We each work roughly five shifts per month, yet we still find ourselves limited in our ability to do extended travel. Despite the increased amount of free time, we are still tethered to being home due to our love for our pets. Love and the great expense to see them taken care of the way we would prefer when we are out of town. So when grand plans of slow travel or month long destinations come up, we often find ourselves saying, “When the Pets Are Gone.”
It’s not meant to sound morbid or be any sort of hope for the demise of our animals. It’s just a distant dream of being able to utilize our time freedom without the strain of leaving companions at home.
The Pets
After being cat people for the first ten years of our relationship, one mangy mutt found her way into our lives and suddenly we were dog people. The only highlight of the 3 years I spent working day shifts at CVS was the fact that it brought us our dog, Maisel. A technician had a friend that was looking to re-home their dog due to a changing living situation. The first mistake I made was sending the picture of the dog to Megan. The final mistake was letting the puppy (actually 3 years old at the time?) come over just for a meet and greet and to see how she did with the cats.
The dog has been with us ever since. One cat passed in 2022, but the other cat (Hinkle) has been with us since March 2012. I’m guessing he was born in December 2011 since we adopted him with a reindeer name. Someone had adopted him, totally declawed him front and back, then took him back to the shelter.
He’s very loving, but annoying. One day after many years of using the litter box, he decided he was no longer going to poop inside and ever since has pooped on the mat right outside the litter box. Thankfully, 99% of the time he pees just inside the box.
Where Would We Go?
Cross Country Road Trip – We could take our time and drive our way across the United States. Picking out places we’ve always wanted to go or visit friends or family for more than an hour pop-in. We have never been to so many states out west. Montana, Idaho, the Dakotas. Plenty of hiking and parks await. We could spend time in places where we find monthly rental deals or sign up for services to take care of other people’s pets to cut costs.
Thailand – Obviously. Isn’t Thailand on everybody’s travel list due to being relatively safe and affordable. This is a place we would love to spend a month or two before trying another country as a part of a 3-6 month adventure.
Florida/California/Virginia – Our usual spots to visit family, but we could go and stay a bit longer.
Utah – It was one of our favorite vacations which makes us want to go to more western spots. We would love to make a return trip.
Panama – Panama is another place that found its way on my mental list of places of interest and has yet to be visited.
New York City – We are long overdue for a return trip to NYC. It is usually a cheap flight from Charlotte and has a plethora of vegan options.
Anywhere the cheap flights take us – We are open to travel any place that sounds interesting and has a reasonable point redemption or just an affordable non-stop flight from Charlotte.