We don’t mind long driving trips, quite the contrary. My husband and I love to drive, switching the pilot and co-pilot roles every couple hours, so that no one becomes overly tired. We’ve taken many long trips together this way, but never with our dogs as (reluctant) passengers. This was a first for them, and because of their advanced age we were a bit worried. The first stretch took us from Oklahoma all the way to Sedona, AZ, where we spent a day resting our tired bones and making sure the dogs recovered.
They spent most of the day in the prone-position, alternating between profound snoring and dreaming, their paws kicking imaginary enemies or perhaps pursuing chubby squirrels in the backyard left behind. Nine hundred and twenty five miles behind. But that, was just the beginning…
The second and final leg of the trip, from Sedona to Los Angeles, was something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Our Dalmatian developed severe intestinal problems, but because of the heat while crossing the Mojave Desert, we brought them into the cab with us. The adjectives “stressful” and “uncomfortable” don’t quite describe it. I only put things in perspective by thinking about a recent story from my friend Jenny, who endured an 11 hour train trip STANDING UP, in a super crowded, not exactly fragrant car in China. So, a 7.5 hour trip squeezed in with two stressed, smelly dogs didn’t seem so bad! 😉
But, somehow we made it. Our new “nano-house” needs some work to make it livable, but we started making progress yesterday. I don’t have a recipe for you yet, so I’ll leave you with a song that we listened to a lot during our journey. The melody and rhythm of this song have the power to instantaneously make me happy, and the lyrics summarize how we feel (for the full lyrics, click here):
Home is wherever I’m with you!
Thank you for all the comments left on my previous post, it was absolutely wonderful to read them!
ONE YEAR AGO: Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce
Bewitching Kitchen 
Welcome to California! 🙂
[espero te ver em breve!]
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But you made it! The truck didn’t overheat, you are on a new adventure. Have fun.
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Yes, you made it! What a relief for you, and what an adventure! 🙂
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🙂 Thanks for the shout-out, Sally! I’m glad I could help your crazy long journey in some way.
ALSO, I looooooove love that song. Amazing fun and loviness exudes from that song. I remember having it on repeat for a long long time some time back.
Hope all goes well fixing up your nano-house! Miss you!
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Congratulations on making to California! I love that song, too, and it’s the perfect theme for your drive. Good luck to you (and to your furry companions) in the nano-house. I look forward to your blogs about cooking in the tiny kitchen; it’s not the size of the kitchen that counts; it’s the ingenuity of the cook! I wonder how many times Julia and Paul (and you know who I mean) had to set up housekeeping with a new and strange kitchen. You are in good company!
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So glad you made it safely, we once drove from Sedona to Las Vegas and I couldn’t imagine a longer more boring, flat trip! Though I did check out the map to LA and was glad we were going to LV instead! I hope your settling in time goes quick! And that you rise to the challenge of not having a “real” kitchen! Hats are off to you!
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Enjoyed the pictures of the road trip. Post pics of the nano house when you get the connection issues resolved.
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Welcome to California, Sally! I have no doubt that your new kitchen, however it may or may not be equipped, will be as bewitching as ever.
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@everyone: thank you!
I am still struggling with slow connections, so I apologize for not addressing each one of you independently
I don’t feel comfortable blogging from work, so the slow connectivity at home is causing some problems… but we deal with one problem at a time!
Will definitely post photos of the nano-kitchen as soon as possible – the only real tough part is doing dishes in a bathroom-size sink… 🙂
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Hope the poor Dalmatian is fully recovered now.
I wonder what counts as a slow connection in CA? We recently upgraded to a whole Mb –still feels slow!
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Sally how exciting. Sorry I’m only just catching up with blog reading. I bet my new kitchen is smaller than your new kitchen. I don’t even have a microwave or outside grill! We have decided to only unpack what we need and leave everything packed as we plan to buy an apartment in 12 months.
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