Quick Trip to Palm Springs with (TWO) Dogs!

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen a pretty exciting announcement over the weekend! It's true--Grace and I adopted a new little fur baby and we are very smitten with him. That said, it's been a journey with highs and lows that I am looking forward to thoroughly documenting here in the coming weeks. Little Bean (full name Jellybean Jones Baldridge--if you get the reference, we are friends) has turned our world upside down, and raising a puppy is no easy feat. But seeing Willie become protective of him and groom him is so heart-melting.

I promise that soon I will post ALL about how we came to adopt Bean, similar to my post about adopting Willie. And, I'll write a separate post introducing his personality (similar to my Meet Casper and Meet Willie posts) once we get to know him a little better! 

But in the meantime, I wanted to write a post about our trip to Palm Springs a couple of weeks ago. I shared some pictures on Instagram from Palm Springs, and it was funny because I had to be conscious not to share Bean in any of them! He was with us, and many of our friends met him that weekend. But, we decided not to post anything about him online during our adjustment period.

I've been to Palm Springs in the past and written about it here, but this was my first time with dogs! It was so fun. Several of our friends brought their dogs too, so it was one big dog party (the best kind of party). We were there celebrating our friend Sara's birthday. And because we all stayed at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club, dogs were allowed, which was awesome. This post is not a review per se of the Ace, nor is it in any way sponsored (ha), but that said we spent the majority of our time there. I would definitely stay at the Ace next time I go to Palm Springs over anywhere else I've been, with the exception of maybe the Parker. 

I think the best dog-friendly thing about the Ace is that dogs are allowed on the pool deck! I think they have restrictions when it's hot (as they should), but it was a balmy 75-80 degrees while we were there. It was so fun to have all the dogs hanging out on the loungers with us and chilling by the pool! The hotel staff even brought us water bowls for our pooches.

Can you spot all 4 dogs in this pic?! There were a total of five over the whole weekend. So fun.

For our room, Grace and I opted for one of the rooms with a patio and outdoor fireplace. It was SO worth the little bit extra per night. It was so lovely to have our breakfast in the morning by the outdoor fire, and it was nice to have the dogs be able to hang out there too.

We ended up getting upgraded to a suite (which also included the fireplace) and it was AMAZING! Our room even came with an acoustic guitar, which Grace loved playing.

Speaking of breakfast, if you stay at the Ace and order room service, GET THE DATE SHAKE! OMG, we loved it and convinced all of our friends to order it, too. I thought the avocado toast was just okay, not my favorite. 

Most of our weekend was spent hanging by the pool, which was just what we needed. We ate at King's Highway, which is the restaurant at the Ace, and it was great. We also went out in the evening to a Palm Springs gay bar that was SO FUN--everyone had a great time and danced so much. It was called Hunters. 

Most of our group at Hunters.

It was a short, simple weekend, but it was so good for the soul. This fall has kicked Grace's and my butts with work, moving, wedding planning, and more, but this weekend in Palm Springs really reminded and convinced me of how important it is to take time to get out of town and spend time together. Bean did great on the 2 hour car ride to and from Palm Springs, so we want to keep exposing him to road trips so that he gets used to it and loves them like Willie does!

Stay tuned for lots more about Bean soon!

Initial Thoughts on Planning a Wedding

When I started this blog, I did not picture it involving wedding planning updates (also, I wasn't engaged at the time!). That said, I’ve had a few people ask me whether I’m going write them . . . So I’ve decided to! I hope you enjoy reading this series and that it is encouraging to anyone planning their wedding or dreaming about wedding planning in general. I am figuring out things as I go, so I would absolutely love to hear tips and ideas if you’ve been through this before!

The collage at the top of this post is an inspiration board I made to guide our vision for our wedding. I really recommend making one if you’re in this season. For one, it’s just a fun “task” as far as wedding stuff goes, and also, it’s really helpful to be able to send to potential vendors to give them a quick glimpse of the aesthetic we’re imagining for our day.

Also, I should note that just for the sake of keeping some things private, I’m going to share certain details until after our wedding. Specifically, I have decided not to put our exact wedding date and venue on the internet for just anyone to find, even though I love sharing in this space. So if I’m vague about some details, that’s why! But there’s a lot about the process that I can still share without giving too much away.

In the almost three months since getting engaged, we have:

• Set our wedding date and booked a venue
• Asked our wedding party (20-strong!) to stand beside us
• Booked our amazing photographer
• Booked our wedding coordinator
• Found my wedding dress (that part was just me, since Grace won’t see it until I walk down the aisle. Her attire is still TBD).
• Gathered a lot of inspiration and ideas, started making our guest list, and made a lot of decisions that we now just need to execute (i.e., music, food, florals—we haven’t booked those vendors yet, but we have a strong sense of what we want)

I posted on IG this pic I snapped at the bridal boutique the day I found my wedding dress--don't worry, none of these are "it"!

Of course, I couldn't shop for my own dress before looking through my parents' album for inspiration. Doesn't my mom look so classic?!

When I write out all that we’ve accomplished in terms of wedding planning, I feel pretty proud of us! It can feel like a never-ending sea of tasks, but I can honestly say it’s all awesome and so fun and exciting. In a season where a lot is changing and we’re both SUPER busy with work, wedding planning is such a great escape from “real life,” and not at all a burden right now. As the time gets closer I might be eating those words, but Grace is the most easygoing person to plan a wedding with. I try to take my cues from her :)

So what’s next? Finalizing a guest list and sending out save the dates is at the top of the to-do list. We still have time, but that’s one thing I’m starting to feel anxious about getting done, especially since we have so many people traveling from overseas or across the country. And, booking the other major vendors (catering, florals, a band, and probably some rentals) will happen pretty soon I hope.

