Day 11: August 2
Road Trip Part 1 has come to an end! (Stay tuned for Part 2 in September.)
First, acknowledgements must be made:
To Eliot, inspired by the Beatles' song "Martha My Dear" (written by Paul McCartney to his dog)-
Eliot my dear, though I spend my days in the hustle and bustle of the World Above,
Please
Remember me, Eliot my love
Don't forget me, Eliot my dear
Hold your head up, silly boy, and see the view up here
There are so many wonders you miss while you sniff and search the ground
For a place to pee
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you
Silly boy
Take a good look around you
Take a good look and you're bound to see
That you're the sunshine and whole world to me
And you and I were meant to be
Eliot my dear, you will always be my inspiration
To grow more patient, loving, courageous, and kind
Please
Be good to me, Eliot my love
Don't forget me, Eliot my dear
To my mom, inspired by the Beatles song "Two Of Us"-
Two of us driving somewhere
Spending our hard-earned
Time and money
On memories that cannot be replaced
You and me, Sunday driving
Not arriving
On our way back home
We're on our way home
We're going home
Two of us munching Triscuits
Singing "Uptown Girl"
Searching for rest stops and bathrooms
You and me laughing till we cry
Talking and talking, as the hours pass us by
On our way back home
We're on our way home
We're going home
You and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead
Two of us, with a dog
Standing so close
To God's amazing wonders
You and me chasing Tetons
smelling Redwoods
falling in love with Glaciers
On our way back home
We're on our way back home
We're going home
Truly, I am blessed and grateful to have a mom with the resourcefulness of superwoman (Superman's got nothing on her), the wisdom of a much older man with wrinkles and a white beard (Gandalf/Dumbledore?), and the ability to make me laugh till I can't breathe...and to have a dog who is as gentle as he is accommodating, as sweet as he is adorable.
Today we finished Beatles 1970 (which ended appropriately with "The Long and Winding Road") and ate our final free breakfast. Quality Inn has delicious food and allows dogs. The only reason I prefer La Quinta is that they offer evening snacks (!) and dog treats, as well as no pet fee. In the morning, we visited Muir Beach (30 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge), with dog-friendly hiking trails and a beach where Eliot was allowed off-leash. Then we had lunch at a lovely restaurant in Tiburon called Salt and Pepper. I ordered clam chowder and a crab sandwich, and my mom got a grilled salmon sandwich. It was only a 1 1/2 hour drive from there to home. The sun was shining, Dave Brubeck was working his magic over the stereo, and my dad was waiting in the driveway when we finally arrived home.
Day 10: August 1
Our penultimate day on the road brought us to the mighty and dignified trees of Redwood National Park. To be honest, this was the park I was least excited about, because I'm not a huge fan/connoisseur of trees, but it was awesome. I doubt I'll go back, but I'm SO glad I came. Everyone should experience these redwoods once in his/her lifetime. I've also never smelled air so fresh.
It's only 5 minutes from Crescent City to the park's Information Center. From there, we drove down Howland Hill Road, an unpaved twisty path that carries you through the woods and within inches of the gigantic redwoods. It was early morning, and almost nobody else was in the park. It felt intimate, just us and the trees. Part of me expected Grandmother Willow/Redwood to materialize and offer sage advice about life. Since there were so few people, we were also able to sneak Eliot onto some short trails.
Then we took the highway back around the park and down the coast, past numerous foggy beaches and on winding roads through more forests and hills. Eliot started out bright-eyed and enthusiastic, indulging in the refreshing scents and gazing out the window, but after consecutive hours of ups and downs, elevation changes, and sharp turns through the mountains, he looked miserable and slightly sick in the backseat. He endured in brave silence though. What a hero!
Aside from Howland Hill Road, I also recommend driving the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway (tons of trees) and turning onto Davison Road, which leads to Gold Bluffs Beach (dogs allowed).
We exited the park around 2pm and drove 5 hours to Petaluma, where we're spending our final night before arriving home in Saratoga tomorrow afternoon. Everyone raves about Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway), and I agree that it's beautiful, even on the foggiest of days (which today was). However, it can be exhausting to drive...it never lets up on twists/turns and ups/downs. I don't typically get motion sickness, but I was feeling a bit queasy, and I know Eliot was intensely relieved when we finally switched back to Highway 101.
