Weekend Getaway

The pseudo-weekend is about to begin! Since the husband just recently worked two weeks worth of twelve hour days (including weekends, oh the humanity!) he is taking leave beginning at the end of the work day today and we are heading down to the Carolinas when I get off work tonight. It's not really a vacation, as we are just going to the in-laws' so that the husband can fix their computer, but it'll be a nice relaxing few days of hanging out away from home.

In the past week or so, I have read multiple blog and message board posts about awful in-laws, specifically psycho-crazy mother-in-laws. These posts make me feel like a lucky lady. My in-laws are a delight. I've felt totally welcomed by them since the first time we met. They're kind of youngish on the in-law spectrum, barely pushing fifty. The mother-in-law and I share an affinity for white wine, get the occasional pedicure together, and I have rocked her hand-me-downs with no shame. Not to mention, she has 24 years of MilSpouse experience under her belt and still works for the Air Force, so she is filled with lots of useful information for military-illiterate people such as myself.

We're also using this trip to try out new, less-stress-inducing travel methods for the cat. When we had our old car, she was a roam-free-in-the-car-kitteh, which worked out rather well for us. Then came the "Pooping in the Passenger Seat Incident of 2010"(and YES, she had a litter box in the back seat), which was very closely followed by the purchase of a new car with stainable fabric seats. Now she travels in a kitty carrier, which has turned her into a very unhappy and yowl-y traveler. We went to PetSmart a few days ago and procured some kitty calming spray that we intend to douse the backseat and carrier with, so hopefully she will calm down a bit for our drive this evening.

I'm seriously praying that this works, as we have decided that instead of flying her to the west coast alone after we drive to Washington in July, we are bringing her with us. I really do not like the idea of an unhappy Sicily in the backseat for 10 days/3000 miles, but I like that possibility a lot more than the idea of her stressing out on a plane without us or an airline losing our cat in transit. We'll have to scale back our stops and find pet-friendly hotels (or sneak her in, shhh) but I don't know that any of us would be happy separated for so long. I welcome any and all cat traveling tips.