Mango the umbrella cockatoo stretches his legs in the designated pet rest area.

MANGO AND I had to travel to Houston from Biloxi, Mississippi. Mango is a tame white umbrella cockatoo. Biloxi to Houston is about an eight-hour drive. I hated breaking the bad news to Mango, since he hates riding in the car. He always gets motion sickness. It did not matter if we were in the car for a few seconds to a couple of hours. This trip would start off the same as the rest.

I had barely gotten onto the interstate when he started to get sick. I felt really bad for him. I wanted Mango to enjoy the car ride since the trip was for so many hours. Not much fun to be stuck in a box for that many hours. Plus, he was sick and there was nothing I could do for him. I tried patting him in the carrier, playing music, talking to him, but he was sick.

So this time, I had decided to do something different. I stopped at the first rest stop so he could use the bathroom and to clean him up. Instead of getting back into the car, we went walking around the rest stop. We both needed a break from the car. I took pictures of Mango in the nature area. These made great pictures and he had fun posing for them.

We had a good time until I had to put him back in his carrier. He looked at me to say, "Please do not put me back in there, and I will behave". This made me feel super bad, knowing that he would get sick again. So I told him if he behaves, I will let him sit in the front seat with me. He was very happy to hear that.

I put Mango on top of his carrier, in the front seat, and off we went. I was surprised but he did not get sick. He looked around and started to enjoy the view. He really liked it when he saw horses and cows. He would look and look until he could not see them anymore. He was just like a little child. He was just amazed at all the new things that he hasn’t seen before. Too cute.

Nothing like breaking up a long car trip with a little sight-seeing.

I was surprised at how well behaved he was, since he was required to sit still while I drove. He did not fly around but just sat there enjoying the view for about six hours.

Mango is potty trained so I did not have to worry about him messing up my car. We continued to stop every two hours (per vets’ recommendations) and enjoy the rest stop areas.

We made it to Houston and everyone was happy. He had tons of stories to tell Grandpa when we finally made it home.

So now whenever we have to go on a road trip, Mango will sit in the front seat to enjoy the view.

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