Day 9: July 31
We surpassed the 4000-mile mark today! In the morning, we visited a dog park in Vancouver, WA called Ross Dog Park, then drove to the International Rose Garden in Portland. Eliot is very adept at stopping to smell the roses--all the roses. We had lunch at a Cuban restaurant called Pambiche. I had corn/chicken and 3-cheese empanadas, and my mom ordered an avocado and fruit salad.
Then we drove 5+ hours (with breaks) to Crescent City, CA and arrived in time to watch sunset on the beach.
Finished Beatles 1969, which had my 2 all-time favorite Beatles songs, Oh! Darling and Here Comes The Sun. :)
Day 8: July 30
5 national parks down, 1 to go! This morning we were ready 15 minutes before free breakfast was served (7am), so we brought our stuff to the parking lot and loaded the car. At 6:58am, my mom glanced through the hotel lobby window, gasped and exclaimed, "They're bringing out breakfast!", flung the car keys in my general direction, and bounded into the hotel. I learn from the best.
On the way to Mount Rainier National Park, we listened to Casting Crowns, Westlife, and Queen, and sang along so passionately (as is obviously necessary) that I became a bit light-headed. We also completely missed the visitor's center next to Stevens Canyon Entrance.
John Muir deemed Mount Rainier the "noblest mountain along the Pacific coast." It also has the largest number of glaciers among all US mountains. My overall opinion is that I won't go back unless I plan to climb it (a daunting notion, but not impossible, I'd like to think). The park isn't really designed for people in cars. The setup of the roads isn't very convenient; often you have to exit the park and come in again through a different entrance, to continue a particular driving route.
There's basically one scenic drive that takes you around the park (excluding the surrounding forests), and it doesn't extend to the northwest portion. It's fun though, especially when you reach Sunrise (6400 ft. elevation). Lots of the hiking trails seem exciting, but we didn't do any, because as usual, dogs aren't allowed. There are signs everywhere, explicitly stating "No Pets Allowed," so we couldn't sneak Eliot in at any point. I was frustrated that dogs aren't allowed on even the shortest, simplest trails, but I suppose the park has its reasons.
It being Saturday, the park was quite crowded. To get through the Sunrise Entrance, we had to wait for over an hour. My mom and I entertained ourselves by making 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year goals for our personal/spiritual lives, career, and health/fitness. (I got the idea from a Lululemon tote bag.)
We spent 6 hours at the park, and stopped by Chipotle before settling down for our last night at La Quinta in Vancouver, WA. (The next/last 2 nights, we'll stay at Quality Inn.) For dog-owners: I recommend visiting Rainier with your dog only if you spend half a day or less, and don't mind missing out on all physical activities. For Yellowstone, I'd say a whole day with your dog is worth it. Half a day for Tetons and Glacier should suffice, and 3-4 hours for Badlands. If you go without your dog, it's a whole different story, of course.
Day 7: July 29
Today, we are making up for unwasted time. Until now, every night after checking into our hotel, we unpack, eat, and go straight to bed with no time/energy to relax. So we decided to spend a couple hours tonight lying in bed and doing nothing.
This morning, we drove from Missoula, MT to Spokane, WA where we ate at a dog-friendly restaurant called Browne's Tavern, and then drove to La Quinta in Wenatchee, WA. Other than walking through Duncan Gardens in Spokane, we didn't do any outdoor activities, because it was a scorching 105 degrees.
After 7 days of road-tripping, I've amassed some general tips for the future:
1) If traveling with a dog, break at actual rest areas rather than (or in addition to) gas stations. The rest stops are quite nice, especially in the midwest. They provide "pet exercise areas," shaded picnic tables, and clean facilities. Some even have pretty viewpoints.
2) Travel through big cities on Saturday/Sunday to avoid traffic. We drove through Chicago on Saturday and St. Paul on Sunday, and saved the boonies for the weekdays.
3) If possible, travel westward in the morning and eastward in the evening, to avoid sun in your eyes. This particular trip has also been awesome, because we've been gaining hours as we go west.
