We decided to head back down to Florida for 6 nights to visit my mom last week. It is a 10 hour trip without any stops, but we make a lot of stops for potty breaks…more so for the small bladder humans than the dog.

This was our second road trip down to Florida since going part-time—we made the same drive this past December. Despite it usually being a cheap and easy flight, we don’t like leaving the dog every time we travel and it adds to the travel expenses. The cat manages pretty well on his own although he meows a bit more during our first night of sleep upon returning home.

We don’t mind the long drive and have found that listening to an audio book during the middle chunk helps pass the time.

We always enjoy our time visiting Fort Lauderdale. My mom lives in a 55+ community that is really well kept and feels a bit like being at a resort with a bunch of pools, a workout center and pickleball. She’s usually open to going wherever we want and doesn’t mind eating at the vegan restaurants. We walked around the Wakodahatchee Wetlands, spent a few hours sitting on the beach, went out for coffee and a thrift store, spent time at the pool, watched the sunset, went to the gym, and went for walks.

Overall, it was time well spent and perfectly aligns with the goal to travel and spend time with family and friends.