We stood sobbing on the sidewalk in the blazing heat. Hugging each other tightly, Aspen pressed against my leg. We had gone in as four….and now there were three.
Category Archives: Black dogs
The West Side
We have spent little time on the West Side of Baja. The reasons vary but it seems like the pounding waves of the Pacific Ocean, making for often unswimmable beaches, is just a bit too familiar. Too much like our much loved beaches of the Pacific Northwest.
Traveling with Dogs ~ The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
We’ve now been on the road with Aspen & Porter for almost two months. By now, we know in traveling with dogs there is the good, the bad, and the ugly!
Campground List ~ USA
We spent little time in the USA at the beginning of our road trip down the PanAm. Have camped extensively in Oregon, and traveled quite often to California, we didn’t want the expense of stateside living to destroy our budget going forward. And, hey, the sunny beaches of Baja were beckoning!
Tillicum State Park – Waldport, Oregon
Our first night on the road, we opted for a short drive to a familiar spot. We have camped at Tillicum several times, always appreciating the miles of endless beach and some ocean view campsites, a rarity in Oregon. $27/ night with picnic tables, flushing toilets and water/electric but little else in way of amenities.
A Dream Awakened
We sat in silence, slowly sipping our coffee while watching the wave’s crash to the shore, as the day slowly evolved. We didn’t need to talk to both understand this moment was a dream awakened from a long slumber.
Plan C
As they always say, beware of the best laid plans! Heading south, with a campsite in our sights, we instead ended up on plan C.
A Trail of Tears
Well, it’s official. We are ON THE ROAD! But, not without a lot of tears being shed! The last couple of weeks have been hard. Incredibly hard. Far harder than we had ever imagined. Even though we have left our lives before for long term travel, we had no concept how incredibly difficult it is to truly divest yourself of everything! Two weeks of nonstop donations and Craiglist nonesense, coupled with the goodbyes to beloved friends and family had us driving away in a trail of tears.
A Battle of Wills
I held tight to her collar, repeating “drop it” over and over while every minute or two Porter chose to start barking, giving his opinion of Aspen’s hold on HIS squeaky toy. Channeling my inner dog whisperer I didn’t pull on the toy itself, instead merely holding her in place by her collar, all while striving for patience.
A Lazy Respite at the Lake
During what has been a rather hectic summer for us, our camping plans diminished to almost nothing. Unlike our normal two-three trips per month, we were approaching mid summer with only our anniversary trip to Timothy Lake to talk about. But in spite of selling our house and family concerns, we were booked for a long weekend at the lake for the 4th of July, and we were NOT missing it!
A Look Back ~ and Forward
Time is always surprising; It seems like just yesterday, not nearly 27 years ago, that I first locked eyes with Jim, in Ken’s living room. Jim, full-bearded and scruffy, just off the boat from Alaska. Myself, fully focused on going to school for international law and moving to Paris. An unlikely pair? Apparently not~ Six days after our first date Jim asked me to marry him, and the rest, as they say, is history. Astonishingly, June 2nd we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary. 25 years… it seems unreal, and presents a very literal example of how fast time moves by.
