Jennifer and Dina

The warm welcome on this Christmas Day goes out to Jennifer and Dina, friends from Northern Virginia who happened to stumble upon Annie and me on the waterfront today . What a delightful conversation it was, and one of the reasons I take these walks. I never know when I will be pleasantly surprised. Of course, the conversation started off with tales about Annie, before it ventured off into Jennifer's two gorgeous blue nosed pits, and two hours worth of other topics after that. Perhaps there will be the occasion to continue the conversation, as it was interrupted only by the dark and cold.




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Carrie from Call Your Mother’s Bagels

Today's warm welcome goes out to Carrie from San Francisco, who is an associate at what has to be the best Bagel store anywhere, CYMB. Carrie greeted Annie and me enthusiastically, which I am sure she would not have done had I been alone, but I understand. Carrie herself has a small brindle pitpull like dog. For her enthusiastic welcome, Carrie was awarded on the spot with a coveted On The Road patch.


Ed and Annie

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Today’s warm, Welcome goes out to Alisa

I never cease to be amazed about how many charming people I meet on my walks and rides each day. I'm sure if I do not have a dog, in the present case, Annie,, I would meet no one. Tonight, Annie and I had the pleasure of meeting a charming young woman named Alicia, who was just finishing up an evening of skateboarding down by the waterfront I wanted to award Alicia with one of OnTheRoad patches for listening to some of my stories about my road trips, but I did not have any with me, so I owe her one

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Tonight’s Warren Welcome goes out to Yellie and Lisa

Yellie and Lisa, visiting DC from California, stopped by to greet Annie at her office at the waterfront tonight. In consideration for their compassion towards animals and comments about Annie, they were both awarded a coveted OTR patch.


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Today’s Welcome goes out to Tiffany

today's welcome, or shout out, goes out to Tiffany from Springfield, who stopped to say hello to Annie at Annie's office of the Starbucks on the waterfront today. The two of us exchanged stories about our own rescue dogs, Millie in Tiffany's case. we both were in solid agreement that the Joy one receives from a rescue dog is exponentially more than joy from other dogs.

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Today's warm welcome goes out to Gozde and her gather Erkan form Ankara, Turkey

No, I am not on the road to Turkey,  although the distance to there (5418 miles) is less than the 5880 miles from DC to the Arctic Ocean in Alaska during my first trip there.    But if could drive there, I would.  I still have fond memories from my one trip there in 1989, and would go back in a flash.   I met Gozde and Erkan during my evening walk to the waterfront with Annie, and I relived just about every highlight of my trip with them.  They were impressed with my pronunciation of the only words I remember from my study of Turkish before my trip, çok güzel.  For those of you who do not know Turkish, that means "very nice."  Gozde just arrivied in the states to start a career in journalism, and we wish her the best of success.

 

From: Ed Mulrenin <edmulrenin@gmail.com>
Date: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 8:25 PM
To: Self Home <edmulrenin@gmail.com>
Subject: Welocome

Gozde and erkan

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Today's warm welcome goes out to Maya A*****in

Today's warm welcome goes out to Maya A*****in from Jordan. One of the benefits of having a dog is that you meet new interesting people every day. But every so often one of those people shares a view of the world as you do and comes at that view from the same direction as you.  If you think about it long enough, you can almost calculate the probability of meeting some people, and then characterize that person as, say, a "one in a million" kind of a person when the meeting occurs.  I would probably have to add a few more zeros to Maya's characterization, as the odds of my meeting a charming, Russian-speaking Fordham graduate who majored in economics, and is a dog lover who enjoys camping and New York, passions of my own, in a chance occurrence are far greater than one on a million.

Welcome to Kim (aka Annie) and Mike

Noce talking with the two of you on the Waterfront tonight.  And get yourself a dog.

Dick and Janie

Today's warm welcome goes out to Duck and Jamie from nearby Richmond. One of the values of this trip is that I get to meet like-minded people. These two are not only like minded, but 22 years ahead of me in terms of doing camping right. And here i Thought getting cots for Donner and me was an innovation.

Safe travels, Duck and Jamie.

Ed and Donner

Today is warm welcome goes out to read, Brenda, and Kylie

Read, Brenda and Kylie, welcome to Donners blog. It sure was nice camping next to like minded neighbors, especially with a fabulous dog like Red. He made DONNER's day several times over just by being there. After you left, he would sit on his bed in the campsite with his eyes riveted on the path looking for Red to pass by. At least it gave him something interesting to do.

Sent from my iPad

Welcome Benji, Jamie and Maris

Today's warm welcome goes out to Benji, Jamie, and Maris, neighbors of mine who also frequent Donner' s office at Starbucks on the waterfront. For their undivided attention to my stories about my previous road trips, they will each be awarded a coveted OTR.camp patch, that is, when I remember to carry them with me again.

Welcome to Presley

I cannot recall if I sent a shout out to Presley earlier, but just in case I did not, here it is. Or if I already gave a shout out, she certainly deserves another one, so here it is again.

Presley joined Donner and me at his office on the waterfront today, And had some nice things to say about my blog. Which reminds me, I think I need to reactivate it for whatever trip I might take this year.