4) Bring physical maps. AAA has awesome ones that show rest stops, highway exit numbers etc.
5) Gas Buddy and Roadtrippers apps are very useful, when there's internet access.
We were blessed with internet for almost the entirety of today's drive, so we finished Beatles 1966-68. My mom became obsessed with looking up lyrics and backgrounds of each song. Our Beatles marathon is turning out to be more enlightening than I anticipated. My mom said that all meteorically famous bands owe much of their success to good timing, being able to discern the public's current sentiment, and capitalizing on it. Then I realized there are many sides to the Beatles, which also contributed to their popularity. (Here comes a long rant. If you're not interested in the Beatles, you'd better stop reading now.)
There are the simple, free-spirited, let-your-hair-down Beatles songs, to which you can't help but sing/yell along, about how you'd die if your darling left, or how she's so fine, or how Beethoven will roll over. The first 2 years/4 albums are filled with such songs, which is why "Yesterday" stood out to me a couple days ago. There are Beatles songs with classical influences; I noticed Bach references a long time ago, but I had NO idea that Beatles were into John Cage, Stockhausen, and even used snippets of stuff like Sibelius 7. In their later albums, they get really experimental, especially in the "Revolution" songs ("Revolution 9" sounds like contemporary classical music to me) and "Tomorrow Never Knows." Speaking of which, there are Beatles songs that speak directly to the people of that time, about frustration with the government and American-Pie-ish, we-might-all-die-tomorrow sentiment (Cold War, Vietnam War etc.). Finally, there are Beatles songs that are downright dark and disturbing (but seem upbeat/casual on the surface). Some of the lyrics gave me heebie-jeebies. I noticed that the earlier albums have more songs about girls/love, whereas songs in the middle and later albums either tell a specific story or contain specific references. Also, there are more songs with specific names (Lucy**, Doctor Robert, Rita, the unfortunate Eleanor Rigby etc.) in the later albums, for some reason.
Recently, Spotify does this really irritating thing that makes me want to punch its stupid, neon green face. It keeps interrupting my playlists by forcibly "suggesting" songs that have NO relation whatsoever to my songs. Why would anyone EVER want to hear "Dark Horse" or "Wrecking Ball" in the midst of a Beatles marathon? It keeps suggesting super mainstream songs, too.
I think my musical taste is pretty diverse, and when people ask what's my favorite type of music, I usually reply, "Anything convincing"...good music is good music, regardless of genre. I can't say that a Beethoven symphony has more worth than a Bruno Mars song, just because Beethoven is more intellectual/complex. All I can say is that Beethoven has stood the test of time, whereas Bruno Mars has yet to prove his relevance for the next couple centuries. I also don't want to fall into the common trap of automatically glamorizing the past. But I have to say, the juxtaposition of Beatles and current mainstream music (aside from simply infuriating me, because I'm picky and want to hear exactly what I want, when I want) makes me a bit disillusioned with how pop culture is defining this generation.
Beatles certainly gave a clear, multi-faceted definition of their generation, and I wonder if artists today are merely depicting their own lives, or general ideas like relationships (cheating etc.) and being confident/empowered, rather than specific goings-on in society. Don't get me wrong--relationships and empowerment are great topics, and I appreciate Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Adele, and Maroon 5 for what they bring to the table. As long as music makes you feel something (besides nausea, irritation etc.) it has worth, I think. But in some contexts, I'm disappointed/confused by the progression of music, especially extreme superficiality in certain artists...is this how our generation is being represented, and how we'll be perceived in the future?
I was trying/failing to articulate these feelings to my mom, and she replied that time will eventually weed out the "bad eggs." During the Beatles' time, there were tons of artists/bands that weren't as good, but by now they've been discarded. We'll only know which of today's artists represent us in the future, when that future arrives. This made me feel better. I also realized/remembered that, as with stocks and fashion (and most things), music doesn't advance in a straight line. It moves cyclically up and down, in an ebb and flow. If I feel like we're at a low point, things are bound to bounce back up sometime. Right?
Day 6: July 28
Today was the smoothest and most pleasant day of our trip so far. Reenergized by our free breakfast (where they had bagels in ziploc bags for guests to take--so nice/considerate!), we sped happily to Glacier National Park with no delays.