Another fave from my parents' album.

To round out this update, I’m going to answer a few of the questions I have gotten the most since starting to plan our wedding:

How long of a timeline do you have?

I am so ready to marry Grace! I’ve pretty much always known that I did not want to have a long engagement. It’s totally right for some people, but for me, I wanted to make it happen as soon as possible. That timeline turned out to be about 9 and a half months from when we got back from our Alaska trip (where we got engaged). I think it would be pretty stressful to do it in a shorter timeline—plus, a lot of the best vendors get booked far in advance! So even making it happen on about a 9-10 month timeline is a little tight, but I’m so glad we’re doing it this way.

How do you find the major vendors like venue and photographer?

This is the question people have asked the most so far. What I can say is thank goodness for the internet! I found our venue from searching wedding blogs (Style Me Pretty is one of the most useful and comprehensive in my opinion) and spending a lot of time pouring over photo galleries and reviews. I knew the general area where we wanted to get married, so I zeroed in on venues in the area, and then I reached out to about 5 or 6. We planned site visits at 2 to start with, but we ended up booking on the spot at the place we did our first site visit! And just cancelled the other one. It was perfect, and we didn’t need to see any others.

We also found our photographer online and booked her after a phone consultation. I think a photographer is probably the vendor we were pickiest about, especially because Grace is not a fan of the “traditional”/super posed wedding photos, and yet I didn’t want anything too artsy or that wouldn’t look classic in 50 years. I think we found the PERFECT happy medium and I am so excited to have her capture our day.

For our coordinator and all of the other vendors we plan on booking, we have gone through our venue and just asked who they recommend. It’s really helpful to ask your existing vendors who they love working with. I think that’s the best way! It also saves you a ton of time of google searching and hoping you’re making the right choice.

How are you staying organized?

I am using two physical wedding planners. I know, two?! But I have found it extremely helpful. Right after we got engaged, I bought the Southern Weddings Planner online because I love their magazine, and the planner itself is just beautiful (I know I’ll keep it as an heirloom, and I love the idea of my children leafing through all the magazine clippings I cut out and dreams I wrote down). And, my friend Irina sweetly gifted me The Knot Real Weddings Planner. I actually LOVE using both! They are written by different magazine publications, and they both have really good ideas. I feel like I’m getting a bigger cross-section of expertise by using both of them. I also now buy a wedding magazine pretty much every time I’m in an airport or browsing at Target! Though some of them feature kind of ridiculously-over-the-top weddings, I still like getting ideas from them.

What has been the hardest part?

Making our guest list. It’s still not complete, and it’s really difficult. I’ve heard pretty much everyone who’s planned a wedding say that’s the hardest part.

What are you most looking forward to?

I think both Grace and I are really excited for catering and cake tastings! That seems like it would be the best part of wedding planning. I am also super excited for the moment of seeing our invitations all addressed and stamped and putting them in the mail. I love paper and stationary, so that’s very special for me.

Have you planned your honeymoon?

I thought so . . . and now I'm not sure. Right after we got engaged, I suggested to Grace that we go to [destination] for our honeymoon (I'm keeping this a surprise for now, just because I look forward to writing LENGTHY posts dedicated solely to our honeymoon planning!). Grace was totally on board and I told our family and friends that we would be going to [destination], leaving a couple of days after our wedding. But right as I started to look into finding the best places and making reservations and buying plane tickets, I weirdly had a change of heart . . . and now I'm considering something totally different. Grace is the sweetest person on earth and will go along with whatever my heart desires. I wish I could take two honeymoons, because I'm having the hardest time choosing! I know this is all vague, but I'll share more soon. Maybe I'll even do a poll to try to get some advice. It's a good problem to have, but it's tricky!

Thanks for reading. I'll share more soon!

December Goals + November Recap

After a couple of weeks of silence while traveling home over Thanksgiving, being swamped with work, and other happenings, I'm back! I really miss blogging when I get out of the habit. So, as you'll see below, one of my December goals is to be better about that!

Grace and I started off our December with a really fun trip to Palm Springs to celebrate our dear friend Sara's birthday. It was such a short, simple trip, so I've debated writing a separate post about it, but I think I will write one as a companion post to my First Impressions of Palm Springs post I wrote back in May.

Now that I'm back in LA and starting a new week, I figured I would belatedly post my December goals and a recap of my November progress. Without further ado:

November Goals:

• Slowly start being active and incorporating exercise after work on days I'm not working late--honestly, no! Whoops. That's real life.
• Enjoy a sweet time at home with my family in North Carolina later in the month--yes! It was the best, and I even found my wedding dress!
• Celebrate Grace's and my mom's birthdays (2 days apart)--yes.
• Take photos with my real camera--no :( I meant to bring my camera on our Pismo Beach road trip, but I forgot it in the whirlwind of getting out the door. That said, I'm still pretty happy with the (phone) photos I did manage to snap! Check them out in my recap post here.

