KOA, East Tallahassee, FL, to Gulf Pines KOA, Milton, FL:  On the road this morning at around 9:30 again this morning.  A short drive day today, but really short for me, since I just drove 45 minutes or so to the Flying J where we stopped for breakfast.  A reversal of yesterday where I drove 3 hours or so and Mike drove 45 minutes.  Anyway, we headed to the Denny’s Restaurant here and as we walked up to the entrance there was a dog sprawled out on the grass.  I thought he’s probably waiting for someone inside, but no leash.  What a well behaved dog I thought.  After our breakfast and as I was paying our check, I inquired about the dog and was told he’s a stray and has hung out at this Denny’s for over two years now.  They’ve called animal control and people have tried to encourage him to go with them, but he runs whenever anyone approaches him.  They have a food and water bowl out there for him and lots of people drop their left-over breakfast in his bowl.  He/she looks very healthy and in good condition. This is definitely his home. Maybe someone dumped him there and he’s waiting for them to come back?  Reminds me of an obscure movie with Richard Gere titled “Hachi:  A dog’s Tale”.  It’s a touching, true story of a dog who waits at the train station every day for his owner to return from work.  The setting in the movie is a small town outside of NYC.  One day this guy has a heart attack on the way home in the train, so of course he never gets off the train.  That dog sat at that station for years waiting for his owner to return.  After the dog passed away they erected a statue of the dog at the station.  What a great movie!  Anyway, a short drive today—only 3 hours.  And we gained an hour and are now on Central Time (YES!).  The drive on Interstate 10 was uneventful.  Signs of spring everywhere—trees leafing out after being dormant all winter and clusters of wild flowers here and there along the highway.  It was very windy though.  Mid-60s today.

Pictures of this sweet, homeless dog who has made Denny's his home.