We arrived at 11:30am, stopped by the visitor's center at the East Entrance (St. Mary), and drove "Going-to-the-Sun Road." It's a scenic drive running east to west, with gorgeous overlooks and tons of hikes along the way. (Dogs aren't allowed on any trails, except for a bike trail near the West Entrance. There's not much of a view there, just a bunch of trees, but it was a nice opportunity for Eliot to stretch his legs. I think the whole trail was about 2.5 miles.) It took us 3 hours to finish the drive, and we stopped a LOT. It's not really possible to take a bad photograph at Glacier National Park. No matter which way you turn, you're met with a stunning view. Here's a few:
Yeah...I don't think any descriptive words from me are necessary. Just go, before the glaciers melt. The weather was perfect (70 degrees with a breeze), and finally we were able to open all the windows while driving.
Getting to our hotel in Missoula, MT was no problem, and we ordered takeout from Cracker Barrel for dinner. I had chicken 'n dumplins, and my mom had a grilled chicken salad with vegetables. For sides, we got sweet potato, steamed broccoli, and brown rice pilaf. It was glorious.
Day 5: July 27
This is going to be short, because I've been awake for way too many hours, and we've been surviving on snacks (no real meals) for 4 1/2 consecutive days.
Yellowstone is humongous. There's an overwhelming amount of things to see and activities to do. We left our hotel in Cody, WY (a Super 8, which cost $264/night--it was the cheapest option in the area when our Airbnb fell through) at 8am, entered the park through the East Entrance at 9am, and drove maybe 5/8 of the scenic loop, exiting the park through the West Entrance at 7pm. I recommend the scenic loop drive, but it did take us 10 hours, and we didn't even do the entire thing. We stopped some overlooks and did a few short hikes, but for the most part we moved at a fast (if not slightly panicky/rushed) pace.
The defining feature for the Badlands is the eroded pinnacles, and for the Tetons it's the mountains. For Yellowstone, there are sooo many different features/attractions. It's like the Disney World of national parks. But the overarching theme is the giant volcano that erupted there 3 times in the past 2 million years, and its visible effects--the canyons, geysers, hot springs, rivers, and much more. There is also tons of wildlife. We saw herds of bison, some close enough to reach out of the car window and touch. They made amusing grunting noises, which prompted Eliot to emit a grumpy growl from the back seat.
Our progress was significantly slowed for 2 reasons. 1) Dogs aren't allowed on the paths to/from geysers, so at Mammoth Hot Springs and Grand Prismatic Springs, my mom and I took turns staying with Eliot while the other walked to the springs and back. 2) Old Faithful is the most famous geyser in Yellowstone (perhaps the world), and it erupts throughout the day, with wait times ranging from 35 minutes to 4 hours. We waited exactly 1 hour to see 100+ feet of water come bursting out of the ground. I'd say it was worth it.
The most amazing part was Grand Prismatic Springs. It's probably the weirdest thing in nature I've ever witnessed:
^
There are no filters, I swear! That's exactly what it looked like in real life. God/nature/science never ceases to stun and bewilder me.
So we exited the park at 7pm and planned to have a long-overdue, much-anticipated "real dinner" at a restaurant called Naked Noodle in Bozeman, MT. About 30 minutes into our drive north, we were brought to a screeching halt by a long line of traffic that was backed up at least 1/2 mile. Nobody was moving, and everyone's engine was turned off. We ended up sitting for over an hour, clueless as to what was going on. The guy behind me got out of his truck and clomped into the bushes to pee. Another guy a couple vehicles ahead perched himself on a rock at the side of the road, pulled out his guitar, and started playing. After a swarm of boys charged past, plainly playing some form of Tag, I figured there was enough time to take Eliot for a walk. We wandered up and down the line of cars, asking people what was going on (nobody knew). I swear one person had even waded into a nearby river and started fishing.
Around 9:30pm, we finally started moving. Dinner plans were cancelled, and tragically, the Subway at our gas station was closed. Another night spent polishing off cereal bars, grapes, and our fourth/final box of Triscuits...
