonderful long weekend but like all good things, came to an end.

Yesterday Ben appeared to become noticeably more lame and was at times struggling a little. This morning he was still quite lame and seemed very sleepy and lethargic. I thought it could be the after effects of a little [very little] game of frisbee we had the previous evening and decided today he...

There are some of you I am certain will have read Garth Stein's little masterpiece novel 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' - an absolute classic for dog lovers everywhere. And if you also happen to be one of those nut jobs like me that enjoys nothing more than tearing up the track in your race car in search of the perfect lap it will resonate so deeply it can be profound. The story is told by Enzo, a dog belonging to Denny, an aspiring professional race car driver. Enzo is highly in...

This was the scene last night as Ben and I arrived with the team at their chalet...

The scan to check out Ben's heart murmur certainly put a spanner in the works as far as itinerary is concerned. We had been very ably assisted by our friend Barry Goode, a wonderful source of knowledge and suggestions. Barry had worked hard on producing an outline itinerary that seemed just perfect, rarely more than four hours a day on the road, a dreamy, leafy and gentle drift to the northeast. I had only one stop that could not be changed - Mont Tremblant for a surprise rende...

Good news arrived late this afternoon in the form of an excellent cardio report on Ben. He has just a small regurgitation from his mitral valve and does not need medication! So tomorrow we hit the road, finally. Sta...

As you will by now know, we are having to delay our departure because a health check on Ben for his travel certification found a heart murmur last Thursday. The necessary ultrasound scan is now scheduled for Wednesday 12th and the report from the cardiologist will be in the following day. That will allow for the correct prescription to be dispensed and Ben and I plan to hit the road on Friday.

Yesterday we did a bit of a trial run. It was not the intention. Ben eats a pa...

Spontaneity, that was the name of the game, but even something spontaneous needs a little planning. So although I came up with the idea for this road trip at about lunchtime on Tuesday of last week there were things that needed to be done or undone and rearranged that required the start date be Monday 10th July. Not bad, still within the realms of spontaneity for somebody like me.

On Thursday this week I took Ben to see Scott, our vet, pick up his meds for the trip and g...

Today it was finally time to pack and bid the Marriott Harbourside in Halifax farewell. It had been a great stay but 5 nights in one place and it is time to move on. Five nights and there is a lot of packing to be done when travelling with Ben. While bellhops and valets are very helpful, if I'm absolutely honest I prefer to take my time and pack into the van in a very unhurried fashion. And so when I took my first trip to the underground garage today a lonely bag cart was just...

WooHoo! Yes just come away from the hospital with the excellent news that the surgery went flawlessly. Ben still in recovery but I expect a call soon to tell me he is off breathing tubes etc.

I have seen the x-rays of before and after and the difference is astounding. Small incision of less than 4”. Dr Dyce was clearly very pleased with his handiwork and opines that he has secured optimal placement and alignment with the hoped - for cement-less fixture. He expects that from ...

The hospital waiting room is an interesting place. It is large with seating for maybe 70 ‘guests’ and their companions. It looks just like the waiting room in any human hospital with institutional design painted walls and well scrubbed floors. But looks are where the similarity ends. There is a powerful feeling of bonhomie that pervades the place, people look each other in the eye and they talk immediately with complete strangers. We are all here because our furry friends need att...

A NEW HIP, A NEW BEGINNING

Somebody was not a happy camper when the alarm sounded at 06.00 today! He is not really a fan of early mornings and after a Saturday of being on really good form he clearly thought he had earned extra time in bed. Demonstrated by the fact that he let me go all the way to the kitchen without him in attendance, make his breakfast and then have to call him to come eat. Not exactly our usual morning routine.

A long hot day on the road with heavy ...