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Today’s warm welcome goes out to Presley

Once again, Donner's magnetic personalities attracted another admirer, in this case, Presley from Florida. Passing by, stepping over, really, Donner outside of his waterfront office, she could not resist to make a few comments. Of course, she was justly rewarded with a covered it on the road.camp patch

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Tonight’s warm welcome goes out to Anna and Pippa

Tonight's warm welcome goes out to Anna and Pippa from Nashville Tennessee. Anna was one of at least a dozen diners at Angolo's tonight who could not resist the temptation of Donner just lying there relaxing in the corner reserved for him. For her kind attention to Donner, Anna was awarded a coveted On-the-Road.camp patch.

A photo of Anna's two rescued German shepherds, Pippa and Eli, is shown below. Yes, I love all dogs the same, but admit that I have a special affinity for either German shepherds or rescued dogs, especially both.

Ed and Donner from Angolo restaurant in DC, not on the road yet
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Anna's rescued German shepherds, Pippa and Eli

Welcome to Edward

Today's welcome goes out to Edward, who ran into us at Donner's other Starbuck's office, on Wisconsin Avenue. Edward apparently had seen my Defender around time over the years, althouh i have beeb driving it for more years than he looks old. He himself rides the precision machine of motorcycles, a BMW, a beauty., just as the Defender is the precision machine of UVS.

Ernie and Kate

Today's warm welcome goes out to Ernie and Kate, who came across Donner and me at the Uptowner Café not too far from home. Ernie, a two=year old rescued dog himself, wanted to approach Donner, but did so with caution because he had never seen what appeared to him to be a bionic dog before.

Madison and Tammy

Today's warm welcome goes out to Madison and her mother Tammy from Connecticut. I am only allowed to send so many megabytes of data in a message, so I cannot list all of the dogs in Tammy's family. But I certainly extend my welcome to them, or their digitized representations.

Madison and Tammy joined Donner and me at his Starbucks office on the waterfront. They were properly awarded a coveted OTR Patch for listening to the synopsis of Donner's story.

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Today is welcome from Rhododendrum camp goes out to…

Robert, from Richmond, who is camping in a marvelous Ford Transit Connect, which he nicely outfitted into a comfortable mini mansion. I could buy one of those for $30,000 or spend $150,000 on. Mercedes G.Wagon for the same enjoyment.

Another warm welcome goes out to Sarah and Luca from Ohio, our nearby neighbors at the camp. Donner finally was able to give his usual greeting to another dog for the first time on this trip. He has not lost his touch. Why, as a German Shepherd, he feels compelled to kiss other dogs, I simply do not understand. I think he must have some French poodle in him.



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Today's warm welcome goes out to Alex from Denver

As I strolled (I mean, Donner strolled, I pushed) with Donner on the Waterfront tonight after our evening pupuccinos, Cappupuccino  for me and Puppupuccino for Donner, we were stopped in our tracks by the delightful Alex from Denver, in town for a photography tour with her friends, who simply had to get a photo of Donner in his RV. As usually happens when we meet dog and nature lovers, one story led to another, led to another, and led to still another.  Despite the “Solitudiem” on our patch, this is one of the very reasons I take our road trips, to meet like-minded people all over this vast, beautiful  North American continent, from DC to Northwest River in Labrador, to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories, Deadhorse on the Arctic Ocean in Alaska, to Death Valley, Denali, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, the deserts of California, Nevada and Utah,  on the Colorado, Mississippi and Youkon rivers, and all the wonderful camps snd bivouacs in between those boundaries of the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans.  I think I covered all of those great places and more in my sermon with Alex and her charming friends.  If I cannot take a road trip this year like I am wont to do, sharing the memories of those trips is just as good as far as I am concerned.  Alex and her friends were each rewarded a coveted On-The-Road.camp patch for their enthusiastic reception to our stories.

Hello Mahtav

How nice of you to stop by to meet Donner. Don't give up hope with you boys.

Ed and Donner

Welcome Romero and Copa

Great meeting you. And what a pretty dog Copa is.

Regard,

Ed and Donner

Hello Susan

Thanks for stopping tonight at Angelo's restaurant to say hello to Donner. Although he prefers dogs to people, he appreciate it your stopping by with your comments.

Ed and gunner

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Hello Blessy and Libin

How nice it was to meet the two of you tonight. Thanks for stopping by. And don't forget to send me your address so I can send you some "on the road" patches.

Ed and Donner

Sent from my iPhone

Hello Viha, Mark. Carolyn and friend

Thanks for stopping to pet Donner tonight at the Starbucks on the waterfront. Of course, you got more than just to pet Donner. A story that took us from labrador, to the arctic ocean in Alaska, too the Grand Canyon and home again. Thanks for listening to my stories and for sharing your own, when you had a chance.

Perhaps we will run into each other again. And don't forget to send an address where I can send the patches. The four of you deserve them. And I'll throw in one for the photographer too.

Ed and Donner
Sent from my iPhone

Welcome to Anna and Jake

Today's welcome goes out to Anna and her shared dog Jake, a handsome, 10-year-old labordoodle. Thanks for sharing stories today about your service and cyber security.