Day 4: July 26
Today was what felt like the longest drive, followed by the most rewarding view. It took 6 hours (with plenty of breaks for Eliot) to traverse Wyoming, from La Quinta in Gillette to Grand Teton National Park. Parts of the highways had an 80mph speed limit, which surprised me; I've never had the luxury of driving 83mph without needing to keep an eye out for police. But most of the roads were one lane, extremely curvy, and very slow-going. The first half of the drive was mind-numbingly dull, with flat expanses of dried grass and the occasional bush/tree or herd of cows. We passed a town called Highland, with a population of 10. To keep ourselves from falling asleep, we listened to Beatles 1965 and noted "Yesterday," the most surprisingly thoughtful and (in my opinion) sincere song of theirs we've heard so far. I also liked the 10 seconds or so of Bach-ish keyboarding in "In My Life."
During the second half of the drive, the scenery changed. Colorful mountains rose on either side of the road, everything from craggy sand-colored ridges to pastel rolling hills, from formidable rusty red boulders to golden mounds dotted with sprigs of shrubbery. These drastically contrasting formations sat side by side, as if completely unaware of their differences. The sky was blue, and the rainbow of earthy colors reflected faintly in the clouds above. So magical.
However, it was an extremely long and winding road, and we lost cell phone reception for the majority of the drive. Beatles, which I accessed via Spotify, was replaced by a Schumann/Schubert marathon (1 song cycle and 1 symphony each), which I accessed via my iTunes. After rounding a corner, we suddenly spotted the Grand Tetons, a row of gray mountains. Even from a distance, they were an arresting sight. I don't know how to properly describe. They're like an optical illusion--you keep thinking you'll arrive at the base of the mountains at any moment, but in reality you're still dozens of miles away. It's like when you're a little kid, and you think the moon is following you wherever you go. When we first saw the Tetons, my mom and I were like, "Whoa." Then as we drove closer, we kept reiterating the same word, but with more vowels each time.
If I were to describe the Tetons in 3 words, I'd use "majestic" and "must return." There's SO much to do--floating tours (where you observe the mountains while floating around on a raft), biking trails, hiking, camping, climbing, animal-watching...I'd happily spend a week there. Besides for a few added activities, what's the difference between Badlands and Tetons, for me? Both are awesome in full sense of the word--magnificent, massive, mind-boggling. But somehow, the Tetons feel friendly and welcoming, while the Badlands seem at once both austere and lonely. The Tetons make me peaceful and happy when I look at them.
If you visit this park by car, I highly recommend traveling via US 26. The view will drop your jaw, open your eyes, and warm your heart. Be warned--it's a long drive. Bring plenty of snacks, don't rely on GPS/internet, and take advantage of gas stations/bathrooms whenever they're available, because you seriously don't know when you'll ever come across one again. My mom and I enjoyed the scenic drive around the park, as well as Jenny Lake and Jenny Lake Trail. (Dogs aren't allowed on any trails, but Eliot's a rebel, and plus he naturally possesses that "service dog" vibe, so nobody questioned us.) Eliot enjoyed the many bugs he chased, the numerous bushes/trees he peed on, and the array of people who complimented his cuteness. (At one point, he trotted right into the middle of a group of people and sat down, giving them a look that clearly said, "Here I am. You may pet me now." Which they did.)
Coming up--Yellowstone and Glacier. Stay tuned!
Day 3: July 25
What a day.
It started off awesomely, with breakfast. You guys. I love La Quinta! The food at their free breakfasts varies depending on location! Yesterday in Madison was pastries and bread-type stuff, and today in Sioux Falls was scrambled eggs, sausage, waffles etc. plus my favorite kind of oatmeal! I was SO happy.
On our way from Sioux Falls to Badlands National Park, my mom and I had a fascinating discussion about our family history. I learned about my grandma's uncle, who led the Taiwanese Revolution in 1947 and was a major badass. It's important to acknowledge the negative impact his decisions had on his family though. During the rebellion, his wife sold their belongings and scraped up just enough money to flee to New York with their kids. Then, she cut off all ties with him. During his imprisonment, my grandma and her siblings had to travel to his location of exile in Japan with a voice recording from his mother, begging him to cooperate with the KMT government and return to Taiwan. My mom recalls being in elementary school when my grandma would regularly visit various family members in Taiwanese prison.
