Sparkle meets the Nittany Lion
Dropping daughter Betsy off at a camp at Penn State, we take Sparkle the Seeing Eye pup on a tour of the gracious campus.
Penn State's campus turned out to be an ideal day trip for Sparkle. She rode quietly on the nearly four-hour drive there, with one potty break at a rest area on the turnpike.
After we got daughter Betsy settled in at her camp, we found wonderful hospitality at the Whiskers restaurant, inside the on-campus hotel, which gave Sparkle plenty of ice water while we all cooled off in the air conditioning and ate a very late lunch. (It was hard to find a place to eat on campus on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of the summer.)
Then we headed off on a wide-ranging tour of campus, where we encountered the Nittany Lion statue and politely waited our turn behind some children for a picture. Sparkle got some great exposure, with pedestrians, crosswalks, and a few busy streets. We headed down to the sprawling arts festival, where Sparkle greeted several well-mannered dogs on leashes, and we cruised past the bandstand. Sparkle was the picture of grace and self-assurance.
Everyone was so polite and helpful, and the campus looked lovely. We headed back to our car, and promptly got stuck in a miles-long line of traffic trying to get out of town. Sparkle took that delay in stride, slumbering peacefully on the floor of the backseat and never stirring till we got home.