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Today’s welcome goes out to Alexandra and Alexander

Hello Alexandra and Alexander,

It was a pleasure meeting you at Donner's office, Starbucks Thanks for listening to my stories. As you can tell, I enjoy talking about them now, now that I am home safely.

Good luck with your own endeavors.

Ed and Donner


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Hello Ally and John,

It was nice meeting the two of you at the Starbucks on the waterfront today. I'm excited for you about bringing smoky home. I envy you for the joy you will get from rescuing a three legged German Shepherd.

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Shawn and Venissa

Today is warm welcome goes out to Sean and Vanessa, who stopped by to greet Donner at his waterfront office at Starbucks. Thanks for your comments about him.

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Welcome to Camilo and Lena

It was great meeting you. And thanks for your comments about Donner.  You will see his story on one of the buttons on the main blog page.

 

Soon, I will start to write up  my backpacking trips from the 90s in Alaska and Russia and early OTR (On The Road) trips. The first road trip was featured in two National Geographic cover stories, as you will see.

 

Your question was perhaps the most profund question anyone has ever asked me about these trips I make.  Few people have the capability to look at someone else’s experiences and then at themselves in the future  and wonder, if I do not do this now, will I regret it?  Take it from someone who does have those regrets. The answer is yes. But I sure as hell am making up for it now. Maybe not the same way as I would have done 30 years, but it sure is enough for me, and Donner, too.

 

Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.

 

Ed and Donner

 

 

Welcome to Tina and D'Andre

 Today's warm (and I mean 92 degree warm) welcome goes out to Tina and D'Andre, proud parents of two cats (or is it three?, a small chihuahua they don't count as a dog, and four lovely daughters, all with birthdays.

Here is the reference to my day-of-week blog.

leak into Garage.and 304

Richard,

 

If you are convinced that we have given 304 fair notice to find the source of the leak in his unit, please ask Gardner Engineering for a proposal as soon as possible to track down the source of the leak.  Right now, it could be anywhere, in the unit, in the pipes dedicated to this unit, in the common element pipes (water or drainage), or coming from another unit. I want to be fair to 304 and not point the finger at him, but he needs to know (again) that we are calling in Gardner and if the source of the leak is in or related to his unit, he will be charged for all the condo’s costs associated with this. He may wish to notify his insurance company because the master policy does not kick in until $5000 is reached.

 

You may also wish to tell him that Gardner will need unfettered access to his unit to deal with this, although mutually convenient times will be arranged.

 

Once we get the proposal from Gardner, I will get the Board to approve it.

 

I will also be asking the Board next week for approval to initiate a Section V-10 action and to replace the 304 door handle.  You would have the right to include your time in the costs we assess to 304 as this would be private work for a unit, and we do not pay you to do that.

 

ED

Sterling and Jenna

Today's warm, I mean cold, welcome goes out to Sterling a beautiful multicolored dog, and his guardian Jenna. Donner met them at the nearby park tonight and was immediately attracted to Sterling of all the dogs there. Jenna is the first person I've met in years who knew much about the roads that I had traveled in Alaska.

FW: CALDEL DELCAL DELIVERIES and CALENDAR

 

IPhone

Beanie holibird

Shop towels

Dog bed

Whut momens to remember

Purplse bandana, black, green

Green baNDANAS 2

 

CALENDAR

Wheaton 2300 m 9th 920 March1

 

Hello to Heidi and Alexie

Today's warm welcome goes out to a beautiful yellow lab named Heidi, who joined Donner and me with her guardian Alexis today at Donner's office at the Starbucks. Heidi deserves an award for being the most gentle dog you could meet to make Donner feel threatened by something. And Alexie gets an award for listening to the most stories I ever told anyone in the shortest amount of time.

Ed and Donner

Tonight's warm welcome goes out to Jerry

Tonight’s warm welcome goes out to Jerry, a sweet, handsome, rescued three-year old Dachshund mix, we just met on our walk in Georgetown. As we walked along the street at a brisk pace, Donner stopped abruptly and pulled me over to meet Jerry, who was dining outside with his guardian. And I should say, one of the few diners outside tonight.  It reminded me of our 2016 road trip when we were stranded in the cold, snowy Yukon for five weeks waiting for the Defender’s engine to arrive and had to eat most of our meals outside in below freezing weather. Ah, for the good old days.

 

Ed and Donner

Welcome Patricia and Michael

Great meeting you today. Keep up the interest in learning new things.

Ed and Donner

Today's welcome

Today’s warm welcome goes out to the couple whom Donner and I met at the Potomac shopping mall parking lot today as we were returning home from Donner’s swimming session.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. But with the amount of time I put into that blog, all your questions can probably be found there, e.g., how to stave off a grizzly when you are broken down on a highway; what to do in a tent in the Yukon for five weeks in the middle of what would be a rough winter for moist people  while you vehicle is waiting for a new engine; how to react when the puree on a ship wakes you at 5 am   asking you to go to the car deck to get your dog park in the vehicle, etc.

 

Now stop dreaming about a road trip in your Jeep, take one.

 

ED and Donner

HVACs

Ruchard,

The lobby and the hallway HVACs are registering 77 and 78 respectively, although both are set at 69. Please call B and B for a service call today for both. Just out of curiosity, aren't they supposed to come out twice a year to inspect those machines as they do for the residential machines?

Adam set the thermostats on both machines at 69. The board decided that the temperature in the summer should be set at 72 and in the winter at 70. Unless the Boarc decided otherwise, I would like for the switchover to take place on May 1 and October 1 routinely. The same should also apply to turning on the building's outdoor water spigots.

Thanks.

Ed

That May 19 report from ron about a leak

Richard, the next time you are here , please arrange to look at that leak Ron reported again. There is something going on. 807 reported nothing, and i have never seen a leak like that skipping a floor.

Ed

Today’s welcome

Today's welcome goes out to Ira, an unmasked, delightful young woman who approached Donner and me in the Georgetown waterfront park last evening. What I was particularly impressed about was that we had met five years ago, just after I adopted Donner, and she remembered his name. She did not remember my name, but that's not important. The way to a man's heart is by remembering his dogs name, not his.

Ed

Welcome to IRA

Today's warm welcome goes out to Ira, who visited with Donna and be at the Georgetown Riverfront Park today. I was quite impressed with her because she met us 4 1/2 years ago just after i adopted Donner and she remembered his name.She did not remember my name, but that's par for the course. Everybody remembers Donner.

Ira, if you're reading this, I hope we meet up again.

Ed and Donner

Today’s warm welcome goes out to..

Today's warm welcome goes out to Sarah, a third-year law student from Austin, Texas, and her absolutely spectacular, eight-month old brindle dog, Rodeo. We met up while walking our dogs today on the waterfront park in Georgetown. Sarah just adopted Rodeo lasr week, as many others are doing during these times of sheltering in place. No one knows better than i that the best companion for sheltering anywhere is a dog.

Ed and Donner

Today's warm welcomes goes out to Hasti and Maurice (the dog)

Today’s welcome, the first for OTR11, goes out to Hasti and her sweet 12-year old dog, Maurice, whom we met on our morning walk today. Maurice never quite made it close enough for Donner to give him his customary kiss, seeking refuge behind Hasti as he did, but he got close enough for Donner to let it qualify for his quota for the day and, so, was awarded a coveted OnTheRoad patch.

 

Ed and Donner

Day 44 Welcome goes out to the folks in Elkins West Virginia

Before this last full day of On The Road-10 ends, today's welcome goes out to all the good people of Elkins who made Donner's and my brief stay here more delightful than i had planned.....

Roxy, Scott and Billy at Cheat River Lodge, whose hospitality is hard to match,

Mark, the multi-talented conversationalist who made us feel right at home in a town new to us,

Kyle, my Thai massage therapist who expertly restored my ability to walk in a straight line after riding almost 9000 miles in the Defender, i,e., the equivalent of riding in a tractor for those who have not experienced it.

The staff at Fancy Paws, who helped restore Donner 's ability to, well, smell like a dog instead of an entire dog-sled team,

The owners of TipTop, the best coffee shop and veggie wrap procurer east of the Pacific Ocean, and to Matty, their barista, who lovingly boxed the sole-remaining pumpkin bar for Donner and me to enjoy on our trip home tomorrow, but which Donner selfishly devoured alone while i stepped out of the Defender to fill up the gas tank.

You are all good people, and lucky to live where and how you do. The values and graciousness that seem to permeate the air in West Virginia are to be envied by all as much as the sheer beauty of this vestibule of heaven you live in.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 34 welcome goes out to Nina of Arizona

Today's warm welcome goes out to Nina of Arizona, a neighbor at Recapture Lodge. (Most people admire my dog on this journey, but Nina admired my JEEP license plate, probably because she drives a pretty cool Jeep herself.) I'm sorry we did not have a chance to chat longer, but the road beckoned the two of us in different directions, Thanks for your stories about exploring that fantastic area we both took advantage of. (If you see this, please send me the name of that cool light on your drivers 's side.) Safe journey back home, and to your dog.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 33 welcome to Charlie and Al

Today's welcome goes out to...

Charlie Pike from Kansas, a neighbor at Recapture Lodge. Thanks for your for sharing your stories of backpacking and off-roading at Moab with me.

Al, whom i met at Goosenecks State Park in the desert at Valley of the Gods. Thanks for sharing with me your Navy stories and experiences of life on the road. Safe travels everywhere.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 28 Welcome to Pierre and Roxanne and JP

I amend my earlier posting by adding Roxanne and Pierre to my list of fellow travelers along with their dog JP whose friendship i had the pleasure of enjoying in Death Valley tonight. We also discovered we had in common the experience of managing a large paralyzed dog, in their case, Fille, a Bernaise Mountain Dog, as beautiful as she was proud. Welcome to my blog, and please send me a photo of Fille.

Day 27’s welcome goes out to Roger from Delaware

Thanks for stopping by our camp today to greet Donner. And good luck with your plans to retire and to get on the road yourself. You may never return to your former life once you do.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Fwd:

> Today's very warm welcome goes out to Ale and Krista, from Texas and Kansas respectively. Both consummate dog lovers, they stopped by site 101 tonight to say hello to Donner, but got a two-hour lecture on how to live a storied-life without planning to, and wishing one could read about them instead of living some of them. It's meeting absolutely delightful people like these two young women on these trips that tempts me to remove the SOLITUDINEM from my patch.

Ed and Donner, from the road

day 18, Warm welcome to all fellow travelers at Kalaloch

One of the advantages i now see in staying put for a few days at a camp is that i am able to actually talk with people as they stroll by my site, many with their dogs, instead of my rushing to move on. I have met too many at Kalaloch to name individually, so let me jointing extend a warm welcome to all of you here . Thank you for your friendship, albeit ephemeral. But the memory of meeting good people like you, fellow travelers and nature lovers, will be permanent.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 15’s warm (i mean cold and rainy) welcome

Day 15's warm (i mean cold and rainy) welcome goes out to Lisa, Mike and Rudy of Florida, formely Alexandria and Reston. It is always a pleasure to meet like-minded travelers on these trips. Lisa and Mike are especially welcome because of their travel partner, Rudy, who will male Donner's day when he stops by our camp. So far, it has been a no-dog-day for Donner. Poor dog.

Ed and Donner, from the road , Mt Rainer National Park 

Today’s warm welcome..

Today's warm welcome goes out to Bill and Kim from Cortalane (Sp) Idaho, formerly DC. Hardy travelers if ever there were two, or four, including Donner and me. . Safe journeys to the two of you. And Thanks for your for sharing your adventures with me.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Another day 6 warm welcome to Germain and Olivia

Germain and Olivia are from New Zealand and here to spend five months traveling the US. I am sure they appreciate this warm welcome in the cold, wet Badlands. Safe travels to the two of you and please let me know how your journey is going.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Welcome to Dennis

This morning's welcome goes out to Dennis from Ventura, California, who is on his 46th of 51 National Park visits. We met up at the Badlands visitor center where i caught him admiring my Defender. I will let him receive this welcome on behalf of the other previous dozen or so anonymous admirers on this trip so far.

Safe travels, Dennis, and good luck making 51 parks.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Today’s welcome...Mercedes

Today's welcome...Mercedes

Today's warm welcome goes out to Mercedes, the proud guardian of it least one German shepherd. Mercedes is one of the devoted baristas at Starbucks on the waterfront who have been supplying Donner with his daily fix of puppuccinos. Both for her guardianship of a GSD and her role as a fixer of puppuccinos, she was awarded a coveted OTR patch

Warm welcome to Liz

Today's warm welcome (a.k.a. shout out) goes out to Liz and her cousins from New Jersey and Staten Island. Liz saw Donner near his waterfront hangout at Starbucks and immediately betrayed her love of dogs.She herself has a dog named Duke, also a rescued dog. For her betrayal of for affection for dogs, Liz was awarded a coveted OTR patch.

Ed and Diane are

Welcome to the Ham family

Tonight's warm welcome goes out to the Ham family, from northern Ireland, in DC for a visit. If ever there existed an enthusiastic dog family, the Hams for it. Besides their two dogs, we ran out of time describing the rest of their animal kingdom back home.

Safe travels back home.

Ed and Donner

Hello Laurie and Megan

Thanks for stopping by this morning to dote over Donner. I am sure he appreciated it. Good luck to the two of you.

Ed and Donner

Welcome to Mark an El

Tonight's warm welcome goes out to Mark and his daughter El from the San Francisco area.They are in town to attend to some of the El's soccer gigs. As I emerged from Starbucks tonight, I found two of them doting over Donner, who had been otherwise patiently waiting for his treat. They themselves are the proud guardians of two beautiful golden retrievers, which probably explains their ease of showing affection towards Donner. Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes.

Hello Kathleen

Today's Welcome goes out to Kathleen from Los Angeles and her spunky three-year-old German Shepherd named Sigmund.

Thanks for your attention to Donner.

Ed and Donner

Welcome Melissa and Chase

Nice talking with you at Roosevelt island. Donner enjoyed it too. Good luck to the two of you.

Ed and Donner

Welcome to L and Troy

It was nice meeting the two of you tonight on the Waterfront.  And thanks for listening to my stories. As you saw, I relive the adventures when I talk to others about them.  I hope you picked up some pithy pearls of inspiration.

 

Ed and Donner

Olivia from Hawaii

Today's welcome goes out to Olivia from Hawaii who, taking a break from the conference she is is attending in Washington, stopped by to say hello today to Donner at his office on the waterfront. Olivia herself is proud guardiam of a German shepherd, the reason she could not resist stopping in to say hello.

Anna

Today's warm welcome goes out to Anna from Washington DC. Anna joined Donner and me at Donner's Saturday office at Dean and Deluca, and listened patiently to a number of our stories, for which she was awarded a coveted On the Road.camp patch.

Madison from Delaware

Today's warm welcome, on a particularly cold but promising day, goes out to Madison, an interesting young student at Georgetown. She greeted Donner and me (mostly the former) at Pete's Café in Georgetown, Donner 's new morning office. After exchanging some stories, Madison was awarded a coveted OnTheRoad.camp patch for her patience and compassion in listening to stories about Donner and other things.

