I had been driving for 12 hours.  (the trip take 15 and I was going to go
the entire way in one day, but gave up).  I decided I was pooped about
the time we hit Cincinnati, but decided to get north of there before
stopping.  We ended up in Dayton at a nice little Days Inn (?) right off
the highway.  I had had to leave earlier than planned, due to weather, so
I had purchased front pack type carriers for the kids so that we could
take them with us when we went out.  Also, I had planned to use them to
get the kids from the car to the hotel in one move.  What's that they
say about the "Best laid plans of men and mice..."?  <G>
 
I had put harnesses on each of the ferrets, the figure 8 type that I had
never used before.  The came out of those before I had even gotten them
on every one.  My daughter and I donned the new carriers and began
placing ferrets into them.  These ferrets had been sleeping for most of
the 12 hours driving.  The carriers where not closed at the top.  I was
desperatly trying to stuff exuberant ferrets into my pack, while my
daughter was trying to keep her two in her carrier.  The ferrets, of
course, were doing their level best to get out of said carriers and
explore the huge parking lot!  We ended up leaving everything in the
Jeep except the ferrets, and took them up to the hotel room.  Into the
tub they went, and all five pooped and pee'd all over the entire tub.
 
We went to get the rest of the people and ferret stuff and came back to
the room.  The ferrets had made a huge mess all over the bathroom tub
and floor.  It's now 10 p.m. and I'm on my hands and knees with a rag
cleaning up ferrets and poop!  (there was no way I was leaving THAT for
the cleaning staff).  Then the ferrets, all five of them, made an escape
into the main room while my daughter was going into the bathroom.  Ferret
round-up, Yee Haa!  My daughter and I are giggling hysterically during
all of this and people are looking at us like we've lost our minds.
(here come two women down the hall, holding gray vinyl bags that are
wiggling like crazy).  Sleep deprivation will do interesting things to
people.  In the morning we loaded everything first, then put the sleeping
ferrets into thier carriers and, literally, ran to the Jeep.  We got them
back into the travel cage before they totally woke up, hurray!
 
That was our "camping trip" to Michigan.  I think I'm glad that we didn't
try to "camp" like we had planned.  I don't want to think about the
stories I might have had to tell!  LOL.
 
Dooks all,
Shelley and the well travelled five.
[Posted in FML issue 4563]