The new arrival

Happy Independence Day!  I hope you are all enjoying your holiday weekend.   After spending most of the last week at a work conference, I am especially grateful for the long weekend to recover.  

Due to a variety of reasons, Peaches and I made the drive to Minneapolis for the conference.   She spent four days and three nights at Lucky Dog Pet Lodge and I spent some very long days in meetings. Starting early most mornings with evening events lasting until 9pm or later, I find these weeks exhausting.  And while I don't enjoy conferences, I do love the people I work with every day, and I'm glad we had a chance to spend a little time together and even got to be a little silly! Plus I got to see some friends that I haven't seen in nearly 3 years!

When the conference ended on Thursday, I was excited to pick up my Peaches and hear about how her time had gone with boarding and doggy daycare.  

I was pretty pleased at how much the staff raved about her and told me she was welcome back any time.  I think she really enjoyed her time there too.  She crashed in the back of the car and didn't move much during the 6 hour drive to Rapid River, where we spent Thursday night.

Friday was a big day for us, since we'd be picking up our new puppy later in the day, but I still had some things to get done before that could happen.  

I picked up breakfast as Jack's, a must when staying in Rapid River, and took it back to my hotel room to eat while getting some work done.  

I worked until check out time, then I packed up the car and headed to the Dairy Flo for a special treat before starting our journey East.  They have a great deal on a doggy sundae and Peaches enjoyed the stop very much.

We made a stop for a quick walk to pick up a geocache and stretch our legs before continuing our drive.  

There were some beautiful summer wildflowers blooming along the roadside and I had to stop for some pictures. 

We also made a quick stop just outside of Hessel for one last solo adventure for Peaches.   I knew how much her life was about to change and wanted to make sure she had some quality time with me before meeting the puppy. 

We arrived at Superior Gun Dogs and I was pretty excited to see my sweet puppy, but I was also pretty excited that I got to meet the newest litter. They aren't quite two weeks old yet.  So tiny!

Finally all of the paperwork was done and I was officially a proud new puppy parent.  I scooped her up, said goodbye to her beautiful mom, Izzy, and put her in the car.  Peaches was very sweet and their meeting went well.

We now had our Wilhelmina, or Mina for short, and could start the journey home.  As I started to drive she climbed up behind my neck and eventually settled in nicely.   

 

I let her stay there because the drive to our first stop wasn't far.  She was born not far from Lake Huron, near the Les Cheneaux Islands, so I thought it only right that Lake Huron should be her first Great Lake visit.

She was unsure of the Lake and I didn't want to traumatize her, so we didn't stay long.  Peaches was excited to get out for a little run on the beach and I was happy with our first Great Lake adventure together. 

Once we were back in the car, she settled onto the dog bed nicely.  

Since we were in St. Ignace and it was nearly dinner time, of course we made a stop at Clyde's for a burger.  Mina napped nicely while I ate and Peaches drooled like a faucet.  I'm sure one day Mina will understand just how yummy Clyde's burgers are too.

We then headed over to the boardwalk which is part of the NCT as it runs through town.  In this spot 4 years ago, Peaches, Maddie, and I did our final NCT miles with Imke just two weeks before she died.  It seemed only fitting that Mina begin her NCT hiking journey in this spot.  She's going to put in a lot of miles on this trail in her life. 

All of the excitement of the day was exhausting and as soon as we got over the Bridge, she was out!  

We made one last stop to buy her puppy food at Tractor Supply in Grayling before we continued our journey home. 

After a long, busy, exciting day we were all thankful to be home and ready for a good night's sleep.  Thankfully everyone slept well.

Saturday arrived and our lives together really got started.   Mina learned very quickly how to get on the bed all on her own.   She is a GSP afterall.

She also got her first bath.  She wasn't very excited about it.

We had plans to visit Nicol, Tyler and Fiona, and made a couple quick stops along the way, first at Soldan's for some.puppy chew toys, and then to meet Chastity at the Marathon.   I think she liked Chastity...she snuggled right up to her and dozed off.  

I was excited for Nicol to meet Mina and I know Nicol was pretty excited to meet her too.  We spent the afternoon outside enjoying the day.  There was lots of play time interspersed with plenty of naps.  And she even got to meet Fiona.  These two are going to have so much fun growing up together!

Today was mainly spent at home with lots of time outside to play and explore.  But there was also a quick visit to Maguire Park to meet Vanessa and take a little walk on the Riverwalk.  There was also plenty of time for napping...and of courses she found her way onto the bed again.   She's such a little stinker.

She is learning and adjusting to her new life well.  While she isn't sure what to think of the annoying, constantly barking Boxer who lives behind us, she is getting braver about going into the yard when he is outside.

She has found many toys that she likes, and Peaches has made a valiant effort to get her to play.  They will be good friends very soon, but they are both taking time to get to know each other.  Mina doesn't understand Peaches' play style and is very submissive to her.  Peaches isn't thrilled about someone wanting to bite her face and climb on her.  But they are getting along well and I'm thankful that Peaches is here to teach her how to be a good girl.

We enjoyed some nice relaxing time in the yard after dinner and before the fireworks.  It was a beautiful evening.   

I'm really looking forward to the next week and watching Mina really start to settle in here and feel at home.  Until she is fully vaccinated, we are being careful so our adventures will be limited, but she has lots to learn right here at home.  I can't wait to share her life and adventure with you all!