The Great American Road Trip…with a Dog

In March 2011, Mr. Fizgig and I set off on the long drive from New York to California, with our giant dog, Banjo, sprawled across the back seat.

We travelled 4,153 miles (6,684 kms) over a 12-day period, and made lots of lovely detours to see some of the USA’s most breathtaking sights. Below, in reverse chronological order, are posts related to our cross-country road trip.

P.S. If you want to know more about travelling across the country in a car with a dog, and other dog-friendly travel tips, be sure to check out Banjo’s version of events at Shyhound.

California? I Can Hardly Believe It!

June 27, 2011
Screen shot 2011-09-14 at 12.15.37 PM

Day 11: Williams, AZ to Escondido, CA – 467 miles / 746 kms Odometer: 17819 miles – 4,153 miles driven in total! We arose early.  Although we were sorry to be on our last day of our epic cross-country road trip, we were also excited about beginning the next chapter of our life in California. [...]

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The Painted Desert & The Grand Canyon

June 26, 2011
native-american-pottery

Day 10: Gallup, NM to Williams, AZ – 332 miles / 535 kms Suddenly, it’s the penultimate day of our trans-continental journey!  In just 30 hours, we will be arriving at a family home near San Diego.  But today is a very busy day, almost visually overwhelming… We’re planning on visiting the Painted Desert and [...]

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All the Glamour of a Hollywood Cowgirl

June 21, 2011
El Rancho Postcard

Day 9: Socorro, NM to Gallup, NM – 337 miles / 542 kms It was with some tongue-in-cheek trepidation that I chose a town called Socorro to stay in for the night.  ¡Socorro! is what you cry out in Spanish when you need help.  Not the Would you mind giving me a hand with this? [...]

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A Detour to White Sands National Monument

June 9, 2011
truckstop

Day 8: Van Horn, TX to Socorro, NM – 430 miles / 693 kms Van Horn, TX is an eerie place.  Locals have to do most of their shopping in El Paso – one time zone and 121 miles away. When you’re spending less than $100 a night on accommodation, you don’t expect much from [...]

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After a Weekend in Austin: Hill Country

June 7, 2011
hill country horses

Days 5-7: Austin, TX to Van Horn, TX – 472 miles / 760 kms After travelling for a week and driving 1,800 miles or so, it was wonderful to wake up at our friends’ house, just outside of Austin.  We’ve known the Lipmans for over 10 years, but hadn’t seen them in almost 3 – [...]

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Finding Myself in Texas

May 27, 2011
ostentatious austin texas

Day 4: Shreveport, LA to Austin, TX – 360 miles / 580 kms What a grimly amusing surprise this morning – our car covered with the bugs from last night’s Mississippi River crossing! Poor little Vlad-the-Chevy-Impala – it can’t be pleasant having squished critters all over your face. Still, it’s a small price to pay [...]

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Crossing the Mississippi

May 23, 2011
Mississippi River at sunset

Road Trip Day 3: Trussville, AL to Shreveport, LA – 467 miles / 752 kms Another late start this morning, this time because I couldn’t resist Skyping my family – mum in southern Spain, dad in Los Angeles.  So far, my iMac is surviving its journey in the boot (trunk) of the car! That’s obviously [...]

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Heading South to Alabama

May 17, 2011
Banjo Shyhound

Road Trip Day 2: Lexington, VA to Trussville, AL – 550 miles / 885 kms After our first night on the road, Mr. Fizgig and I loaded up the car with all of our stuff.  (To see the full list, check out the post about leaving NYC.)  We joked that we’d have the packing down [...]

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To Virginia, via The Skyline Drive

March 29, 2011
Now I understand where the expression "Like a deer caught in the headlights" comes from!.

Day 1: Swedesboro, NJ to Lexington, VA – 345 miles / 555 kms It wasn’t until we reached our friends, Mr. & Mrs. Happy + their two little kids, in Swedesboro, NJ that Mr. Fizgig and I realised how tired we were from the move.  It seemed as though every time Happy Boy went down [...]

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Leaving New York: Brooklyn to NJ

March 28, 2011
clocktower

Odometer: 13,666 Road Trip Day 0: Brooklyn, NY to Swedesboro, NJ – 107 miles / 173 kms After a flurry of packing, Brooklyn Freecycling, cleaning, landlord negotiating, and two nights on two deflated air mattresses made only marginally more comfortable by the smelly old duvet taken from Shyhound’s dog bed, we were ready to set [...]

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