Today marks the second day 2015, so naturally I’m spending time reflecting on lessons learned this past year and ways I can better improve myself and evolve into the woman I aspire to be. I’ve been MIA the last week because I was busy planning a little get-away for myself as I wanted to ring in the new year in an exciting way with none-other than my barking beast by my side. One thing that I did not take full advantage of during 2014 was travel. So I decided to pack my bags and hit the open road with Jack to start the new year.
We started our trip with a flight from Lindbergh Field to Seattle. For a long time I’ve heard that Seattle is an overly dog friendly city, so it was only fitting that I would bring my dog Jack. For the first time ever, Jack flew on an aircraft thanks to the hospitality of the very pet friendly, Delta airlines. And because Jack is a certified service animal he was able to sit at my feet inside the cabin. As for the flight, Jack did wonderfully. I had never been more impressed and proud of him than when we walked off our flight at the Seattle airport.
First up was a night in Tacoma, WA. We checked into the dog friendly Hotel Murrano. I’ve stayed at my share of modern-shiek boutique ssk places but this Murano was something else. A true Ritz for the dogs. Water bowls, dog treats and toys available everywhere. We felt very at home. There was even a dog park just a few blocks down from the hotel which we took full advantage through out the day. On the night of NYE, Jack and I joined some friends at a house party and stuffed ourselves full of meatballs. It wasn’t an over the top celebration but definitely my idea of a great NYE party.
After a few days in Tacoma it was time to make the trip worth Jack’s while. So with the assistance of an amazing Audi rental, we hit the open road to explore the natural side of things. We headed for Portland, Oregon, as I have a girlfriend there who is a dog mom herself and our reunion was very much overdue. I’ve never done anything like this before so the road trip was incredibly exciting for me. The drive from Tacoma to Portland was the prettiest drive of my life. It was also was one of the loudest because Jack was acting like a barking beast, wanting to get out and sniff every redwood tree on the interstate 5. I took exactly 2 pictures during the 2 hour 15 minutes drive. Do you know how challenging it is to shoot scenic photography with an iphone while driving with a barking dog in the back?
I knew when I found the right spot I had to sneak some time in as I didn’t want to pass up the chance to see all the beautiful fall foliage in Washington/ Oregon. We finally found a great spot called Point Defiance. Jack ran around like the goofy mutt that he is- and I finally managed to snap some pictures of nature’s beauty. After the outdoor fun, we finally made it to our destination, downtown Portland.
This has been a whirlwind of a trip, and it’s not nearly over yet. Last night we checked into the incredibly dog friendly Double Tree Hotel Portland. To say we were hooked up with our room would be an understatement. They set us up in a suite on the 14th floor! I lost my marbles over that. I knew the front desk attendants were smitten with Jack but man he must’ve made quite the impression! By the time we got settled in our room Jack & I were exhausted from all the travel. Since we were both fighting the urge to take a nap, we relaxed for a in our penthouse king size bed and ordered the movie Nightcrawler to our hotel room. Wow, Jake Gylenhall really capitalized in this film. I give it three thumbs up!!!
After a couple hours in the room I went out for dinner to meet my girlfriend Eunice. Jack stayed behind which was fine with him, given the hotel accommodations he was enjoying in our big -hot hotel suite. I dined at the Portland City Girl with my girl Eunice, which was followed by us cheers-ing with bottled beer on a pub crawl in the downtown area. It was awesome! Portland’s got some serious dive bar game.
So that is the trip for now. Today the plan is to stay in Portland one more night, then Jack and I hit the road shooting for San Francisco before heading back home. Not quite sure if we’re going to road trip it allllll the way home back to San Diego but we will make it a honest effort to get as far as we can. That’s “the plan” but who knows where we will end up. For all I know- a few days from now I could be blogging to you from the Rockie Mountains! Having gone on this trip with Jack, especially the road trip part of it, I learned how much I love driving and exploring nature, our nation and all it’s glory with the company of my dog. I can even imagine us driving cross country in the very near future. I also learned of a new app called “WAZE” which helps road trippers dodge cops and outsmart traffic. Every road tripper should download this app to their phone.
Until next time! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I’m looking forward to sharing with you another year here on the dog blog!
Barking Beast 