Franklinsanity

6:19 am, Santa Fe, NM.  The sun’s been up for awhile.  Fortunately, there are a lot of blinds in the room.  The kids, and dogs, have been rising too early and not napping.  Meaning they melt down too early too.  Hopefully they’ll sleep in a bit, in our adobe-style suite (which is rustic, but huge and nice).

That said, despite the sleeping family, it’s far from quiet.  In fact, it’s so loud in here   I can’t hear a damn thing.

That’s because we have not one, but two, sound machine apps on – filling the air with a sound not unlike that inside a jet at 35,000 feet.  You know that sound.  It’s the one that makes a ton of money for those clever folks at Bose, who went from great speakers to “noise-cancelling” headphones.

Now, the kids have always slept with one of these things, ever since they were newborns.  At this stage, it’s Pavlovian.  They’ll have to be older and make a conscious choice not to go to bed with white noise in the background.

And yet, speaking of Pavlov, it’s the dogs that, as always, so subtly (not) manipulate our travel.  The reason I’m in white noise immersion?  This year, at any rate, the dogs are so hyped up that the slightest noise in the room; outside; or, say, 5 blocks away sets them to barking.

Guess what’s typical of a damn hotel, however nice?  Occasional door closings, murmured conversation, etc.  Or traffic.  Or birdsong.

So:  we need to make our dogs deaf.  Hence the multiple white noise apps on iPads and phones etc.

Don’t mistake me:  it’s good the dogs are protective.  In fact, I wish they had been MORE protective when the meth-freak stalked HHW in the Safeway parking lot yesterday.  But in terms of restful wind-downs from a long day, these animals need to chill.

Maybe they just need some weed?  JK, JK – I love my dogs.  I would never have them toke up.  (I don’t even know if that’s the proper terminology.)  We’ll just have to keep soothing them with affection.  And jet airplane noise.

Other snaps from yesterday: