THE ADVENTURES OF PERIWINKLE & STINKY: PART CCXLIV

A Sunday Adventure

Stinky was super excited for his adventure with Periwinkle. It wasn’t because of their destination, but rather that he would be seeing Periwinkle two days sooner than usual. The adventure he had planned would no longer be available on Tuesday, which was the day when they normally got together. Instead, Periwinkle would be arriving in the early evening on Sunday. And Periwinkle’s mom had given Periwinkle permission to stay over, as they would be arriving home sometime around 11 p.m. Periwinkle rarely was able to stay over, so that made this adventure special as well.

Stinky wasn’t too happy about the fact they would be traveling with his dad. It was actually supposed to be both his dad and mom. But Stinky’s mom was super tired from a long car trip on Saturday and decided she would stay home.

So, Stinky was waiting by the teleportation tunnel when, with a whoosh, Periwinkle came tumbling out right on time. She was super excited to see him, and they spent several minutes paw hugging and whisker kissing.

COEs for the Tabbies

Stinky was waiting for the inevitable question from Periwinkle regarding their destination. But she didn’t ask. Instead, she started bouncing from paw to paw and said, “Stinky, my mom told me that we received more Certificates of Excellence from the Cat Writers’ Association. That is so exciting. What adventures did they like?”

Stinky replied, “Our certificates just came in the mail. We got four this year. They were for Adventure CLXXVIII – Pi Day, Adventure CLXXXI – National Pet First Aid Awareness Month, Adventure CLXXXII – National Pet Day and Adventure CCX – Date Night. Mom said we can have our photos taken with them when we get back to my house.”

“That is so exciting, Stinky. When will we find out if we win a Muse Medallion?” Periwinkle asked.

“Not until the end of October, and we shouldn’t get our hopes up. Mom says that the categories we are in are packed with other COE recipients. But we are also entered in two of the Special Categories. Unfortunately winners of those also are not announced until October,” Stinky told Periwinkle.

“Wow, that is really a long time to wait, but I guess we can nap a lot between now and then,” Periwinkle replied.

On the Road

Stinky giggled, took Periwinkle’s paw and led her to the garage. Periwinkle gave him a quizzical look, but didn’t ask what was happening. Stinky’s dad was waiting for them, opened the door to the back seat and buckled them into their seat belts. Once they were settled, Dad Tom got in the car and they headed off.

Stinky couldn’t believe that Periwinkle still hadn’t asked about their destination. Finally, he said, “Aren’t you curious about where we are going or why we aren’t teleporting?”

Stinky was surprised by her reply, “No, sometimes I like to be surprised, and I am certain it will be fun. You never plan bad adventures.”

Stinky was gobsmacked, so shook his head and gave her a wink and smile. Then he took her paw, and they settled in for the ride, which took about an hour. The tabbies fell asleep and didn’t wake until the car stopped.

Balloons Over Rockbridge Glow – Lexington, VA*

 

 

When Periwinkle looked out the window, she began to squeal and applaud. “Oh, Stinky, we’ve come back to see the balloons again. I loved our previous balloon adventure. We have never come in the evening before. Do they fly when it is dark?”

“No, but they do something even better,” Stinky replied. Periwinkle once again gave him a quizzical look, but Stinky didn’t tell her anything more.

The two tabbies unhooked their seat belts and jumped out of the car and sprinted toward the balloons. When Dad Tom finally caught up to them, Periwinkle was afraid they were going to be scolded, but Dad Tom didn’t say anything. Instead, he began to set up a bunch of equipment so he could take photographs. He explained to Periwinkle that what they were going to see was called, “Night Glow,” and that he’d never seen one before, so he tagged along on their adventure to take some photos. He promised not to hover around them.

Night Glow

 

 

With that said, the tabbies took off to explore and inspect the balloons. As they were walking around Periwinkle and Stinky were recognized from their previous visit to the festival, and several people gave them hugs and told them how happy they were to see them. That made both tabbies blush.

The tabbies walked around checking out the balloons waiting for it to get dark.

 

 

 

“Wow, Stinky, this glow thing is really fantastic,” gushed Periwinkle.

 

 

“Stinky, the balloon that looks like a Dalmatian wearing a backwards baseball cap is so funny,” exclaimed Periwinkle. Stinky agreed, and took Periwinkle to see a couple of the balloons up close.

 

 

Even though tethered rides were not being offered, the tabbies were able to get into one of the balloon baskets. Both decided it was too hot to stay long as they didn’t have the breeze that came with flying in the balloon.

 

 

Stinky’s dad found them in the balloon basket and told them it was getting late and time to head home. The tabbies jumped out and followed Dad Tom to the car for the ride home.

Showing off Their COEs

Periwinkle & Stinky napped on the way home. When they arrived, Stinky and Periwinkle got their COEs, and Stinky’s mom took their photo. Afterward, she added a snazzy background. Then Periwinkle said, “Stinky, I am so embarrassed. I forgot to ask if your mom got any COEs. I sure hope she did.”

 

 

“Yes, she got one for Best Entertainment Blog. She got one for that last year as well. She is the only blog this year with a COE in that category, so maybe she’ll win a medallion.”

“Stinky that would be so cool,” replied Periwinkle.

As it was very late, Stinky’s mom fixed the tabbies a snack before sending them off to bed.

The End

∗ To read more about Balloons Over Rockbridge, check out “The Adventures of Periwinkle & Stinky: Part CXLII.”

Periwinkle and Stinky will be joining the Happy Tuesday blog hop at Comedy Plus.

 

Periwinkle and Stinky thank you for supporting them and reading their posts.