Welcome to Have Dog, Will Drive! I am so glad you're here. I've thought about starting a blog for a long time. Something always held me back, but recently, I decided it was now or never. The same day I decided to finally start one, the phrase "Have Dog, Will Drive" popped into my head. When I checked the domain name and saw that it was available, I decided it was meant to be. All that being said, what's really the purpose for starting this blog, especially given that it's already so easy to share life through Instagram and other social media?
1. I love to document my memories. The photo above shows just a few of the photobooks, prints, and journals I have created and accumulated over recent years. I'm the type of person to physically print most of what I post on Instagram, because I adore paper and tangible representations of memory. I journal almost every day, and a couple of times a year, I print an Artifact Uprising photobook of all of the trips Grace and I have taken recently. Despite that, I felt myself craving an outlet somewhere in between the simplicity of Instagram and the once-or-twice a year thoroughness of a photobook. Something like my written journals, but where I could easily add in photos and have a full record of trips and other special times. After thinking about it, I realized that a blog could fill that gap for me.
2. But why share it and make it open for others to read? Because I want to build community and pay forward all that I have learned. I love blogs, and I plan to share many of my favorites here. I've been reading blogs almost daily for years, and as I've invested more and more in my hobby of camping and weekend getaways, I've learned so much from bloggers. As I began planning our next big road trip of driving from Los Angeles to Alaska and back (happening in September 2017; I'll write a LOT more about it as time goes on), I discovered that planning a trip like that would be almost impossible without drawing from the wisdom and experiences of others. The more I read, the more I realized I had a lot to share. My hope is that this site will make getaways easier to plan and more realistic for people, especially those traveling with a dog.
3. What to expect here: a lot of ideas and how-to's for weekend trips in and near Southern California. My experiences mostly involve camping in a tent, but there will also be some "glamping" trips as well as more traditional vacations. I'm also planning to write posts geared toward dog owners, and I have a lot to share about my experiences loving and caring for an older rescued pit bull with some special issues (much more on Casper to come!). If that sounds similar to your situation, I'd love to connect. At the end of this summer (2017) and into the fall, this space will be filled with all-things-Alaska, including guides, recaps, and planning resources as we take the journey North--and then back South. You'll also occasionally find some glimpses of my everyday life with Grace and Casper, things that inspire me, city guides for places I've lived, etc.
4. Last of all, who is the heart behind Have Dog, Will Drive? In case someone is reading this who doesn't already know me in person, I'd love to get to know you! My name is Elizabeth, but many people in my life call me Lizzie. I was born in North Carolina, and I lived there for the first 22 years of my life. Now, I'm living in my Promised Land of California. I've been dating Grace for about 4 years, ever since meeting in a random college elective course during my last semester of undergrad. We both attended Elon University and love our alma mater. The first three years of our relationship was long distance while I completed my law degree at Berkeley and Grace lived in LA. In May of 2016 I graduated and finally moved to LA for good. Though we maintain separate residences for now--about 0.8 miles apart in West Hollywood, California--Grace and I share the sweetest dog on earth. Since Grace and Casper are my main travel companions, they will be the ones most often appearing here, but I have many other wonderful and beautiful friends and family that I hope will also grace the pages of this blog along the way. Thank you so much for reading!
