The Nose Knows

Check out that nose!

I have a really good sniffer.  I know, some people might argue otherwise.  Some people might question my smelling ability based on the fact that I have stuck my snout in overtly stinky places (garbage cans, sneakers, disgusting things found at the local park) and have not only lived to tell about it, but didn't even flinch while doing so.  These people would be wrong.  The fact remains that I have a very impressive sense of smell and a snout so powerful that it can double as a GPS.

As my loyal readers already know, I spend extended car rides (defined as any distance further than the local deli Pa takes me to on the weekends) sleeping.  My system is always the same:  first, I lean in real close to Sister making sure to not only invade her personal space but also pin her arm against the back of the seat, second, I collapse onto her lap (all the while digging my elbows into her thigh), and finally, with a mighty sigh I close my eyes and snooze until a bump in the road or the sound of the car's directional wakes me up (at which point I begin the process again).  What can I say?  It's a simple system that ensures that I am well rested and ready to go when we finally reach our destination.  Anyway, that's how I spend a majority of every car ride...that is, until we're about five minutes away from our final destination.

It doesn't matter if we're driving to the house out east, the "Estate" (aka Old Westbury Gardens), Belmont Lake State Park, Sands Point, or even back to our house, it is always the same.  All of a sudden I awake from my nap with my nose a-twitching.  The air is somehow different; I can smell it.  It smells familiar, perhaps even a bit exciting, and I find that I just can't help myself.  I can't lay still; I need to stand up and wag my tail (which, in the small confines of the back seat, annoys Sister to no end).  The rule that I must remain seated while the car is moving suddenly flies out the window despite Sister's "sit" command, and all of a sudden I'm standing upright, pacing, and, occasionally, sticking my cold wet nose in Pa's ear trying to persuade him to hit the gas so we get to where we're going a little bit faster.