Nantucket Weekend

A few summers ago, a bunch of us went to Nantucket for a weekend. We took the ferry over with our motorcycles. That was kind of expensive, but one of the members was able to acquire a house for us to stay in free for the whole weekend. That made the weekend manageable for most of us. We were 11 members staying the weekend, and Cooper was the only boy.

We went over in two shifts. Some ladies were able to go over friday morning, and the rest of us had to go friday night after work. Cooper had never been on a ferry before. He did great as usual. I had him pee before we got on the boat. He waited till we got off the ferry a couple hours later before he peed again. He was very good about that.

Cooper wasn't the only dog on the ferry. He made friends with a couple of other dogs who had obviously done this before. They were just chilling out under chairs or benches and waiting to get to their destination. Cooper was really interested in exploring. I let him check things out a little, then I was tired of following him around all over the place, so I had him settle down for a while. Once he gets on the sent of something he can go for hours.

On the island we got to the house. Cooper and I had a room to ourselves. This was the first time Cooper and I had gone away without Jesse. I was actually a little surprised when he growled a couple of times at noises outside on the first night. I guess he felt like since Jesse wasn't there, he should be my protector. The second night was better in that respect. He was a lot more comfortable and less at attention.

On Saturday, we had spent time traveling around the island on our motorcycles. When we decided to just go sight seeing, we took public busses. Some would let Cooper on busses and some wouldn't. Walking was ok though. I think Cooper enjoyed the walking as much if not better than the bus rides. His nose was either in the air or on the ground the whole time. He was a very happy boy.

Cooper got more attention than he could have bargained for on Saturday night. After a romp around the outside of the house with one of his favorite Aunties, he sat on my lap while we were having either dinner or dessert. I can't remember which. After we were done eating we sat around the table talking. Cooper made his way around the table by way of 'Auntie laps'. He walked from one Auntie to the next, got attention for a few minutes, then moved on to the next. He made it to every person all the way around the table until he got back to me. I can't remember if he laid down in my lap and fell asleep or if he stayed on the lap of whom ever it was sitting next to me. The great part was that he didn't leave anyone out.

On Sunday, we had to pack. By then he was beginning to understand the packing process. He understood we would be leaving that day, so he was a little on edge. He got to play again with his favorite 'Romp around the house Auntie'. We had a group picture in front of the house. Then off to the ferry so we could make our way back home. What a great weekend. The island was such a beautiful place to ride around. There were some roads we didn't go on because they were dirt roads. A lot of the places were fun to get off the bikes and take a walk.

I don't know if Cooper feels the same way, but I would love to go back again and see if we could ride every road, dirt or paved. The island was full of beautiful nature when you got away from the town. And in town there was plenty to do. I loved talking to the locals. Cooper made an impression there. Not many people on Nantucket had seen a motorcycle riding dog, until Cooper came to town.