Cats on Vacation (Rehoboth Beach 2024 version)

Coco enjoy "her" new ottoman in room 119.

From their perspective, the cats think that Delaware is a room at the Residence Inn at Rehoboth Beach. While the car ride is scary, being in a new place is, at first, exciting. There are new places to explore and hide, a cubby hole beneath the sink for example. In fact, Coco got caught behind a dresser drawer and was trapped there for several hours. Our mistake was that we left the drawer wide open, there was not enough room for her to jump into the drawer and then out of drawer onto the floor. She was getting a little panicky, and I even went and asked the manager if he knew how to remove the drawers from the dressers. Although we are not engineers, Angie and Coco eventually figured it out.

At first, Pip was at peace. The territory that is a hotel room is much easier to monitor than the territory at home. There was no prompting him to use the litterbox, and he slept soundly in bed with us. He was gregarious and cuddly. But as the week went along, he let us know that he was ready to go home. He is a sensitive cat, who likes his routine. And he is not shy about reminding us of that.

Pip on the comfortable bed that, from his perspective, can only be found in Delaware.

Snow Geese in Rehoboth Beach

Sometimes we are just lucky. After driving four hours, we three cats who are all reluctant travelers, I was unpacking the car when I noticed a huge flock of geese, descending not too far away. I paused to watch for a few minutes, noticing that there were flashes of white as birds descended and ascended – they were migrating snow geese. The birds were on their spring migration north to their breeding grounds in the Arctic.

With the roof bag unloaded and stored, the cats were relatively happy in Room 119, their temporary home for the week, I got in the car to go for a walk on the trail. In Rehoboth, walking any distance other than on trails can be difficult. As I waited at the light at the hotel, I noticed geese flying a few feet in the air from time to time and decided to investigate. Less than a quarter of a mile from the hotel, a multitude of snow geese were gathered in an empty field between medical buildings. Cars were slowing down or stopped to observe the spectacle, many people made eye contact and we knowingly returned smiles and grins with one another. Worried that I would frighten the birds if I got out, I pulled the car over watched the birds and took a few photographs. While there were a few stray snow geese for the remainder of the week, I did not see any large gatherings. It was just fortunate timing.