Chicago to Miami- Day 2 (part 1)

We woke up in LaGrange, Kentucky feeling pretty refreshed and ready to take on the day. We wanted to spend some time exploring the land around our cabin. The owners lived on the property in a house; there was also a much larger, gorgeous cabin near us. I think it was at this point that Bandit finally began feeling like hey, we are having a lot of fun because there are horses here and I haven't been thrown to the side of the road yet! 

Day 2

Destination: LaGrange, KY to Cosby, TN

Stops: Lexington, KY and Knoxville, TN

 Bandit saw a horse one time who was pulling a Santa carriage in Normal, IL and he has been in love ever since. Really though, there hasn't been an animal (beetles included) that he hasn't totally loved. The second he saw them, the Bandit thought process began. First comes the stare rudely and contemplate the next move (even though there is really only one next move):

Next is the army crawl, the go-to move for being sneaky and camouflage:

And finally comes the reward: making friends!

His curiosity about everyone and friendliness will always amaze me.

Chicago to Miami- Day 1

In late May/early June, we moved from Chicago to Miami. Because we had our omnipresent buddy Bandit, we wanted to split up the trip into several days to make it a little easier on both him and us being in the car so long. He was certainly the thing we thought about most during the journey. In the days leading up to the trip, he was stressed out watching us pack everything up. I can't even begin to imagine what he was thinking and it breaks my heart to think that he might've thought we were leaving him.

We ended up booking places to stay on Airbnb, which I think made the trip a lot more fun than staying in hotels. Since we had the dog, we focused our trip on finding dog-friendly places that would be fun, rather than planning a ton of activities. We knew that we had to get to Miami before June 8, but other than that, we didn't have many restrictions... so, ridiculously, the trip ended up being planned around the availability of a tipi that I wanted to stay in.

Day 1
Alex loaded everything up in the car as I did last-minute packing and my parents came to see us off. My mom packed a ton of fruit for us, which was a life saver to have as a snack on the road. Growing up, my mom always washed and cut fruit for us after dinner and before bed, which is a tradition that I always loved. Most of our drive was gloomy and rainy, but it actually ended up being perfect road trip weather, except for when it was pouring to the point that we couldn't see the road.

Final destination: LaGrange, Kentucky
Stops along the way: Indianapolis (for a stressed out dog) and Louisville, KY (for food purposes)

Our first stop was about 3.5 hours in, at Indianapolis. We were feeling pretty sleepy so we found a coffeeshop, which turned out to be closed. Most places were closed, but we were able to stretch our legs a little bit and found a few places to hopefully check out "next time," although I admit that I don't necessarily hope to find myself in Indianapolis in the near future, charming as it may be. The theme of the trip was balancing the heat with being able to spend enough time walking and decompressing as well as finding quiet areas for the dog. This is his "I love Indianapolis!" face.

Much of the rest of the midwest was idyllic.

We stopped in a bar/restaurant called Hammerheads that had good reviews on Yelp. They don't typically allow takeout unless you have a really small party and actually show up and look sad because they have a small kitchen. They told us differently on the phone when we had called in so they let us place an order. The place was packed, despite the fact there was no air conditioning, which I considered a good sign... if you are willing to be in a stuffy place, the food must be worth writing home about. We walked around Louisville and met some cats while we waited. They were super accepting of Bandit and brought out a water bowl just for him.

We arrived at our cabin in LaGrange a bit later than expected (another theme of the trip), but it was a really cool cabin--and comfortable. We ate on the porch and Bandit enjoyed one of the Barkworthies treats I brought for him on this trip.

I loved my mushroom veggie burger and truffle fries; Bandit didn't love the Cocolicious wet food we brought for him as much as I thought he would. Based on his usual love for wet food and coconut oil as separate entities, I thought he would be obsessed with this stuff, but as excited as he looked in that first picture when I let him smell it, he still didn't finish all of the food right away. Of course, he was also really stressed out that first night. Which is fair. He was all, "Why are we in a cabin in the middle of nowhere in Kentucky?"

I love the peace and quiet of the place, as did Alex, although he did think it seemed haunted since it was pitch black outside and sooo quiet. It was a nice change from the light shining into our bedroom window in Chicago. And sleeping in a king bed with Bandit... so luxurious, words can't even describe it. We got an amazing night of sleep!

settling down in miami

Although I can hardly believe it, our little family has somehow found its way to Miami. It was a last-minute decision involving many attempts at determining what the "right" decision would be. In the end, I didn't take any notes and the order I ended up putting everything seemed to fall into place, except for my top two choices, Chicago or Miami. I oscillate between a variety of different emotions now. I am thrilled to be in a new place, for the most part; at times frustrated at the bizarre expressways, heat, and mosquitos, but mostly in love with my quirky, tree-lined neighborhood replete with dogs, parks, coffeeshops and yoga in the park. There have been some adjustments to be made, but for the most part, we have settled in well.

Bandit has been on many adventures as well. He was stressed out when we first began packing, naturally. And farted many a silent fart in the car (complete with a self-satisfied smile). But he took everything like a champion and only peed in one Airbnb place we stayed on the way south, thinking ahead and choosing the only place that had a washing machine, so we were able to wash the sheet right away. He saw the ocean for the first time, as well as a few different swimming pools, all of which he has refused to jump in with equal certainty. He has picnicked at South Pointe Park on Miami Beach and even become big foster brother to two puppies, Ollie and Kicks, since moving to our bright pink house. He was definitely stressed out in the beginning but has been mellowing out every day... and when we are laying in bed at the end of a long day and his ear flops onto my foot, everything is perfect.