Welcome to Les, Denise and handsome Toby

Today’s warm welcome, on this dark, cold Saturday, goes out to Les, Denise and their handsome miniature lion-pup “Toby” from Washington DC.   We stopped when crossed paths this morning to allow our dogs to meet, but they were deservedly awarded a coveted On The Road patch for listening to the 30-minute synopsis of stories from my road trips.

 

ED

 

Today’s Welcome

Today's warm welcome goes out to my neighbor, Paula, and her cute six-month-old black-and-white little dog Chewy. While Chewy did all he could to dodge Donner's keen interest in him, I think there's potential for them to become good friends as Chewy matures into the handsome pup he shows promise to become.

Ed

Apology

There are so many good people i am meeting on this trip, i cannot possibly post a welcome to each of you. So let me post a general welcome here, and thank you all for being part of Donner's and my (and the Defender's) fantastic journey.

Ed

Today’s welcome

Goes out to Dylan, Kimber and Chris from Boise. Thanks for the photos of Donner and me.

Today’s warm welcome

Today's really warm welcome goes out to Ambre and Gaelle from Montreal, and i mean really warm welcome. They came to my aid in an emergency, and then i had to come to their aid. While these were going on, Tiffany called with her own emergency, which i am trying to help her resolve, 800 miles away.

Tiffany and company...

September 26...

Today's really warm welcome goes out to Tiffany,Samara, Kira and Ringo. Meeting you was the highlight of the trip so far by a long shot, and probably will stay that way. That's going to be hard to beat.

Safe travels to the four of you and Donner looks forward to seeing Ringo back in DC.

ED

Today,s wecome

Today's welcome goes out to Samanta, Tiffany and Ringo, whom we met . Kira too

Otto

Today’s welcome goes out to Otto, a big -make that very big- eight-month old white Pyrenees and his guardians whom Donner met on his walk tonight. In fact, met twice, since we both circled the block in different directions and met up a second time. Donner could not get enough of his new friend.

 

ED

 

Today's welcome goes out to...Mowey

All dogs have a favorite treat.  Donner has at least five: going for a ride, going for a walk, going swimming, scratching his muzzle against people, and most of all, meeting and greeting dogs, all dogs, big and small, friendly and shy, etc. and etc. He truly never met a dog he did not like  and never tires of meeting new ones.  After four years of straining at the end of his chain to meet dogs in LA backyards, he honed his present practice of insisting that he greet every dog within 200 feet he sees.

 

Today he had the good fortune to meet Mowey (?), a big beautiful yellow Labrador retriever we ran into on the way to Donner’s morning “office” at Starbucks on the Waterfront. I did not get Mowey’s guardian’s name, but he is her first dog and so he has a formidable task ahead of him to make that sure she understands what her first obligation in life is. By the looks of it, it is clear she understands that already.

 

ED

Tonight's welcome

Today’s welcome goes out to Carolyn, Tom and his son William, whom I met at Angolo’s, where Donner and I stopped tonight for some water and wine, respectively.. They were all awarded coveted OTR patches for listening to my story about OTR8, fated OTR8 that is.

 

ED

 

Today's warm welcome

Today's warm welcome goes to two new charming staff members at Angolo's, Donner's favorite restaurant, Elena and Jackie. Jackie not only could not take her eyes and hands off Donner and has two dogs of her own, put her parents are as into road camping trips with their dogs as i am. Both were awarded coveted On the Road patches for the usual reasons.

Today's welcome goes out to Hazel

Tonight, Donner fell in love. On our walk on the waterfront tonight he met this beautiful black terrier (I think). He could not take his eyes off her as her mother held her. It was the longest relationship he's had so far. Besides Hazel's parents, also there were her two charming cousins from Long Island. All were rewarded with coveted On the Road patches for their compassion for Donner's story.

Chestnut

Today's warm welcome goes out to Chestnut, a gorgeous, young golden retriever Donner met this morning at his office outside Starbucks. When she strolled by, he was smitten with her immediately. When they finally met, he could not take his eyes, i mean nose, off her. She went along with his attention, even teasing him. What a sweetheart she was. Donner misses her already.

When I first rescued Donner, it was evident that he had never played with a dog in his life, having been chained up in back yards through several owners for his first four years. Whenever a dog would come with 200 feet of him, he would react ambitiously, straining on the leash to get to them, barking and whining. I hired a dog shrink to help me understand what he was trying to tell me and to break him of this habit. After one hour of consultation ($500), she told me that he would never play with another dog and he would need to be on Prozac for the rest of his life. (I think she told me that because she was embarrassed that he knocked her to the ground as he tried to meet up with a dog he saw on our walk.) Following her advice, over the next two years, I never let him near a dog, but worked every day with him to reduce his reaction zone to zero. In January of this year, with the help of other dog owners, I started to gradually introduce him to other dogs, one by one, and then discovered that his reaction upon seeing a dog was his wanting to meet them.  Now, he gets to meet every dog he sees, and what a joy it is for him. The above photo of him and Chestnut is proof that you should listen to your dog, and not those who pretend to speak for them. No one knows what is going on in a dog's mind except your dog. Anyone who pretends to be speak for them should stay away from dogs and stay on Prozac for the rest of their lives.  It upsets me that I deprived Donner of two years of his greatest joy because of a pretender.