December Goals:

• Blog five times!
• Finish unpacking from our move (yes, we moved in October. And yet this is still one of the heaviest things on my to-do list, and one of the things I will be proudest about if I actually get it done!)
• Successfully split the Christmas holiday between Grace's family and mine. This will be our fifth Christmas we've been dating (or engaged), but our FIRST Christmas we'll see each other on the actual holiday! We've always spent it separately with our respective families in years past. This year, both of our families will be in North Carolina, and we'll be spending time with both. I can't wait to go to my hometown church's Christmas Eve service together, go to our family friends' Christmas Eve dinner, hang out under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning, and start to make our own little family's traditions.
• Take our photos for our save the date invitations
• Design and order a photobook of our Alaska trip

If you're reading, thanks for sticking with me despite my brief hiatus! I got a few messages over the past couple of weeks asking when I'd blog again, and even though I felt badly that I'd let this little space go dormant, it was so encouraging and flattering that a few people actually wanted me to write more. Thank you! xoxo

Surprise Dog-Friendly Birthday Trip to Pismo Beach

This past Sunday, Grace turned 27.  I always LOVE celebrating Grace's birthday, and we have done various things for it throughout the years. Last year, we went all out with a huge group camping trip in Joshua Tree. It was so much fun that we initially thought we'd do something similar this year, but when the time came, we decided to do something more low-key with just the two of us. We have been in such a whirlwind season of life--the busiest and fullest I think I've ever experienced--and so Grace's request was that we get away for the weekend with Willie and go somewhere relaxing, with a spa and fluffy robes. I decided that I would make the destination a surprise, and I started brainstorming where we should go!

I knew I wanted to keep the getaway within 3 hours of LA, since we'd be leaving after work on a Friday and didn't want to be driving late at night. I looked in all directions; some places I considered were Santa Barbara, San Diego, Idyllwild, and Paso Robles. But, I kept coming back to Pismo Beach (or nearby Cayucos) as the place that I thought Grace would love most. We had spent the night in Pismo Beach on a camping trip down the California coast a couple of years ago, and we've always said we wanted to go back. It's a super cute beach town with incredibly stunning cliffs, beaches, and sunsets. For those who haven't been, it's about halfway in between LA and San Francisco on Highway 101 along the Pacific. After researching hotels with a few parameters in mind (dog friendly, spa on site, fluffy robes in room, good room service menu, etc.), I settled on The Cliffs Resort. I booked us some spa services and basically planned nothing else--I knew that relaxing and enjoying the amenities were at the top of Grace's list for the weekend!

Because of Daylight Savings Time making it dark so early, it was fully nighttime when we arrived at the resort on Friday evening. We pretty must just checked in and went to sleep, enjoying our little in-room fireplace and watching some TV but figuring we'd wake up in the morning and experience the grounds and see the ocean.

Because we hadn't seen ANYTHING the night we arrived, it made it all the more magical when we stepped out the next day to walk Willie and were greeted by this:

The resort really could not have a more perfect location. By the way, there were three resorts all in a row: the Spyglass Inn, Dolphin Bay, and finally The Cliffs where we stayed. We had a great time at The Cliffs but would also totally try out one of the others the next time we go to Pismo . . . they all looked unique in their own way, and this blog post is in no way sponsored or biased towards The Cliffs, haha!

The best thing about any of the resorts that are in that area is the view and beach access. We were a 3 minute walk from our room to the beach, which was so lovely. Also, many beaches in the LA area don't allow dogs, but Pismo allows them! So it was really fun to bring Willie down to the beach with us and let him enjoy all the smells.

But Mom, I really WANT to disturb the seals!

This is probably the least adventurous trip I'll recap on the blog, but this was basically all we did the whole weekend! It was awesome. We walked on the beach, sat out on our little patio and enjoyed the sea breeze, ate our meals either through room service or the on-site restaurant, Marisol (which had the best seafood mac n cheese EVER), stayed up and watched Saturday Night Live in our room, and rested. On Sunday morning we got massages at the spa, which was literally right next door to our room. We left The Cliffs feeling so blissed out, I am now fully convinced that resort/spa getaways are just as important as camping and connecting with nature!

Also, this was a very dog-friendly resort. They had a dog bed for Willie, water and food bowls, treats in the room for him, and even a doggie room service menu!

I'd say the one downside is that when you have a dog, you don't get an ocean view room (because all the dog-friendly rooms are on the first floor where you have access to a grassy area right outside). That said, the amenities for dogs and the fact that we could see the ocean from just walking right outside were worth the trade-off of having a terrace view rather than ocean view.

Lastly, I'll leave you with some pictures of the sunset we saw on Saturday night (to me it was the best gift from above possible for Grace's last night of being 26). The last time we stayed in Pismo Beach, we saw the most beautiful sunset I have EVER seen in my life, and this one rivaled it. I don't know what it is about Pismo, but the evenings are otherworldly in how special they are there.

We love you, Pismo Beach! We'll be back!

How to Stay in a Hotel with a Dog

I recently got a blog post request from my sweet cousin Amanda, who has a pup of her own. She asked for tips on finding hotels that accept dogs and how to have a successful hotel stay with your dog. I've gotten questions along these lines for awhile now, so I figured it would be a great time to write a post. As always, if you have other questions, feel free to Contact me!

In my experience, it's totally possible to have a great stay in a hotel with a dog. Some of the places we've stayed (or have upcoming reservations to stay) with dogs in California are the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs (staying this December), and a certain resort that shall not be named because it's a surprise for Grace's birthday in two weeks--blog post to follow. Out of California, we've also loved the Opus Hotel in Vancouver, Bell II Lodge in rural British Columbia, and the Coast High Country Inn in Whitehorse, Yukon. I'd say we've generally stayed in more vacation rentals/camping or glamping setups than hotels, but hotels are a great option for many reasons, and I hope to give you some tips that will make it easier to stay there with your fur baby.

