On the road, first three days

May 24

Day One of the journey to Mexico is over and other then an accident in the cage, all went well. After all the preparations, it almost felt like fleeing the state when we finally got up on the freeway heading east. Rocky and I are sad that we had to leave Milo behind but it's for the best and life goes on. We tried for months to talk him into coming with us but his stubborn fearfulness wouldn't lift and he ended up staying with our dear friend, Pam, in the old neighborhood. He will live a good life with her so we leave them and all of our friends in Boise with love and good wishes.

We got our first fill-up in Mountain Home and then had our tires checked one last time at Costco in Twin Falls, since we were driving right by. I spent a small fortune on my old car, whose name is Sybil, but she's as good as new now and fully ready for one last big-ass road trip ... the biggest EVER! She has just under 260K miles, we'll roll over before we hit the border. It's 2200 miles to our destination at Lake Chapala, 45 miles south of Guadalajara. The border is only halfway, we'll have 1100 miles to get used to driving in another country and I'm really not looking forward to it. But every mile we go gets us just that much closer to that which I fear the most and so on we go. I'm as prepared as I can possibly be and I have everything I need and a few things I love (Sybil the car and Rocky the cat).

 We're settled in at a crummy motel in Ely, NV but there were few options as this town is pretty bleak. I bought a Subway sandwich on the road and ate in the car. I hadn't counted on how I would get my meals but it turns out I can't leave Rocky in the car alone for more than a few minutes, I worry about him too much. We picked up an hour at the state line and we'll make good use of it for sleep tonight. Tomorrow we head for Kingman, AZ and hopefully a better motel.

All is well and we're on our way! Yaaaay!

May 25

Rocky loved the soft beds in Kingman!

Day Two is complete. We have a motel in Kingman, AZ, an upgrade from last night and the beds are very comfy. I haven't eaten all day and went looking for dinner a bit ago but I'm not hungry for some reason, nothing sounds good. I must be tired. Rocky has had a snack, a big drink of water and he took a pee in the box --- no accident in the cage today. I stopped and let him out onto my lap a few times today and that seems to calm him, he traveled great all afternoon. The last time we stopped, I had taken a wrong turn out of Las Vegas so I found the shady side of Kohl's so I could look at the map and when I opened the car door, a 20 dollar bill rolled by. I figure that makes me a winner in 
Las Vegas! 

 
Terrible windy all day. I hope it's better tomorrow. I've ended up getting a delicious salad to go at Denny's next door and brought it back to eat in our room so I don't have to leave Rocky alone. This room has two beds and is very nice if a little shabby in spots. The beds are a dream! So soft and comfy, what a treat after last night. We're making good time and beginning to settle into the routine of this trip. Rocky is not excited but he's doing OK. Tomorrow we head to Green Valley, AZ but not until Rocky pees. He's a little off his schedule so I have to figure out how to help. I have a shot glass and dropper that he likes to drink out of, I'll try getting enough water into him that way so I can keep him healthy while we travel.

May 26

Two nights getting salads to go at Denny'.

Day Three and we're holed up in Green Valley, AZ, preparing for the big adventure tomorrow at the border. We got in here around 4:30 this afternoon and Rocky still hasn't peed despite my best efforts to get water into him. This is not good. Also, I just called to tell my credit card people that I'll be using my card in Mexico for hotels for a while. Somehow I forgot to call before tonight. I have no idea how long it will take us to get going in the morning or how long it will take at the border and if I'll be able to find shade for Rocky while we go through the hoops. 

I have spent over an hour on the Internet getting reservations for each stop in Mexico. Finding pet-friendly places is hard and I have no idea what I'm heading into, so I decided to make three stops instead of two, not push us too hard. After all, it's our trip, we can do it however we want, right? So the first night will be in Hermosillo, the first city we come to after crossing the border. I've heard there are delays and construction and lots of pot holes and "topas", speed bumps, that can tear you up if you hit them too hard, so I'll have to be vigilant and ready for anything. The second night will be at Navajoa at a well-recommended place, the Del Rio, and the third night will be in Mazatlan at a fancy hotel right on the water. I just hope I can find all these places now that I've booked them!

Another salad to go from Denny's in the room with Rocky tonight and he's doing fine. I'm fussing over him a bit but he seems to need it and maybe so do I ... Amazing how comforting it is to have him with me, it feels like I'm not doing this alone, Rocky and I are in it together. I talk to him and let him out a few times a day to look around and then he willingly crawls right back into his cage and off we go again. 

So I'm sitting here at the gateway to the unknown after three full days on the road and almost 1100 miles. I'm as ready as I can be but I must admit that I'm a little terrified right now and I'm going to do it anyway. Just as soon as Rocky pees.