After 6 days in a car with a cat and a dog we have officially made it to San Fransisco!!
(If you read this entire post, thank you, it’s a long one. If not please take a moment to enjoy the photos.)
Brooklyn was not easy to say goodbye to but we left on a good note. After the movers came and hulled away all of our belongings, we celebrated with our amazing group of friends in our extremely empty apartment. You all will be missed dearly!
The next morning the plan was to gather and pack up our remaining things and head to our favorite breakfast spot before we hit the road for good. But there was something we forgot… the evening before we received a goodie bag of travel food for our road trip. And well, just like her mother, Mini has developed quite the sweet tooth. After breakfast, we return back to our apartment to find an entire bag of double stuffed Oreo’s completely EMPTY!!!
In a panic we called our veterinarian friend and gave her low down. Luckily Oreo’s don’t actually contain much chocolate but our pup still consumed a lot of sugar, so we had to induce vomiting with some H2O2 mixed with peanut butter. We waited, and nothing happened. We gave her some more time…still nothing. So we ran her around the block and bounced her up and down, and just about everything you shouldn’t do to a baby who just ate. Finally after about and hour and a half of jostling our Oreo dog around, she puked! Success!!!
It was a small set back in our schedule but we finally hit the road midday Sunday. We have traveled with Uno serval times in the past so she’s a seasoned veteran, but Mini on the other hand has only been in a car a handful of times, and each time she slides around on the back seat and has a look of panic on her face. Fortunately this time we had a much larger vehicle with a large back seat for her spread out on. I lined the seat with sheets, towels (and more sheets and more towels, in case she got sick again), and topped it all with her bed to help make her comfortable. To our surprise, Mini was a champ. Once we got rolling on the open roads Mini claimed the back seat as her own and passed out!!
On day 1 we traveled through NJ, PA and we spent the night in OH. Mini and I were the first ones to explore our hotel room for the night. I think she was so overjoyed to be out of the car that she spent a good 30 minutes bouncing around, flopping on her back and rolling around the hotel room. Uno also did her standard hotel room-style exploring, but she went from bed to sofa to desk back to the bed again, ensuring that she stayed on higher ground and out of Mini’s way. Thanks to Mini’s episode that morning she and I were up all night long; she was pacing and restless all night in discomfort. In hopes to calm her down, I invited into bed to snuggle with us.
It wasn’t till about 3 am that she finally fell asleep. In the morning we woke to Mini lying between us at our waists and Uno lying between our heads. This must have been a turning point for the two of them, co-existing within such small proximity of each other.
Day 2 was an easy one! Just a few short hours and we arrived in Chicago and spent the evening with Jon’s family. It’s always a pleasure to see them!! Adding Mini and Uno into the mix we had a house complete of two dogs and three cats. And somehow they all stayed out of each others way. After the previous night, I was glad to have a great nights sleep in my own bed. ; )
MINI BEING A TOURIST AT THE WORLD’S LARGEST TRUCK STOP IN IOWA.
Day 3 took us through IL, IA and just over the border to Lincoln, NE. In Iowa we drove into the most beautiful sunset. So we pulled off the highway to try and take Mini’s photo. They key word there was try. We pulled off the highway, and a quarter-mile down a desolate farm road lined with dead corn fields. We jump out of the car into biting winds, I quickly get my camera set up and Mini in her spot. She wasn’t the least bit interested, which made it even harder. In a matter of about 3 minutes, the sun had disappeared over the horizon and both Jon and I were frozen stiff – we called this one a loss. The car’s temperature gauge said 34 degrees but the wind was so insane, we were so cold!!
MINI ON A DIRT ROAD IN LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.
MINI IN THE DEAD CORN (?) FIELDS OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.
Day 4 was a very long and flat drive through NE and half of WY. Driving through Wyoming was just beautiful, and luckily enough we didn’t encounter any bad weather. In Laramie we pulled over at the Lincoln Memorial rest stop which happens to be a top a small mountain which gave us beautiful views. But this time when we got out of the car, we again faced extreme wind, but now even colder. When Mini got out of the car she immediately pulled to go back inside. When I got back into the car I struggled to pull my door shut because I was fighting again the wind. Jon had to grab onto to me to help!! So we took a few photos from inside the car.
AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL REST STOP.
MINI AND THE SUNRISE AT GREEN RIVER, WYOMING.
On day 5 we had the pleasure of driving through beautiful Salt Lake City and into Nevada. It certainly was interesting crossing the border from UT to NV. Out of no where…casinos!!! At one of our pit stops we pulled into a parking lot which advertised that there was a Starbucks inside. As good of a place as any for a quick pee break, right? I was fooled, I walked right into a casino and was immediately lost! I looked around and caught a reflection of the Starbucks sign so I walked in that direction, but as I walked the reflection disappeared. I was so confused! If you have ever been in a casino before you might understand my confusion upon the dark chaos that exists there. After a few spins around I eventually located the Starbucks with success. I can only imagine the security laughing from above as they watched me through their cameras as I spun around like a lost duckling. Jon laughed at me too when I told him of my fowl-like casino experience.
MINI IN FRONT OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE – SALT LAKE CITY.
THE MOUNTAINS OF SALT LAKE CITY.
We spent the night in Reno, NV, which was nothing like I expected, but also the most notable hotel stay of the week. First we booked a hotel/casino, I went to check in and on my way back to the car, I got lost…again! I was trying to follow the signs for the door, keep in mind the signs are all up near the ceiling, so looking up and not paying attention I wound up walking through the dealers section of the black jack tables. They did not like that! Oops! Secondly it was a pet friendly hotel so walking a dog through the casino was a bit odd. But the best part was we had a huge room, the biggest and nicest of the week and it was ONLY $30!!!!
Our final day!!! Day 6!
Day 6 was a breeze, we only had a few hours of driving time left but we had to drag it out because we couldn’t get our keys till 6 that night. So we took a slightly indirect route and stopped by Lake Tahoe. What a beautiful place!!!
LAKE TAHOE
MINI AT LARK TAHOE BUT NOT IN FRONT OF THE LAKE : (
The down side, all the parks and beaches on the lake were not dog friendly! ; (
So I couldn’t get a photo of Mini and the lake.
So, to kill more time we stopped at the outlets in Vacaville, CA. Jon needed new shirts for his new job so it worked out perfectly. And Mini came shopping with us while Uno enjoyed basking in the sun in the car. And one final stop before heading to Oakland, 384 Chelan Dr., the house I was born into! Well I was born in the hospital but this was where mom and dad brought me home to. I have finally returned to where it all began!!!
ME IN FRONT OF 384 CHELAN DR.
If you have read this very long post, thank you. And lets cheers to new beginnings and lots of sun shine!