The first thing I will say about finding dog-friendly hotels is just to not automatically assume that hotels don't take dogs. I'm always really (pleasantly) surprised at all of the hotels that will accept them, including high end places like the Four Season and the Ritz-Carlton. Not that I'm often staying in places like that, but I notice in my research that they allow pups! Toward the other end of the spectrum, Best Westerns are awesome for doggy road trips. They are super pet friendly across the board (and affordable), and we had some very comfortable stays in Best Westerns during our Alaska trip with Willie.

And, keep an open mind for anything in-between. Bed & Breakfasts (I mean traditional Bed & Breakfasts, not necessarily Airbnbs) are sometimes great for dogs.

Now you might be thinking, how can you find out if a hotel takes dogs? I have found that you can almost always tell online--but it can't hurt to call if you have questions. Here are some tips for locating dog friendly places:

• I like to search TripAdvisor for my preferred location, dates, and click their pet-friendly filter. It will show you on a map (much like an Airbnb search) all of the available hotels for your dates and that accept pets. If you're flexible on the exact location (say you want to take a road trip within 3 hours but are open to different destinations), you can drag and move the map on TripAdvisor and more hotels with your parameters will pop up! I do recommend double checking on the hotel's website, however, because sometimes TripAdvisor is inaccurate or out of date on whether hotels are dog friendly. Another tip here is to search within TripAdvisor reviews (there's a search bar at the top of the reviews) for the word "dog." This will bring up all the reviews of people who have mentioned dogs, and it's often really helpful to find out what it's like to bring a dog there.
• Another nice aggregating website is Bring Fido. You can search specifically for pet-friendly hotels and activities, and the site has reviews geared toward people who are bringing dogs on their trips.
• On hotel websites themselves, it can actually be tricky to find out whether they are dog friendly. I think a lot of hotels don't like to advertise loudly that they accept dogs, because they don't want to deter people who aren't traveling with a pet or don't like dogs. In my experience, you can usually find it under the amenities tab or the FAQ section, if they have one. If all else fails, try googling the name of the hotel + "pet friendly." This will often bring you to a dog-related landing page on the hotel's website that can't be found through internal site navigation. And of course, you can always call the hotel directly.
• One thing to be aware of is breed and size restrictions. Sadly, there are some awesome-looking properties that won't accept dogs over 25 pounds or so, or they don't accept pit bulls/rottweilers/dobermans/etc. I understand, and it's their business and their prerogative--but thankfully, many other places are open to well-behaved dogs of all shapes and sizes. 
• Finally, be sure to actually book a pet friendly room. If you see that a hotel takes dogs, you often can't just book any room in the hotel and have your dog with you. Hotels generally have specific (and limited in number) pet-friendly rooms, so either select "Dog Friendly" when booking online, or if you don't see that option, call directly to book. There is usually a pet fee, so be aware of that too. The steepest I've seen is $150 at Ojai Valley Inn and Spa; often it's more like $25-50 extra. Usually if you're paying closer to $100 or more, the fee includes some sort of toy, commemorative water bowl you get to take home, etc.

Once you have your pet-friendly hotel reservation, there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure your stay is restful. Below are a few things I've learned throughout the years of bringing dogs to hotels:

• Know your dog and what his or her comforts are. If you usually crate your dog, bring the crate to the hotel, too. When you book your room, it's probably worth checking whether you will be allowed to leave your dog unattended in the room. In my experience, most will allow this, but they'll often want to know that the dog is unattended and have you leave a phone number with the front desk in case the dog is barking. With that in mind, if you have a major barker, a hotel might not be the best option for you. If you do want to stay at a hotel, consider a property that offers detached cabins or villas so that you don't receive complaints from neighboring rooms.
• We have left Willie and Casper in hotel rooms by themselves, but never for long--usually just while we go to dinner. If we're out exploring, we prefer to just bring our dog with us. It's probably a good idea to leave your pet alone for a lot less time than you normally might at home. Remember that it's a new and potentially confusing experience and place for them. Also, depending on the quality of the hotel, the concierge might be able to recommend pet-friendly activities in town with your dog. If you're bringing a dog, I think it's the most fun to include him or her in everything! The one exception tends to be meals if you have to go out to eat and your only option is sitting indoors. Grace and I often like to treat ourselves to room service for this reason--more time with sweet Willie :)
• Be sure to pack their regular food and feed them at normal times. Dog friendly hotels will often have treat stations in the lobby (we saw this recently at the Hilton San Francisco Bayfront where we stayed for a wedding, and it was super cute and thoughtful), but be careful about introducing a lot of strange foods in a new place. Some hotels even have doggy room service menus, but I personally would avoid it--your dog will be happier with his or her normal food, even if it seems like a novelty to order something special. Having an upset stomach in a hotel seems like a recipe for disaster for a pup.
• Lastly, consider (or call to ask about) the layout of the hotel when booking. Keep in mind your dog's special needs, if any. For example, with Casper, going through a crowded lobby would be stressful, especially if there were other dogs around. So hotels like the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, which are casita-style and have separate entrances for each room, were far preferable for him. Willie doesn't mind a lobby; in fact he loves getting all the attention from strangers he usually receives when people see a dog in a hotel. One nice thing we've noticed about Best Westerns is that the dog-friendly rooms open directly onto a grassy space through the back door--such a smart idea. If you're nervous about getting your dog through a crowded lobby, make sure to ask about the setup. We've stayed in hotels where the dog friendly rooms were on the 10th floor through a winding lobby and huge elevator bay. Not ideal, but good to know about in advance.

