RV Travel Moments with Dogs #RecipeforMoments

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Growing up, we had always had dogs. Two German Shepherds. It was a way of life for us and I couldn't imagine life without my pets. Throughout the years, we have had our share of adopted dogs and cats, as well as puppies. When my husband and I decided to purchase an RV, it was for the sole purpose of being able to travel with our dogs! At the time, we had one large Newf/Lab mix named Zippo who we had adopted from our local shelter. We also had Chloe, our four year old Bichon Frise, who we had raised from a puppy of just ten weeks. LadyBug was also along for the ride as our newest family member and she was three at the time. She was a rescue from Delaware Valley Bichon Rescue in Pennsylvania. We knew that Zippo was getting up there in years...he was eight at the time. When looking for a puppy, we had decided on a smaller dog because it would be easier to travel and my husband had just retired, so we planned to do a fair amount of traveling! LadyBug was adopted as a sister for Chloe...in the event that something would happen to Zippo. Chloe was used to having her big brother around each and every single day 24/7. They never went anywhere without each other!!

As soon as we brought the RV home, all the dogs were excited to get in it and try it out! The first year we had it, we did a lot of crazy things...we took the RV out for pizza ... with the dogs of course!! We took it to our state parks. We just wanted to get a feel for how we liked it and how it drove before taking it on a long haul vacation!! Even if we were just taking it around the corner...to get gas or something, Chloe, LadyBug and Zippo would be the first ones waiting at the door!! They all had assigned seats so to speak and it began to feel like home.

Our first trip was down South and it is a long ride from New York to Florida...especially when driving only about five hours a day. We took our time and stopped along the way. I had planned every single stop down to the milemarker. It is not easy to pull in to a local drive through with a 32 foot vehicle!! The dogs took everything in stride and enjoyed each and every single mile just like we did!! I swear they were SMILING more each day. It was exciting for them (and us) to wake up and be in a totally different environment...new sights, new smells...new people!! They were experiencing things they had never experienced before!!

Their favorite part of the whole trip I think was that we were never separated from them. If we went for walks, they went with us! If we were just sitting outside at the picnic table overlooking the water, they were right there too. Chloe just loves ducks and spent a good part of her time wading up to her knees watching those ducks!  Chloe also discovered LIZARDS.  Teeny, tiny lizards that are faster than you can imagine!!  She got more exercise chasing those little buggers!!

A big highlight of the trip was the golf cart rental!! Who knew that something as simple as a golf cart would get these dogs so excited!! Zippo preferred to go with me by himself so he could sit up big and tall in the front seat. I NEVER saw him smile as much as he did in that cart!! People would wave...it was just a riot!! Of course, not to be outdone...Chloe and LadyBug donned their sun visors and rode along with me on the front seat too and they had just as many "fans" in the parks!!

We had so many special moments on that trip, too many for me to even mention! Talk about a human animal bond...we were all bonded with the special moments we shared together on that first of MANY trips to follow!! We came home from that first trip all feeling a little bit more bonded!!

We couldn't wait to go on the second trip that year...that trip was a long one too! The second trip was all the way out West to Wyoming and South Dakota. We spent time in Wisconsin and Iowa...and a great deal of time in Minneapolis visiting family. One of the most exciting things for Chloe was that she discovered that CATS were actually allowed to live INSIDE people's houses!! What a revelation that was for her!! Our neighbor's cats are always outside so when she walked into my daughter's house and saw a CAT sitting on the couch, she stopped and STARED!!  Pretty sure...she almost stopped breathing!!

Chloe, LadyBug and Zippo taught us so many special moments that we wanted to share with you specifically for this Nature's Recipe®  post. Go on over and check out the Scrapbook...and see some of our friend's special moments!!

This post is a part of the #RecipeForMoments blog hop hosted by BlogPaws. Link up below to share your story of the bond you and your pet share. What do you think your pet feels in your special moments? Five random U.S. winners who link up their blog post will win a Nature’s Recipe® lightweight collar camera to capture special moments from their pet’s point of view. See BlogPaws for official rules and details.