Tybee Island Road Trip -- Day 1

ROAD TRIP! Those words are music to every dog's ears. And this road trip would not be our usual excursion to the grocery store -- or worse -- the vet. We were headed off for a long- awaited trip to Tybee, one of the islands off the coast of Georgia. It would be a nice break from the 5 cats we share the house with. Buster and I know our place in the pecking order: they rule the roost.

The car was packed and we were ready to roll, but mom had to do one last tail count before we left town. She was missing one tail belonging to Mackie. After searching all his favorite hiding places, Mackie was M.I.A. Though he is our chief tormentor, he's family. He might be sick, and we couldn't leave town without knowing he was allright. The can opener and tuna fish did not roust him from his hiding spot, so mom cooked up a stinky brew of shrimp and anchovies, which the other cats loved but still no Mackie. Now we were all getting worried. Several hours later, mom gave up and left to run some errands. When she got back, Mackie sauntered down the steps like nothing happened. As the saying goes, "Cats were once worshipped as gods. Cats never have forgotten this."

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Atlanta and great weather for a trip. We were finally off! Backseat territory squabbles are not confined to children. Buster, the little squirt, hogged more than he needed. It's a terrier thing. Once we settled on our dog beds on the back seat, we watched the view for about the first 10 miles. The Georgia scenery doesn't change much from Atlanta to the coast. It's a steady line of pine trees, plus it was nap time. Buster and I dozed off. After several blissful hours, we woke up just outside of Savannah to the fresh scent of salty air

Fifteen minutes later, we were on the wonderful island of Tybee and ready to start our adventure. We were staying at one of the many colorful Mermaid Cottages scattered throughout the island. Ours was just 2 blocks from the dog park and had a great fenced in yard that we could check out from the back porch.



Almost all the Mermaid properties are pet-friendly, which is hard to find in many beach destinations. We even had a large welcome basket waiting for us when we arrived, stuffed with treats and everything we needed to stay perfectly coifed at the beach. We love this place already!