The conversation was super engaging, but I also got a bit nervous, because when my mom gets excited while driving, she swerves consistently to the right, and her voice becomes progressively louder. When our talk died down, I put on Beatles 1964, and we relaxed in silence. At one point, all 3 of us (Mom, Eliot, and I) yawned at the exact same time.
We arrived at Badlands National Park around 11:30am, and it was 95 degrees. If you use Google maps when traveling to a national park, make sure it directs you to the proper entrance. We went through the Northeast entrance, stopped by the visitor center, and drove the Loop Road, which brought us through the entire park and to various viewpoints. It took about 2 hours to drive from the east side of the park to the west. We stopped at most of the viewpoints but didn't do any hiking trails, because dogs aren't allowed. Eliot came down with us for most of the stops, but the ground was super hot and I was worried about his paws burning (though he seemed fine). If I were to describe the badlands in 3 words, I'd use "outer space" and "bizarre." When nobody else is around, it's like being on another planet. I can see why people (particularly guys) love this national park and deem it their favorite. There are a bunch of cliffs and boulders to climb, and if the weather hadn't been scorching and I didn't have a dog, I'd be clambering over the rocks in a heartbeat. But I wouldn't spend more than a day there, and I wouldn't insist on camping or even hiking much--it's too hot, and after a while, everything starts to look the same. If I return in the future, I'd like to watch a sunset/sunrise and do some stargazing.
We exited the park with plenty of daylight left, so we visited Custer State Park in Black Hills National Forest, SD. The park has a $20 entrance fee, but our hike around Sylvan Lake was worth it. The lake is near Harney Peak (the highest point in SD), and during our drive up, my mom kept commenting on a gigantic, mushroom-shaped cloud to the right of the mountain. She said, "What a strange cloud!" at least 8 times, and I was all, "Okay okay Mom, calm down." Then we arrived at the lake and went on our hike. It was such a fun trail! It seems like your regular old paved path at first, but then you find yourself squeezing through tunnels, scrambling up and down large rocks, and hopping from stone to stone on shallow parts of the lake.
During the second half of our walk, we heard distant thunder. When we were preparing to eat a snack, the sky darkened ominously, so we inhaled our sweet potato and hopped into the car just as the first raindrops fell. We had turned onto the windy narrow road leading down the mountain and were congratulating each other at our awesome timing, when it started hailing. It sounded like gunshots were hitting my car, and I had to pull over (along with a cluster of other terrified cars/drivers). In minutes, the temperature dropped from 84 to 48 degrees, and there were dime-sized pellets of ice scattered all over the ground and my car. I actually thought the windshield would crack from the force of the hailstones, and my mom and I had to shout to be heard over the deafening noise. Eliot was alarmed at first, but then he curled up in a ball and went to sleep. When I started driving again, he discovered a fly that had stupidly found its way into the vehicle, and he capered nimbly about the backseat in pursuit, totally unperturbed by the weather. I seriously have the most easygoing dog ever.
As we inched our way down the mountain at a glacial pace, the hail turned to rain, and then all of a sudden it was sunny, back to 84 degrees, and we even saw a rainbow!
Day 2: July 24
The weather was merciful today, and everything went according to plan. After a nice breakfast, I took a brief jog around the perimeters with Eliot, and my mom checked us out of the hotel. Our drive from Madison to Minneapolis began with a rousing singalong to "All About That Bass" (my mom knows it from her zumba class). Our moods were further cheered by the amazingly low gas prices in the area--$1.95, $2.09, and $1.85 for each of the times we refilled!
The first stop was Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis, MN. They have an off-leash dog park, but like the DFA's in Chicago, you need a special license to enter with your dog, so we explored the rest of the park instead, and there was plenty to do. We admired a decently impressive waterfall and hiked a fairly exciting trail. It was a sunny 84 degrees.
Our second stop was Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD. Sioux is pronounced "sue." There are no hiking trails, but we spent an hour exploring the paved paths, enjoying the majestic waterfalls, and watching this one hilarious/unfortunate duck who somehow got himself stuck on a tiny rock amidst the swirling water and had no idea how to escape. For all I know, he's still there, mustering up the courage to brave the waves.