Today's welcome goes to

July 26, 2018

 

Today’s welcome goes out to Aaron and Kelsey, who joined Donner and me on our evening walk along the waterfront.  Aaron’s beloved seven-year-old dog (Donner’s age) Luna died just several weeks ago and Donner served to bring out all the good reminders for Aaron.  While she talked, appropriately, a pale full moon hung over the river in front of us in the clear night sky. 

 

ED

 

Welcome, Carter and Paige from the great state of New York

Thanks for your nice comments about Donner, formerly Thunder. I take him by the waterfront to get him used to dogs, but I especially enjoy seeing how people are so nice to and enjoy him. Enjoy you trip to DC.

Ed and Donner

Today's welcome goes out to...Sierra et al

Today’s warm welcome goes out to Sierra and her AU roommate, Danielle, and their fellow classmate Daniel, also from AU by way of Seattle, as well as their other classmates, with whom I had to pleasure to sit down at the pre-Russian movie dinner at the Russian Embassy tonight. What a delightful and inquisitive group they were.  How lucky I was to be seated with them instead of some stuffy professor-types who would have used the arrangement to launch into some lecture on some obscure topic I probably would have had zero interest in.  As it turns out, it was I who delivered the lecture, I hope to all their enjoyment.  For attentively listening to my stories above the din, each earned a coveted OnTheRoad.Camp patch, if Sierra lets me know where to send them.

 

ED (and Donner, although he was not allowed in)

 

 

A double welcome day, today.

It seems that every time I plan a 20-minute walk with Donner, I have to plan on one hour since I am unable to resist the longing looks on the faces of some passers-by, longing to pet Donner.  I wish I knew what the secret is to his appeal. Today’s welcome, or shout-out in current jargon, is actually a double one.

 

The first welcome goes out to two extremely well-behaved kids with the pleasant names of Toby and Hannah whose faces from 10 feet away revealed that they wanted do pet Donner, and they did, but only after they asked their lovely nanny Lena, and then me, for permission.  All three were awarded on the spot coveted On the Road patches for their compassion toward animals.

 

No sooner did I release Downer from Hanna’s and Toby’s affectionate clutches, I encounteedr two loverly, smart college girls, Nia and Yasi, whose faces also betrayed their desire for some quality dog-petty moments.  After minutes of good conversation and their smothering Donner with affection, they too were awarded On the Road patches.

 

Another 20-minute walk that morped into 90 minutes.

Dina and Rooney

Today's welcome goes out to Dina and her sweet, nine-year old hound, Rooney. Rooney, too, is a rescued dog who was more interested in her favorite smelling spots in the park than in greeting Donner. So Donner could only dream of what might have been.

Angie and Danielle, and Bree

Today's warm welcome goes out to Angie and Danielle, two lovely young women who work nearby Donner's morning office as or for landscape architects. Dog guardians themselves, they could not resist the temptation to greet Donner today. They, too, were awarded coveted On the Road Camp patches for their devotion to animals.

Today's welcome also goes out to Bree, an equally lovely young lady who came out to greet me at Starbuck's.  She was awarded a coveted OTR.camp patch as well, but more for her inquisitiveness about how the world works.

Jennifer and Kate

Today's welcome also goes out to two charming, inquisitive young ladies, Jennifer and Kate, students at Georgetown University, who were charmed by Donner's good looks and personality. They, too, were awarded coveted On the Road patches.

Welcome Ellen and Keeley

Today's warm welcome, welcomes really, go to Ellen and Keeley, two woman who did not know each other but who converged on Donner simultaneously from different directions at Dean & Deluca. Both, of course, were awarded with coveted On the Road patches for their demonstrating Donner's irresistible charm, which i hope to emulate one day.

Welcome Olivia

I cannot recall if there ever was anyone who came upon Donner sitting with me who showed more exuberance at seeing him than Olivia, a cheerful 8-year old from Colorado who passed by us today with her family. Olivia was awarded a coveted On the Road patch for her family's own adoption of their beloved pitt bull, who was rescued from dumpster.

Today's welcome

Today’s welcome goes out to DELHI, an absolutely gorgeous, gently pup I just met this morning with his guardian Rebecca.  If I have met a more handsome dog, I cannot recall. Rebecca rescued Delhi from the streets of India while she was there.  I would say what a lucky dog Delhi is, but I think Rebecca is the luckier one. Rebecca was awarded with a coveted OnTheRoad.camp patch for Delhi and herself.

Today's welcome ...Jen

Today's welcome goes out to a charming young woman named Jen, who pauses at Donner's morning office on her way to work to pat Donner. It appears that Donner has two roles at his office, keep his eyes out for intruding dogs, and satisfy people's needs for their daily dog pat.

Today's welcome

Today’s welcome goes out to two lovely young girls with equally beautiful names, Siena and Miam, who, with their parents, saw Donner approaching them on the C&O Canal and could hardly conceal their joy at seeing him. Both were awarded with coveted OnTheRoad.camp patches for their enthusiasm.

