A Warning about Frayed Leashes ...

I guess I'm telling one on myself here, but I think it's too important not to share.  We have several leashes we use with Natasha.  One of them is her small red nylon one that is left over from puppy days.  We noticed it was getting frayed and bought a new one.  Rather than put the new one on earlier, I was going to do it tomorrow morning.  
 
Not such a big deal, til you realize we are on our cross country (okay, South to Northeast) trek from Florida to Maine.  We have survived 3 days of traveling with the pup.  It is going much better than we anticipated.  But, back to the leash.  I double checked it this evening, and said, "We need to use the new one tomorrow."  She went to the door of the motel, and I leashed her up to take her out.  Dang if the leash didn't snap.  FORTUNATELY, she came right to me and I was able to take her back inside. 
 
How lucky was I that this happened at a remote Motel in Fancy Gap, Virginia - and not at one of the rest stops on I95 where something might have caught her attention?  My biggest fear for this Road Trip is her safety.  And, I almost blew it.  Lesson Learned, but I knew better.  I even made a list of things that could go wrong.
 
I think you can see the fraying in the leash in this picture, taken just this afternoon while we were driving through the Blue Ridge Parkway (I hadn't seen the pic before the "event" occurred).
 
Sidenote - The motel cost $40.15, including the $5 for the dog!  And, while it is hilarious in it's 50's decor, it's clean and cool, with a great space for pets.  And free internet, but not very fast, so I can't catch up on all the postings here.