We drove 7-8 hours and 515 miles today. We also began our Beatles marathon. I made 8 playlists, 1 for each year the Beatles released records. Today we listened to 1963 (2 albums, "Please Please Me" and "With The Beatles"). Every song except one is less than 3 minutes long, and they're all pretty upbeat. My favorites are "Misery," "Twist and Shout," and "Till There Was You."
Day 1: July 23
This morning, my mom, my dog Eliot, and I set off on a road trip from Troy, Michigan to Saratoga, California. Yesterday we agreed that we'd depart absolutely no later than 9am, so naturally it was 10:10am when we left the house. During breakfast, I was researching our scheduled activities for the day and discovered with dismay that Chicago's Montrose Dog Beach, a well-known DFA (dog-friendly area), only allows dogs with a specific license administered by a participating vet in Illinois. If you're coming from out of state, you must bring your dog to an Illinois vet's office with the appropriate vaccination papers, possibly have your dog re-vaccinated by this particular vet, and pay $5 for the DFA license. So I scratched the dog beach off our agenda and Yelped around for a dog-friendly restaurant instead. That took a while. Then, after loading the car, we stopped at Costco to fill up on gas and realized we'd forgotten some stuff at home. Doubled back, retrieved the stuff, and were on our way.
Today's music selection was as follows: radio (oldies station) until it lost signal, Beethoven last 2 piano sonatas (Rudolf Serkin), Beethoven Op. 18's and Op. 130 (Emerson), Frank Rosolino Quartet, Andre Mehmari, Abba and Adele and Backstreet Boys (my mom's choices), and a bunch of random pop songs on shuffle from my iTunes. I'm saving podcasts and special playlists for later on, when we inevitably run out of topics to discuss.
We took 3 breaks for Eliot on our way through Michigan and Indiana into Illinois--2 gas stations and 1 rest stop with a field. Eliot and I jogged several laps around the field. (It was 94 degrees and I almost collapsed, but he was delirious with happiness and got that crazed "call-of-the-wild" expression on his face.) In the car, Eliot was subdued and rolled around the backseat with a glazed look in his eyes, except when we drove past one of the Chicago subway stations, and he randomly leapt up and gave several uncharacteristically masculine barks.
Lunch was at a funky little restaurant on the outskirts of Chicago called Lula Cafe. Our waitress wore a bright-colored flowery dress and had orange (dyed) hair and bubble-gum pink lipstick. My mom ordered beet bruschetta--beets, creamy feta, and greens over fresh bread--and I got quesadillas with zucchini, ricotta, and other yummy ingredients I can't recall. Eliot spent his time perusing the ground for crumbs, leaping up to catch and spit out the occasional unfortunate fly, and refusing to eat the food I'd brought for him. It dawned on me that bringing Eliot on road trips means that every time we eat out, we will literally be eating out--outside, in 90+ degree weather. Despite the delicious food, I was in mild agony, achieving that level of sweatiness where moisture drips down strange, unpleasant places (elbow, ear, chin etc.).
After lunch, we made our way to Wisconsin. I'd planned a 1-hour hike on the Seven Bridges Trail in Grant Park (Milwaukee), but shortly after crossing the border, the skies turned murky grey and opened with an alarming rapidity. The rain fell in such copious quantities that I had to switch my windshield wipers to panic-mode, the super intense setting where my car looks like it's freaking out and waving in hysterical desperation. There was lightning and thunder and everything. Luckily, Eliot sleeps soundly through thunderstorms, and we survived the drive. We didn't get to do the hike, but instead headed directly to our hotel in Madison. We plan to spend nearly every night of this trip in La Quinta Inns, because they allow dogs and (equally importantly) they serve free breakfast.
For dinner, we had various selections from the feast we packed on the car--4 boxes of Triscuits, 98 cereal bars (thanks Costco), sweet potatoes, baby carrots, celery sticks, peanut butter, 8-grain bread, bananas, grapes, zucchini bread, cuties, and about a dozen hard-boiled eggs.
Currently in our hotel room, my mom and I are watching a track-and-field event on ESPN (taking place at Rice U!), and Eliot is playing with his chew toy on the floor between our beds. I'm looking forward to free breakfast tomorrow morning. :)