I hope this overview about staying with dogs in hotels has been helpful! If your dog is quiet and well-behaved, staying in a hotel can be a really fun experience. My two biggest takeaways for this post are to keep an open mind about what hotels and properties might accept pets, and bring as much of your dog's comfort items as possible (beds, toys, favorite treats) so that they know they are in a safe and comfortable place.

Happy travels! If you have any favorite pet friendly hotels, I'd love to hear about them and maybe visit them one day!

November Goals + October Recap

The fact that I'm writing this November goals post on the actual first of the month (albeit late in the day) is a small miracle. This past month has challenged me SO much, but there's been a lot of really good things happening. Just like last month, I'm keeping my goal list small for November--depth rather than breadth. For those following along, I'll go over my October goal progress and then share my November goals. If you set monthly goals of your own, I'd love to hear about them!

October goals:

• Start my new job well--yes
• Check a few preliminary things off my wedding planning to-do list--we booked our venue and officially set our wedding date! This is more than I dreamed we would accomplish in just one month of getting engaged, so I'm super happy about this
• Become more involved at St. Aidan's--yes; we volunteered at the annual Harvest of Hope and I also officially got Confirmed as an Episcopal :)
• Make some home/living space changes that I am excited to share more about SOON!--so the cat's already kind of out of the bag through social media, but Grace and I found our first little house together and have been slowly decorating it and getting settled! We are so beyond grateful for our new space and Willie loves it too. I can't wait to share a blog post all about the house and our process of making it our own, but it will probably be awhile until it's photo-ready!

And now, November goals:

• Slowly start being active and incorporating exercise after work on days I'm not working late
• Enjoy a sweet time at home with my family in North Carolina later in the month
• Celebrate Grace's and my mom's birthdays (2 days apart)
• Take photos with my real camera

Super simple goals compared with what I used to try to accomplish back when my life was less hectic, but each one represents something really important to me. 

Wherever you are reading, I hope you have the sweetest November.

xoxo

Takeaways From Driving to Alaska and Back

September 2017 was the best month of my life so far. I almost feel bad saying that because I have been lucky enough to take so many great trips in my life, and vacations with my immediate family have always been my most special times. But in terms of really exploring and adventuring, I've never been on a trip like our drive to Alaska and back, and I can only hope that I ever will again.

So now that I've recapped each stop of our trip (see all of my Alaska trip posts here), I want to share some thoughts about what we loved, what we would do differently, and what we took away from the wildest experience we've ever had. And, I thought it would be fun to share some "stats" from the trip and other random things.

Ever since I've known Grace, she has a tradition of asking "rose, bud, and thorn?" at the end of a day, or of a trip, or of a year, etc. For those who've never heard of this, it's basically a conversation starter where you ask what the person considers the rose (best part), bud (something you're looking forward to), and thorn (low point) of a particular time. Throughout the trip, we would check in with each other and ask "rose, bud, and thorn?" of the trip so far. In a whole month of exploring the most beautiful places I've ever seen, getting engaged, and spending so much quality time with each other and our pup Willie, we REALLY could not choose just one rose for the trip. But, in case you're curious, here were a few of our roses, buds, and thorns (not many) from our month of driving to Alaska and back.

Roses: getting engaged (of course!), going to the Bubbly Mermaid champagne and oyster bar in Anchorage, our date night in Vancouver, our glamping trip in Telkwa, seeing Lake Louise and the Canadian rockies, sleeping in the sweetest rustic cabin in the Yukon, the fish & chips at Fast Eddy's restaurant in Tok, Alaska, our cozy night in Whitehorse, Yukon, Fire Island Bakery in Anchorage, and overall, as cheesy as it may sound, the time we spent together. There were some mornings when we set out for a 6 hour drive, podcasts downloaded and playlists ready, and then we would arrive 6 hours later realizing we never listened to any podcasts or music because we just talked the entire drive. We love talking about anything and everything. After Grace proposed, we had even more to talk about because we started doing some dreaming and planning for our wedding. I'm really glad we had hours in the car to discuss every aspect of that, because now that we're back in LA I feel like we are already on the same exact page with wedding planning and our vision for that day.

Buds: mainly, starting a whole new season of life in LA. I started a new job, we are in the thick of planning and finding a place and date to get married, and lots more. We are also so excited to go back to some of our favorite places in Canada and Alaska one day. 

Thorns: There weren't any huge thorns at all from our trip, and I am so so thankful. I was pretty nervous during a lot of our drives that we would have car trouble and be stuck out in the wilderness, but we were lucky and that never happened. We did however get a chip in Grace's windshield that turned into a huge crack, resulting in the windshield needing to be replaced. But after driving 7,300 miles through the wildest parts of the continent, I consider that we pretty much came out unscathed. The one other thorn I can think of is that I got sick at the end of the trip. Just a cold, no big deal, but I hate getting sick on vacation.

