I've got a secret!

[CatahoulaBubble]

and it's killing me not to tell!

My family all lives in another state, 33 hours away by car. I can't afford to fly home and if I did fly I'd only be able to stay for 1 day and then fly back home because I have dogs. BUT I'm plotting and planning and the dogs and I are going to drive to my sister's house. The only person who knows is my brother in law because I wanted to make sure he was ok with me bringing the 4 dog wrecking crew (he's not a dog fan, my sister told me to bring them all when she was trying to talk me into coming). I can't take any time off work though so I have to drive on the weekend and then I can work remotely from her house during the week. So I'm leaving on Dec 18th at 3am with all the dogs and we're heading to the midwest for Christmas. No one else knows, not my sisters, my dad, or my mom. So I'll be showing up hopefully late on the 19th as a surprise Christmas present for everyone. EEEEEEE!

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Awww thats fantastic. Happy Hollidays

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Dogs + winter trip, you say? Is there enough snow for a dog sled ride?

 

[artemis]

Thirty-three! And I thought my 14 hours with 4 kids was impressive...

 

[lsg]

Hope you have a fantastic holiday!

 

[dibbles]

How wonderful! Safe travels and enjoy your time with your family.

 

[Cat&Oak]

Hoe wonderful! Enjoy your time with your family!

 

[Nona'sFarm]

Thirty-three! And I thought my 14 hours with 4 kids was impressive...

In my humble opinion, 4 dogs are easier on a road trip than 4 children. Though a 33 hour road trip is challenging all by itself, lots of stretch-your-legs breaks will be good for all concerned.

@CatahoulaBubble , hope you have a wonderful time with your family.

 

[Megan]

In my humble opinion, 4 dogs are easier on a road trip than 4 children. Though a 33 hour road trip is challenging all by itself, lots of stretch-your-legs breaks will be good for all concerned.

@CatahoulaBubble , hope you have a wonderful time with your family.

I would say: it depends on the dogs, and it depends on the children

 

[artemis]

I would say: it depends on the dogs, and it depends on the children

Very true! My kids have been doing this from babyhood, so it's just what they know.

 

[earlene]

Have a great time! I travel with one kitty, but have never traveled with 4 dogs! Have they traveled by car any distance before? If not, you may find you need to make a lot of stops. And of course, as a dog owner, you have probably already done all the research & planning necessary.

I just got some cat calming treats to add to our next road trip (next week). She's always restless in the car on the first day out, meowing and wanting to stop at the side of the road. The first day out, I stop at every rest area & walk her (she is fine with a leash). We usually spend a good 15 minutes exploring the trees and shrubbery with each stop. She will never ever drink or eat while traveling until we get into a hotel room, but I always offer her food & drink to give her the option.

On day 2, she is always calmer, only restless for the first hour or so. Then she doesn't usually care if we stop or not.

So the calming treats are for the first day & possibly the 2nd day if it seems appropriate.

Anyway, she has only vomited once while traveling, and it was a real surprise to me because she's been on a few roadtrips with me and had never vomited in the car before. I think I fed her too much that morning before we left.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

Thankfully all four are good in the car and have all been on long road trips before. My older three dogs have all been on that road trip two times before but in summer and the baby boy road with me from Ft. Worth, Texas to Seattle when I picked him up so he got a trial by fire on his road trip indoctrination. I've only taken the long trips in summer though and not in winter so I'm hoping we get clear roads. I can do the trip in 5 stops for gas and one overnight stop at a motel.

 

[earlene]

Out of curiosity, which hotel/motel chains allow 4 dogs? I've never really paid close attention, but usually I see limits of 2 pets per room.

Not knowing what part of the midwest you are traveling to and what route, but I expect you'll be on a Northern road for at least the first half of the trip (Seattle, after all...), I'm sure you will keep an eye on the weather. Last December I helped my son move from Northern California to Illinois just before Christmas. In fact, we arrived here on Christmas Day as I recall. Some of it was along I-70 and later along I-80. We ran into a horrible snow storm in Colorado, while headed up a huge incline. So be careful and drive safe!

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

Out of curiosity, which hotel/motel chains allow 4 dogs? I've never really paid close attention, but usually I see limits of 2 pets per room.

Not knowing what part of the midwest you are traveling to and what route, but I expect you'll be on a Northern road for at least the first half of the trip (Seattle, after all...), I'm sure you will keep an eye on the weather. Last December I helped my son move from Northern California to Illinois just before Christmas. In fact, we arrived here on Christmas Day as I recall. Some of it was along I-70 and later along I-80. We ran into a horrible snow storm in Colorado, while headed up a huge incline. So be careful and drive safe!

I've got two possible routes, either straight over on I-90 for most of it or I can head south and east and take I-80 and I-70. I have an app that gives me road conditions so I can plan accordingly. As for Motels, Motel 6 doesn't care how many dogs they say 2 per room on their website but I've stayed in numerous locations and they don't care if you have more. Super 8 just charges $15/dog and Holiday Inn Express allows 2 dogs for free but additional dogs are $20/dog. I've also stayed in some smaller motels along the way that they don't care how many dogs you have, at least when I told them I had 3 they never even blinked so it's possible to find accommodations. I don't recommend staying in any Marriot hotel though with dogs because their dog rooms are gross and disgusting. They have carpeted rooms and it's like they never clean the rooms that are the dog friendly rooms and they charge you $50 for dogs to stay.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

Well I made it! I drove 24 1/2 hours the first day to keep ahead of the majority of winter storms but I still hit the edge of two snow storms and a wind storm that re-routed me 3 1/2 hours out of my way. But I arrived and surprised my sisters and mom. My dad comes in tomorrow so I'm going to surprise him by picking him up at the airport instead of my sister.

 

[Michelle0803]

What a wonderful surprise for everyone. Have a wonderful holiday with your family!