I have loved every minute of my glamping adventures and I’m so grateful that my humans “convinced” me to come along. I really didn’t want to leave all my creature comforts behind to hit the road in a tiny tin can (ok, a tiny aluminum can). How did they expect me to just give up my life as I knew it? I had cool tile floors to lounge on, my own pool, a private yard, three dog beds scattered around the house, a basket full of toys, walks at the top of the cove, all my besties… did I mention square footage?
But it turned out to be the best thing I ever did. I got to run with the buffaloes, live on a Caribbean beach, chase crabs, go fishing, eat lobster, ride in boats, see dolphins, whale watch, climb mountains, chase off bears, swim in glacier lakes, hang with the seals, go surfing, well at least I watched the surfers. But I did go kayaking.
A woman asked the Dalai Lama what is the meaning of life and he replied right away “that’s an easy question… happiness. But how to achieve it, that is the hard question”. For me it was through travel.
Traveling made it easy to learn that less is more. It encourages a decluttering of your life and hence your mind. Because possessions really do hold you back – they’re actually heavy. I learned that when you let go of “things” it’s easy to let go of other things, like expectations. And when you let go of expectations then your worries disappear and when the worrying stops you experience… happiness in the moment. Happiness cannot be found in the future, or in the past, it can only be found in enjoying the here and now.
I was lucky to love and be loved. A big shout out to all my homies and to my boy, who I love more than anything. To my Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins who I love and who I know love me. And love and kisses to my crazy humans (the mommy and the daddy) who took me on the greatest adventure of my life.
And now for the good part, the pictures! When you see my how I spent my last days on this glorious earth you’ll understand why for me… life’s a carnival. Oh, and life is a beach too!
“One day your life will flash in front of your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” -Unknown
And remember, BE HERE NOW!
And of course the best one of all, me as the queen of the Sol Sisters float!
Our great friends, Kent and Lynn, arranged this spectacular experience for me! And love to Dierck and Vera for always being there for us!
Ginger died peacefully on March 7, 2014 after returning from Carnival Cozumel. She was fourteen and a half years old and was the most amazing dog that ever lived (at least to us, her humans).
What a wonderful, thoughtful, insightful , beautiful and touching tribute to a very special girl!!!! Thank you
Sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLike
Thanks, Linda! It was a tough one! xoxo
LikeLike
So sad to hear that we will miss her. She was blessed to have such a good mom and dad.
LikeLike
Thank you so much! Love to you guys and we miss you! One last woof to Hurley from Ginger!! xoxo
LikeLike
Hey you two….I’m sending big hugs your way. I agree with Linda…what a very lucky dog (daughter) to have experienced all that she did with such wonderful parents. My Lucy is now 13 and slowing down. I can’t imagine what loss you feel. Love you guys. XOXO
LikeLike
Fawn! Thank you so much, and we so appreciate your hugs and love. It’s what gets us through this,,, Love to Lucy!
xoxoxoxoxo
LikeLike
Fawn has been sharing Ginger’s adventures with me. I work at the office for Fawn and we’ve become dear friends. Being a huge dog lover and Mom to 2 Aussie Shepherds I can only imagine the loss you feel. From all appearances, you gave Ginger a wonderful life and I hope those memories carry you through this time of grieving. Joni Padduck
LikeLike
Thank you Joni! I so appreciate you thinking of us and Ginger. She was the best and will be sorely missed!
LikeLike
A beautiful tribute !! I love you all and we will miss sweet Ginger. DAD
LikeLike
Papa Stew!!! We love you more! Thank you! xoxoxooxoxooxoxoxoxoxoo
LikeLike
What a beautiful tribute! Really touched…life is precious and you obviously appreciate it! She was a lucky dog to have been able to spend her days with you!
LikeLike
Thank you! We were really the lucky ones. We love your blog, happy trails to you!
LikeLike
Here’s to Ginger….she really put a smile on my face these past few years with her travels and adventures….she has now made an imprint on my heart with the help of her humans heartfelt thoughts…next stop……The Rainbow Bridge. xoxo,d
LikeLike
Thank you, Diana! Love and miss you! xoxo
LikeLike
May heaven be full of nice meaty bones and whatever you wish for. It was an honor to know you. Rest peacefully
LikeLike
Thank you for your kind words, Graeme! We appreciate it!
LikeLike
We have been following Ginger’s wonderful travels and have been inspired to continue an adventure of our own to Mexico next winter. We have a Chocolate lab called Coco that also loves her Airstream, and is itching to experience the glamping lifestyle. We will miss hearing about Ginger’s fabulous experiences,but know that she was a well loved pup, and her humans are truly special people to share and inspire others. RIP sweet Ginger.