If you've read my post on packing for Alaska, you might be wondering whether my packing list ended up working. Mostly yes! I was super glad I did a capsule wardrobe for the trip and I was happy with my options for clothes every day. There were a few things I wish we'd packed, though, and a few things I brought but didn't use. Here's a breakdown:

Things I Wish We'd Had: Dry shampoo (sometimes showers were hard to come by), extra phone charger (we lost one and then had one break, so having backups would have been nice), more long sleeved layering options, and more cold weather clothing in general. When I packed for the trip, we were going through a 100 degree heat wave in LA, and I think mentally that made me pack less cold-weather gear. But, it was COLD in Alaska. 28 degrees at one point! We were fine, but I kind of got sick of the same coat every day, so I wish I'd brought more options for cold weather. If you happen to be planning a trip to Alaska in September, know that there likely won't be snow on the ground but it does get chilly.

Things I Packed But Didn't Use: Multiple pairs of sandals (this goes with the cold weather thing), and an umbrella. It did rain, but I just opted for a raincoat with a hood instead of juggling an umbrella and our bags and Willie's leash. It just didn't make sense to use one. I used pretty much everything else we packed, though.

Things We Were Especially Glad We Had: A warm coat and raincoat for Willie, a laptop (we debated whether to bring one and I'm really glad we did), a couple of blankets, our own pillows, and Canadian dollars. I cannot tell you how glad I was to have a few hundred Canadian dollars in cash with us before we even crossed the border. It really came in handy! I carried more US cash than I normally do, too, and I liked having that. It's just convenient for travel sometimes to have cash.

Another thing I've mulled over since getting back is what we learned. I did SO much research before the trip, but I knew that I wouldn't really have any idea what it would be like until we did the drive ourselves. Here are a few things that I learned and things that surprised me.

Finding gas was not a problem. I worried so much about this before our trip. I'd read that you can go for hundreds of miles without passing a gas station, that many go out of business, and that they don't keep regular hours. We had absolutely no problem consistently finding places to fill up the tank, so I never actually worried about that for a second on the trip.

The Alaska Highway is the wildest place I can imagine. I truly feel like the Alaska Highway is a glimpse of heaven on earth, in the sense that the vastness, beauty, and proportions of the Yukon and Alaska just blow everything else out of the water and ruin your sense of proportion and scale. I've never seen anything so shockingly wild and beautiful in my life. I was not expecting that and can never forget it now.

We got tired of camping. As people who love camping, I'm embarrassed to say this, but we chickened out of camping a few cold and/or rainy nights and ended up renting a hotel room or cabin at the last minute. Even though I'm glad I can say we camped in a tent in Alaska for one night, I'm not sad that we didn't do it more. We quickly learned with the long days on the road that we needed to be comfortable in the evenings. If the weather is nice, I can be totally comfortable in a tent. But where the weather got bad, being warm and comfortable became our priority, more so than having the "authentic" experience of camping.

While we felt like the only people on earth for a lot of our trip, we found comfort in knowing how many others have gone before us. We saw/interacted with other people pretty rarely on our trip, which was a cool and different experience given that we live in a huge city. That said, we saw evidence everywhere of other travelers who had done the same trek. The Signpost Forest in Watson Lake (read my post recapping Watson Lake here) was the perfect example of that, because we saw signs up from people on their Honeymoons or people who had come back almost every year to write their names and the date on their sign again. Along the Alaska Highway, people would often spell out their initials with white rocks, which was a fun wilderness version of graffiti to see. And, I know a couple of people personally who have done the trip, so it was fun to connect with them about all the places we saw. If you're reading this and interested in driving the Alaska Highway and getting to the 49th state by road, I HIGHLY recommend it and would love to help in any way I can. Feel free to Contact me.

Last but not least, here are some fun stats from our trip:

Temperature range (in Fahrenheit): 113 degrees in Nevada to 28 degrees in Alaska

Wildest weather: Hail

Wildlife we saw: Buffalo, antelope, coyote, bear, moose, small things like squirrels and groundhogs, bald eagles, loons and other interesting birds, reindeer/caribou, elk, regular deer, swans, and tons of livestock on farms along the roads like cows, horses, and llamas. 

Favorite albums we listened to (for the most part on the trip we listened to full albums at a time rather than playlists, just so we could really get into a particular favorite musician and see the full album for what it is): Willie Nelson's Greatest Hits, Emotion by Carly Rae Jepson, Miley Cyrus's new album Younger Now, Rumors by Fleetwood Mac, Pageant Material by Kacey Musgraves, Lust for Life by Lana Del Rey, and Wilder Mind by Mumford & Sons. 

Favorite Podcasts: S-Town (I know it's been out for awhile but we hadn't listened to it before the trip. If you haven't, I highly recommend it), Generation Why, Lore, Up and Vanished, Someone Knows Something, and What's the Tee with RuPaul and Michelle Visage.

Place We Most Want to Go Back Right Now, If We Had to Pick One: Me--Anchorage; Grace--Anchorage (I made Grace pick without telling her what I chose, and I picked the same one! Grace says her second choice would be Telkwa, and my second choice would probably be Banff/Lake Louise).

That's it for now in terms of recaps of our trip! I hope you enjoyed reading the series. I loved writing about it and going back to all these amazing places in my mind. Time to start planning the next one :)

Happy Birthday, Casper!

October 11 changed Grace's and my world forever. It's the day Casper became our first baby, and ever since we have celebrated his adoption day as his "birthday."

This is our first October 11 without him, and I am more grateful than ever for him changing my life. 

I have noticed some new readers around here (hi and thank you!!), and I realized that someone coming to my blog for the first time might not know about the sweet boy that is the reason Have Dog, Will Drive exists.