 

Also, not long after, Donner and I were greeted by a kindly gentleman named Bob, the guardian of a golden retriever, who had nothing but praise for Donner. Bob, too, was awarded a coveted OnTheRoad.camp patch for his kind words.

 

What is odd about all of the comments people make about Donner is that when I first saw his picture on my Facebook page and wanted to adopt him, I thought to myself, “well, he’s not as handsome as my previous five dogs, but he needs a home.”  Since then, Donner has gotten far more praise from people for his good looks than any of my previous dogs. It just goes to show you how wrong first impressions can be.  Of course, in his kennel photos, Donner was sick, 25 pounds underweight, and depressed and scared. Thank God, I overlooked his superficial beauty, not because I was wrong about it, but because he is so very much more than a handsome dog. I think people see that in him more, too, than his good looks. (I hope they say the same thing about me.)

 

 

ED & Donner

 

Today's welcome goes oit to Lilly

Today’s warm welcome goes out to Lilly, a lovely young woman who could not resist pausing to greet Donner at our “morning office” outside Starbucks at Washington Harbor.  Lilly gave me a small chance to practice speaking Russian, which served as a reminder to me to get back to studying and using Russian daily. Большой спасибо, Лили

 

ED & Donner

 

Emily

Today's welcome goes out to Emily, the GW student-oarswoman who stopped by to pet Donner today. For showing a compassionate interest in Donner's story, Emily was awarded a coveted On the Road patch.

Hello Kate

Today's welcome goes out to Kate, a delightful young lady from Catholic University who could not resist Donner this morning at our Saturday office outside Starbucks. She, of course, was awarded a coveted On the Road patch for her obvious devotion to dogs. Kate, like i, is one of those many people who prefer dogs to people, readers of my blog excepted, of course.

Triple welcomes today

Donner had a busy day today greeting new friends and, as usual, staying om high alert for dogs to do whatever he hopes to do with or to them.

 

Today's welcome goes out first to the three two girls and their mother (or older sister?) who greeted us outside Starbucks.  I felt guilty telling them Donner's story because they all looked so concerned about his first four years of life chained in several LA back yards.  No need to show concern, I told them, because I kept his original name ("Thunder") hidden from him (Donner is thunder in German) to serve as a constant reminder to me that as a rescued dog, I need to be more patient and understanding with him, and I am. All three of these compassionate dog-lovers were awarded conveted OnTheRoad.camp patches.

 

Soon after we got on our way, we were approached (almost assaulted 😊) by Eileen, who diverted herself from her obviously tough run through the park to ask to pet Donner. I graciously obliged, and Donner welcomed the respite from our walk to search guardedly for dogs in a 180-degree arc.  Eileen was also award a converted OnTheRoad.camp patch for her exuberance.

 

Finally, just after Eileen got on her way, I spotted four young teenagers ahead of us, one of them clearly showing the tell-tale signs of yearning to pet Donner.  I was right.  As we approached them, the one unable to conceal her yearning came up to me (almost blocking my passage) and asked to pet Donner.  Again, I gladly obliged. I had run out of OnTheRoad.camp patches, so I asked them to send me their contact information (edmulrenin@gmail.com) and I would haply send each one.  (As I usually do to such an exuberant group, I asked each of them their birthdays and one of them shared my birthday.)

 

I cannot end this posting without mentioning that Ava, the Shirley Temple look-alike from yesterday, happened to stop by again today with her mother and brother and got in another pet of Donner. I'd like to think she persuaded her mom to return just for that, but I think the truth is that Starbucks's was the real draw.  Regardless, Ava got in another pet of Donner and Donner got still another pet to reinforce in him that there really are compassionate people in this world.

 

Lena & Menola and Ava

... LENA  and her beautiful white cocker spaniel (?) MENOLA who greeted us this morning at what has become my off-the-road morning office, Starbucks on the Washington Harbor.  Thank you for showing such compassion toward Donner on account of his past life as Thunder, including your willingness to bring Menola closer to Donner to let him experience the friendship of a dog, and such a pretty dog at that.  Donner, by the way, first caught Menola's reflection in the Starbuck's glass door and could not take his eyes off “her” until she appeared in reality a few minutes later just a few feet from him around the nearby planter.  Then, for the next five minutes, his eyes and attention darted back and forth between the two Menolas as Donner tried to figure out which Menola was prettier, or perhaps the greater threat to his space.

 Also, another welcome goes out to a beautiful 4-year old (?) blonde girl named AVA who is the closest double for a 4-year old Shirley Temple I have ever seen, and I knew Shirley Temple.  Ava was awestruck by Donner in the calmest, most serene way I have ever seen before. It was almost as if she was thinking, he is a good dog, I am a good girl, and so it is my duty to pet him.

 Needless to say, Lena and Ava were both rewarded coveted On The Road patches for their affection for animals, in this case, Donner. Ava, bless her heart, after holding the patch for a few seconds, handed it back to me as if saying, this couldn't possibly be for me.  It was for her, and I returned it to her.

Prior Welcomes

Click here to see some prior Welcomes