LikeLike
Thank you, Vanda! Coco will love it in Mexico, as well as her humans. If there is anything we can do to help with your planning don’t hesitate to ask. There is a great group on Facebook called “On the Road in Mexico”, a wonderful resource! Maybe our paths will cross someday, happy travels!
LikeLike
So sorry to hear of Ginger’s passing. What a way to go! Queen of the Sol Sisters! We will miss hearing of her adventures. You guys we the best humans she could have ever had. Amor! John & Becky
LikeLike
Thank you, Becky and John! That is very sweet of you to say! She was the best and will be sorely missed. xo
LikeLike
Carol and Richard, So glad you have had such amazing times with your companion, Ginger and thank you for sharing that with us. Our 4 legged family members make such a deep impact and addition to our lives. They bring so many smiles and lasting great memories to keep us smiling. So glad I could meet her and read about your exploits. Hugs to you and we are sorry for your loss. Ruth & Bob
LikeLike
Thank you, Ruth and Bob! I’m so glad you got to meet her too. She has been such a part of our lives for so long that we are lost without her as you can imagine. But I know we will eventually adjust to the new normal. It will just take time to heal the hole in our hearts. So good to hear from you, hope all is well with you and yours! xoxo
LikeLike
Hello Carol and Richard,
We have never met, but Pat and Dallas linked me up to your wonderful entertaining blog. So I have been following Ginger for some time now, and am saddened by her passing. You have every right to be very proud of her. She was wonderful!
LikeLike
Thank you, William! It heartens us to see how many fans she had out in the world, thanks for your kind words!
LikeLike
So sorry to hear the she’s gone. She did have a wonder filled life.
LikeLike
Thanks, Jackie! We appreciate it!
LikeLike
This post made me cry. We met briefly in Santa Fe a couple of years ago. I will miss Ginger’s saucy take on glamping.
LikeLike
Thank you, Karen! We are missing her terribly. Are you the one that recognized her at the RV park? If so, you made her day, week, year, life! She felt forever famous after that!
LikeLike
Guilty as charged.. I recognized her as the boys were discussing the art of hiring a detailer for our silver homes. It made my day as well.
k
LikeLike
Oh my. I’m so sorry to read of Ginger’s passing. She was obviously a wonderful pup, and a great blogger!
LikeLike
Thank you so much, Nancy! She is greatly missed!
LikeLike
So sorry for you, you’ll missed her. To add some happiness in your life, I want to tell you that I discovered your blog yesterday and read all the papers the same day. So it was so special to discover that Gingers will never be there, but she will always be part of my mind. I hope you will continue to charm us with your lovely trips and thinking. Great persons you are!
I’m canadian from Quebec province (speaking french), sorry for my so and so English writing.
I just discovered Airstream family, few months ago,so, is it possible to know what type of Airstream you own to plan all those lovely trips ? size, model, year, etc.. It’s seems you have great time! Give me ithe dea to travel as you do in the future, my husband and me..
Hope you will continue to give us marvelous time reading.!!
Ginger, RIP, you made me laugh and happy ! and I ‘m sure you knew you were so lucky to be part of Richard and Carol life.
All the best!
Mireille
LikeLike
Thank you, Mireille!!! We so appreciate your kind words. She is so missed! We bought a 2011 27′ Airstream International with the Serenity interior 3 years ago and we love it. Our model is what they call a front bedroom (FB) so the living area is in the back. We like that configuration because we usually back in to the view. There are many sizes and floor plans, and different interiors. Since we live and travel in the trailer full-time we find that 27′ would be our minimum length but a lot of people like the 25′ Airstreams also. I hope you get to travel in an RV in the very near future, we have found it so rewarding!
LikeLike
May Ginger rest in peace, dogs are still my favorites (over humans…sorry). We went to Cozumel on our last cruise in January and had a great time on the Catamaran Sail and Snorkel Tour. Wish we can get back on a land based vacation during Carnaval…the pics are great thanks!
LikeLike
Thank you Greg, we so appreciate it! We are missing her so. I wasn’t going to continue the blog but then we went to Utah… where we are now (lots of new pictures on Ginger’s FB page). I don’t think the blog will be complete without Utah, so we will take it one state at a time. Cozumel has a fantastic Carnaval, as do lots of other places in Mexico. You should try for next year!
LikeLike
hi
sorry to learn of ginger’s passing. have enjoyed checking in from time to time and reading about the adventures. travelling with dogs sure is fun
cheers, peter
____________________
pdq (& lom)
wag+
bark-
our blog…..
http://wllrtr.tumblr.com/
LikeLike
Thank you, Peter! Yes, we are quite lost without Ginger along but we did decide to continue the blog and should have a new post up soon, hope you’ll keep checking in! Carol and Richard
LikeLike