Summer is coming, and with it thoughts of vacations. While I am a hermit happy to stay home with my dog, I do enjoy a travel book from time to time. In the past year or so, it's been books about road trips.

Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: the True Story of a Great American Road Trip, by Matthew Algeo. Imagine working at a gas station or cafe somewhere between Missouri and New York when the former president appears! In spite of trying to keep a low profile, Harry and Bess were recognized every where they went. And, on one of his traditional morning walks, Harry even managed to appear on a new tv show called "Today"! Join them on this 'excellent adventure', it's a great read.

David Rosenfelt writes a wonderful mystery series involving Tara, a Golden Retriever. Like the characters in his books, he and his wife rescue dogs ... larger dogs, and often ones with health problems. (The Tara Foundation really exists). At some point they decided to move from California back to their home turf in Maine. With 25 dogs. They thought they had everything planned out. Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RV's on a Canine Cross-Country Adventure is the story of how the journey really went.

It Takes A Dog to Raise a Village: True Stories of Remarkable Canine Vagabonds, by Ruth Gordon with illustrations by Pete Ring came to me as a gift from another dog lover. It tells of dogs who instead of having one family, had communities looking after them. There's Owney (featured on a U.S. Postage Stamp) who traveled the country by train in the mail cars. Lampo did something similar in Italy, while Patsy Ann greeted tourists arriving in Junea, Alaska. And, of course, Grayfriars Bobby, the loyal Skye Terrier who returned to his master's grave every day for the rest of his life.

A Barker's Dozen is a book inspired by a shelter rescue dog who was brought into the Humane Shelter as a stray. She was micro-chipped, but that information was out of date .. and from Georgia! How she got clear across the country developed into a 'whimsical westward journey', part fiction, part fact. Thirteen true stories of other shelter rescue dogs who found their forever home complete the book. A Barker's Dozen: 13 Stories About Shelter Rescue Dogs Plus Wise Words From Sage, a Dog on A Whimsical Westward Journey, All With Happy Endings and New Forever Homes, by Pat Leedy, may be found at lulu.com.

And lastly, a novel that is a bit more than a road trip, but well worth mentioning. The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson. At what should have been a routine physical, Ambrose Zephyr is told that he has a month to live. The result is a whirlwind tour of the places he wanted to visit (in alphabetical order). A sweet, sad read.

Reading Hermit With Dog