So, if you don't know his story, I encourage you to make a big mug of tea or coffee and read about a very special guy, Casper Baldridge. I've linked my posts about him below (fair warning, they're all pretty long!).

Introducing Casper and his story

Losing Casper suddenly

Our journey in rehabilitating Casper after years of abuse

Snuggle the doggos in your life extra close today. And, in case anyone out there is still waiting for more Alaska trip posts (ha!), they are coming! I have had some pretty major life changes happening (all good) but promise to be back to blogging more regularly soon.

xoxo

October Goals + September Recap

These photos are from my law school friend's wedding at the Kohl Mansion that Grace and I went to last weekend. Not sure what is going on with my hand placement in the second photo (hah!) but I think these capture the very happy and silly mood we have been in lately :)

I am a little late on October goals--it actually just occurred to me that it's the beginning of the month! The theme of the past few weeks of my life has been BIG changes. And lots more to come! September was the best month of my life so far, but it was very far from a normal month as I wasn't at home for any of it, didn't have a normal routine, and only saw one person (Grace) basically the whole time. I'm excited to get back into a rhythm of my days and have time for being cozy at home this October.

First, how I did on my September goals:

• Be active as much as possible, especially on long car ride days--not the best to be honest. Road fatigue is something I didn't really account for!
• Find ways to serve Grace throughout the trip--I like to think so :) Because Grace was driving all day, we had a system where I would set up camp when we got to our destination and/or unload bags from the car if we were staying at a hotel. It was really important to me that Grace be able to rest right away, and I think we did a good job of balancing the labor involved in such a big road trip.
• Keep up with journaling, reading, and some blogging from the road--I did this decently well, I think.
• Take in moments with my eyes, not just my camera--yes, and I'm proud of that. There were some of the most special moments on the trip where I DIDN'T reach for a camera or phone, and I think the memories are all the more sweet because of it. That said, I'm excited to soon make a huge book of all the photos I took on the trip!

And now for my October goals:

• Start my new job well
• Check a few preliminary things off my wedding planning to-do list
• Become more involved at St. Aidan's
• Make some home/living space changes that I am excited to share more about SOON!

I have a smaller goal list this month, but each one represents some pretty big changes. I hope October treats you well, and thanks for reading Have Dog, Will Drive!

Driving to Alaska and Back: Vancouver, Portland, and Northern California

As we rounded the corner into our last few days of the trip, Grace and I started feeling a little sad that our long awaited journey was nearing its end. But, we were also really excited for the last four stops of our trip: Vancouver, British Columbia; Portland, Oregon; rural far northern California (near Yreka); and Berkeley. Looking back, I'm glad we saved the Pacific Northwest for last, because it was a bit more familiar to us than the beginning of our trip, when we were going to all new places every day. We treated ourselves to a gorgeous suite in Vancouver, we stayed with my best friend in Portland, and I used to live in Northern California for three years, so it was a nice comfortable victory lap for our trip. I mentioned in my last post that Grace and I found ourselves getting more tired on the second half of the trip, so staying in comfortable and/or familiar places was perfect.

After checking out of our hotel in Williams Lake, we hit the road to Vancouver. It was a big change from the rural logging roads and wide open spaces of the days prior. Pretty much the entire way showed at least some signs of civilization, and once we were about an hour out from Vancouver, it was urban sprawl. We arrived around 4pm in Vancouver and made our way over to the very trendy neighborhood of Yaletown, where we had a hotel reservation. Driving through the city felt pretty weird, because we hadn't been in city traffic in almost a month. The closest "big city" we'd stayed in was Anchorage, and it was pretty tiny by comparison. But we were excited to experience Western Canada's biggest city, and we were enchanted by it right away.

Deciding where to stay in Vancouver was one of my most difficult planning decisions, simply because there were SO many great options. For a lot of our trip, I just picked the prettiest or nicest option in the area that was dog friendly. And I was usually deciding between three options max. In Vancouver, there were so many different neighborhoods and hotels to choose from. I knew we wanted to splurge on a really nice place in Vancouver and experience the city right, and from doing some research (and just going with my gut), I decided we should stay at a more "boutique"-type hotel. I also considered the Fairmont, which looks lovely, but it's bigger and more resort-like. I wanted a beautiful but smaller hotel that was situated somewhere we could easily walk from and experience the city.

I ended up choosing the Opus Hotel, and I'm SO glad I did. I had read that Yaletown is one of the coolest neighborhoods in Vancouver, and Opus is the only boutique hotel in the area. That helped narrow things down. It's also on the Conde Nast Gold List and has won some awards from Travel + Leisure, I think. It seemed to fit the bill for a "splurge" night to treat ourselves, and it was so wonderful.

From the minute we checked in, we were treated like royalty. Glasses of champagne appeared seemingly out of thin air at the check in desk, and the people working there could not have been friendlier, especially to Willie (side note: at a hotel like this, they usually either don't allow dogs or charge an upwards of $150 fee for them. At Opus, it was only $30 extra to have Willie with us!). 

