2023 has been an interesting year, as I’m sure it was for many. Interesting as it may be, it was also a truly humbling one for me personally. My favorite part of the year was not only marrying the love of my life after being engaged for SEVEN years, but also the memories we made in the following weeks.
We don’t take many vacations, and haven’t taken any in many years. For a few reasons, but one being that Winston keeps his circle small, would not do well in a boarding environment, and we just truthfully would not trust anyone else to care for him and Sophie.
When planning our big day, we decided we’d love to try for a road trip fund instead of gifts. Something where we could take our pups with us and make some memories as they are both seniors, we know time isn't on our side 💜
Our plan was to try renting an RV and take two weeks to go out and take it day by dad. Unfortunately, we quickly realized it would be much more costly than what our fund raised. We changed our plans to allow us to spend those two weeks at home, taking little day trips around Wisconsin or the surrounding states.
As we approached the ending of the first week, I sat at my computer with this overwhelming feeling of regret. I knew that if we didn't take this roadtrip with our senior pups, we would regret it for the rest of our lives. I looked at my beautiful wife and said "Let's take the trip, we will figure it out". Being her amazing self, she was as excited as I was.
We figured out some finances (I try to never ask, but an amazing family member came through and borrowed us the rest of the funds we would need), I found the 30' by 10' RV to rent from Cruise America that would be our home for about a week, reserved it to be picked up on Saturday (in two days), and we would leave Sunday morning. This is exactly how our life is, spontaneous and last minute...it keeps it fun! All we needed was a destination!
Caitie had always wanted to see Salem, MA around Halloween so it was an easy choice! We left on 10/15 with our pups, no plans other than getting to Salem, MA. at some point. We stayed in Cleveland, OH the first night, upstate New York the second night, Boston/Cape Cod the next two nights, just outside of NYC the 5th night, and then just outside of Scranton, PA the final evening. All booked same day, it was incredible. The obstacles we had to work through, the endless things we were able to see, the random experiences we had by simply winging it...words can't do it justice.
I'll likely make another post with more details about the trip, the incredible memories & also the challenges, but it was a memory I'll cherish forever. We experienced so many things with our pups, including seeing the ocean with them for the first time ever, and I am eternally grateful that we "Just Took The Roadtrip".
So that's my advice to you, if you are ever trying to decide if the road trip/vacation is "worth it", it is. Memories that last forever are worth the effort it takes to make them 💜