Traveling with Annie and Molly

      When my husband, Ron, retired at the end of last year, we were excited to begin fulfilling our desire to travel to see more of the U.S. and, maybe even some of the rest of the world.  We knew it wasn't going to be as simple as just deciding our destinations.   There was Annie and Molly to consider.  Not our kids or grand kids but our dogs which, I guess, in many ways are like our kids.  We just couldn't ignore the responsibilities we signed up for when we rescued them several years ago.  We have a great pet sitter who takes good care of them when we take short trips.  However, taking longer trips was on the retirement agenda. Leaving them at home could get very costly and, of course, we would miss them. Besides, we knew they would just stare out the window each day until we got home.

   Molly is a medium-size hound-mix.  Annie is a small three-legged Beagle.

 

     Actually, Annie and Molly are great travelers--- never get car sick, have accidents, or whine.  They just sit or lay in the backseat, happy to be going somewhere with us. They are both leash and kennel trained. Maybe one of the smartest things we did when they were puppies was to train them to sleep in their kennels at night.  We fluff up their bedding, give them a little treat, and cover the kennels with a light tablecloth, similar to what you do with a bird cage.  They actually find being in them comforting, even if it is thundering and lightening.  It's like their safe haven.  They have separate kennels but sometimes they huddle up together in Molly's larger accommodations during the day.

 

 

     Back to the travel plan---we began exploring ways to take them with us as much as possible. First, we thought about buying a camper but we didn't want a big cumbersome RV so we looked into buying a travel van, i.e. Road Trek, Chinook, etc.  A month after Ron retired we went to a RV Show in Tampa to check out the latest models.  There were some great models to choose from. We were impressed but the price tags that didn't fit within our limited retiree budget.  We did learn during this seek-and-find trip most people only keep their RVs and campers a couple of years.  When we got home, we checked out prices on used models in the classifieds, on Craig's List, etc.  There were some good deals.  Then we got to thinking.  How in the world would we go sight-seeing whenever we wanted to without towing an extra vehicle or breaking camp every day?  After talking to other travelers with pets, we learned you don't.  You stay put. We didn't like those options.  Our goal was to travel light and be very mobile.

 

     On a couple of occasions in the past, we had taken short vacations and stayed in "pet-friendly" cabins---once in Hot Springs, NC and twice in a beachfront house at Carrabelle Beach, FL.  It had worked out great for us and Annie and Molly! 

 

Walla!  We had a new travel plan.  Our travel across country would include staying in pet friendly places for a few days along the way in areas we wanted to visit.  It is amazing how many great places we found on the Internet by just typing "pet-friendly vacation rentals" and the area we wanted to go.   We just got home from a 10  day trip to test our plan.  We spent a few days in Waldo, AL, a small community south of Talladega in a 3-bedroom house surrounded by a creek, national forest and lots of nearby attractions.  Then we moved on to Cave City, KY to check out Mammoth Cave National Park.  We stayed in a rock cabin with all the amenities that dated back to 1928.  After touring the caves and local area, we worked our way back to Florida, with a stop in Cave Springs, GA in a large, immaculate, waterfront mobile home on Cedar Creek.  This community's claim to fame is their water.  The spring provides pure water which supplies the town.  We collected a couple of bottles and brought it home. 

 

     Annie and Molly seemed happy to be taking a vacation which allowed them to "sniff" some new environments.  They frolicked in creeks, sought out critters in the woods, played with their usual toys, and chilled out with us in the evenings as we watched the sunsets. When we went sight-seeing, out to dinner, or to a performance, we just put them in their kennels.  They were content and so were we because we got to see what we wanted to and did not have to worry about them.

 

     Overall, this has been a very economical adventure.  We cooked at "home" a lot, did not have to pay a pet sitter, or make a payment on a travel van.  The owners of these vacation rentals were some of the nicest people you ever want to meet.  So far, they have  also been pet owners.  Some require pet deposits, some don't.   We left each place as clean as we found it by following house rules.  Since Annie and Molly are not allowed to get on furniture at home, keeping them on the floor was easy.  To make sure we did not leave any hair behind, we just swept or vacuumed before we left.  

 

     Where should we go next with Annie and Molly?  Can't wait to start planning the trip!