I decided to book us a Balcony Studio, which is on the top floor with a great view, a HUGE bathroom with heated tile floors, the comfiest bed ever, and as the name would suggest, our own balcony. We also had a separate sitting area with a couple of sofas around the TV, which Grace appreciated as she likes her creature comforts to unwind after a long drive :)

Willie enjoying our pristine beautiful bathroom

Our view

Vancouver is a cool city. I wish we'd had a week there to really explore it, but we made the most of enjoying Yaletown. Right across the street from our hotel is a row of businesses called Mainland Street, which is a converted warehouse district. At one end is Yaletown Brewing Company, the oldest brewery in the area which includes a pub and restaurant. All along that row of shops are really interesting restaurants, shops, ice cream, coffee, etc. We decided to go out for the evening to try a few places in that row, and it was SUCH a fun date night. First, we went to Yaletown Brewing and tried some of their freshly made beer.

We also got some fried pickles there, which is one of my favorite foods. It was a great people watching spot, and we felt like locals sipping our beer and reflecting on our trip so far.

Next up, we wanted to get a light dinner, so we strolled along Mainland Street reading menus. I was craving sushi and we ended up seeing a cute little place called Bistro Sakana Yaletown. We loved it! We got some pan-friend vegetable dumplings to start along with some local British Columbia wine. Then we decided to try some of the sashimi that the chef recommended and it was awesome. It ended up being one of my favorite meals of the trip.

Last but not least, we wanted to get ice cream and stopped in a place called Mister. Grace got creme brulee ice cream, which they actually bruleed in front of us with a flame torch! It had a sugar crust just like real creme brulee, but then it was ice cream underneath. So cool. I chose the Thai Iced Tea flavor of ice cream and it was UNREAL. It also came in a charcoal ice cream cone which I was unsure about, but it was very tasty.

I already cannot wait to go back to Vancouver. To me it exuded Pacific Northwest charm, coziness, and friendly (and BEAUTIFUL) people. But I was also excited to get on the road the next day, because we were en route to PORTLAND where one of my best friends lives!

That's us, in Anna's dining room in her adorable house in Portland with her precious dog!

The drive was easy, and we completed our fourth and final border crossing uneventfully. Once we got to Portland, it was such a happy reunion because my best friend Anna lives there! We met in my first week of college and were pretty much instantly best friends. We have so much in common and I just adore her. After graduation, she moved to Portland, and I've gotten to visit her a few times and fallen in love with the city. Grace had never been, so I was very excited for her to see it! I hadn't visited in about a year and a half so I hadn't yet seen Anna's new house or dog or met her boyfriend. It was so nice to hang out at home with them and catch up.

Anna's house is very darling

And our dogs got along great! Too great, almost, because they were a little overly obsessed with each other. Anna has a sweet rescue named Cinder, and I'm pretty sure she and Willie are pining for each other now that they're apart . . . too cute.

Portland has some of the best food EVER, and Anna took us to a new place I hadn't tried yet. It's called Nostrana, and they have the most amazing happy hour starting at 9pm. The happy hour menu is basically just smaller versions of all of their regular food, and they have super inexpensive house wines too. We got three pizzas, two huge salads, a pasta, and breads and it was all DIVINE. I am hungry now even thinking about it. It's some of the best pizza I have ever had . . . seriously. If you are in Portland, go there!!

The next morning we also got great bagels from Bernstein's Bagels, which is walking distance from Anna's house. I love a good salt bagel more than almost anything, so I was so happy to find them there. We were sad we didn't have more time in Portland, but later that morning it was time to hit the road to our home state! Yes, we crossed the border into California later that day--so wild to be back! (Though we still had a long distance all the way down to LA).

Driving at sunset in far northern California

That night we stayed on a ranch in a little town called Fort Jones, which is near Yreka. We were able to rent a tent camping spot on the ranch through Hipcamp, which we've used before and loved. Here is the listing for the ranch where we stayed.

Even though we were back in California, it was pretty chilly that night, and unfortunately right about that time I started showing signs of coming down with a cold. Ugh! The last time Grace and I took a big road trip, I also caught a cold. Taking care of yourself on the road is hard and it's definitely something I neglect, which I think is why I end up getting sick after being on the road for long. That's something I want to focus on in the future. Luckily, it didn't end up being too bad of a cold and only took me about a week to get over.

Back to the Hipcamp--it was lovely. We slept in our own tent, but the property includes indoor bathrooms that you can use, and we were very comfortable. They also had some ranch dogs that were very friendly and cute. I had never been that far north in California before, and I'd love to go back. It's really wild and beautiful.

When we woke up on the ranch it was the last full day of our road trip. Tomorrow, we'd be home. It was so hard to believe and I think we both felt a mixture of being really sad that our grand adventure was over, but also excited to get home and settle into a routine with life and enjoy the Fall together. I was so happy that we were staying in Berkeley that night, because it's such a special place for both of us. I lived in Berkeley for three years while in law school, and it's where Grace and I went on our first date, one of the places we first brought Casper after adopting him, and so many other memories. We were able to find an Airbnb within a few blocks of my old apartment, so it was a really sweet night in my old neighborhood. We ordered takeout from Saturn, a vegetarian diner that we LOVED during my time in Berkeley. Willie had never been to the area, so it was very cool walking him around my old jogging routes and showing him a little bit of the town that is such a big part of who I am. 

When we stepped outside to go get dinner, we saw this sunset, and Grace said "look, Berkeley's putting on a show for you."

Me in front of my old Berkeley apartment! It's the place that I lived in the longest of anywhere since I was 17--so so special.

All in all (and being sick included), I couldn't have asked for a sweeter or more restful end to our Alaska trip. I am still processing everything that happened and everything it all means to me, but I'm excited to write a separate post with my big takeaways from the trip SOON! I hope you enjoyed this last installment of our trip recaps. I love writing them!