I decided to take a 17 stop RV road trip to see America again. I want to experience wtf is really happening out here with my own eyes. Are we all really this divided? How different is each area of the country I am traveling through? With each stop I have met new people, seen scary things, but most of all everyone I have met (so far) has treated me with kindness and a willingness to help me. Because I have no idea what I am doing in this RV.

My goal is to post at least 3 pics from my camera roll at each stop that express my experiences and feelings of that day. I also have to interact with other people at each stop. This one is a hard one for me.

I am traveling from Austin, across the Gulf Coast, up the East Coast, into New England and back.

Follow along if you want!To make this journey a bit more organized, I am going to provide clickable links to send you to the newest blog post as they are posted. A sort of Table of Contents to make it easier to navigate.

Rv Tour and Tips

This post is a bit overdue. I wanted to learn how to live in these quarters before I posted pics of it. To start out, I started setting aside things to bring about two weeks before leaving. You want to keep things simple and down to necessities when playing this kind of trip.

Our RV is a 25ft motorhome. We rented it from Cruise Across America. They have a rental spot on north I-35. I was able to book this unit with unlimited mileage during a special. Otherwise there is a whole charge per mile situation. The vehicle cab, and the living quarters are all attached. We did not bring any other form of transportation, so that left exploration of towns being as we arrived, or as we left. Like I had previously noted a lot of our stays are one night stays, with a few being two nights. In the mix we have one hotel stop, but all the rest are RV resorts.

RV Resorts range in price from low, like $50 to high $200 a night based on amenities. They also attach a “lock fee”. Basically they allow you to pick your spot at the resort BUT if you want to 100 percent secure that spot you need to pay a lock fee. This varied from $20 to $30. Sometimes I paid, sometimes I didn’t. Everything worked out both ways. Also, canceling your RV reservation, even with tons of notice, is hard. They somehow always find a way to keep most of your money.

Design: This RV has basically 3 sleeping areas of relative comfort. There is the over-the-cab sleeping area that you climb up into, the dinette fold-down, and the actual bed. I took the actual bed (with the 2 dogs and kitten), my brother slept in the over-the-cab quarters, and my husband slept on the fold-out dinette. I really liked that the back area near the bed had a curtain, so you can pull it for privacy or when you need to change or shower. When folded down, the dinette took away space to sit, but we really didn’t notice and it helped create a space for the dogs to sit when we were in motion. I brought all the bedding for everyone. You can rent it, but gross. So I made sure this was all as comfy as possible with my own bedding. I also brought some Thames “Frasier Fir” linen spray. This helps keep the place fresh. Also, you need to bring or buy a Dustbuster. This is absolutely key to your sanity to keep things clean. We also brought some rugs to use in the bathroom and in the RV. This is a nice touch to make it seem a little less gross when your feet hit the floor, especially getting out of the shower.

Supplies: I basically just made sure we had a trash can, trash bags, paper plates, utensils, and an air fryer! This is a small air fryer, so its impact on space wasn’t huge, but it allowed for some flexibility when cooking. The RV does have a stove and a microwave. For some reason, I just didn’t want to mess with the stove. I think it was because, at home, I am in charge of cleaning, and I just didn’t want to open that door on this trip. The microwave was used some, but more to hold things when we were in motion. Water! I packed lots of water. I also just brought a base of stuff so we could make something of nothing basically. Hot dogs, buns, ketchup. I planned this trip to the best of my ability, but I didn’t know any of the places. So a lot of times we were in the middle of nowhere, so being able to make something simple was great!

Bathroom: One thing I felt was essential was a “shower bag.” I bought two of these, and they come with hooks to hang in the closet, but you can also hang them in most shower rooms. I made sure to keep all my shampoo stuff, razor, deodorant, face scrubs, and toothbrush in there. Anything I needed to get ready was all in one place. I also brought our own towels and kept those stored in a cabinet. There needed to be plenty so we could use them at the pool or in the shower. I just bought a couple of packs of beach towels. That way I knew they were big enough for any shaped body. The RV has a medicine cabinet and small sink outside the bathroom door, which was awesome for toothpaste, meds, Qtips, etc. We use the RV resort facilities for pooping since it is such a small RV, and also because draining all the wastewater is so gross. It really is. There is no way around it. You need gloves because the stuff is in a long tube, and when you store it, it can leak water on you. We started just storing ours in a box, so we didn’t have to fight getting it back into its weird storage hole. This brings me to laundry. This is tough. Mostly all (except 2) function on coin operated machines. I asked my husband to go to the bank and get some rolls of quarters but he didn’t. So we found ourselves needing cash, to get coins. It is very annoying. I know it can be different because one place had an app where you could add funds, another did Venmo, but asking $3.75 to wash and $3.75 to dry without having a way for anyone to get coins is a lot.

Pet Supplies: I brought one bag of essential pet supplies. I just put it all in a large cooler bag, and that took up a lot of space on the counter. This carried their wet food, treats, bowls, etc. I brought a smaller bag of dry food and was able to store that in one of the cabinets. I knew I was getting a kitten prior and packed some supplies, which I kept in the under-RV storage. Speaking of under-RV storage, there is a lot! So you can pack chairs, a grill, or whatever extra stuff you may need. One last tip: Talk to your vet about getting some diarrhea antibiotics so you can take them on the trip for your dogs. Their stomachs get upset with change too. It doesn’t mean they are sick, but even when we are having the most fun, the change can be enough to wreck our guts. So this was a lifesaver for our journey. Hint hint… this is also a lifesaver when boarding your dogs. I also packed it for the rest of my crew who are boarding at BHV.

Back to the Top

Road Trip 2025

The Start

When we travel through our lives, we go through so many phases. I am about to have a BIG birthday, and I felt a huge shift in my priorities. I kept thinking back on my life at things I missed out on. I have worked at BHV for 25 years. I have only owned BHV for 5 years. I ran the south store as the only manager of 15 staff members for 20 years. BHV, at a capacity level, can have up to 70 dogs, sometimes more if there are a lot of families. As you can imagine, that didn’t leave me much time for myself. At the time, this didn’t matter much to me because I love what I do so much. The staff members, the dogs, the clients—all of it, good and bad. I felt like I belonged; I felt like all of the clients knew how much I loved their dogs, and that alone gave me value. What gave me the most value was the connection I felt to so many of the dogs I have cared for. For the most part, people have been so kind to me.

So that preface brings me here.  My time.  MY time. I needed to own it again and bring it back to myself.  I haven’t had much of it.  I have spent my life taking care things for a lot of people and pets, but I have put off living my life a bit.  SO I got it in my head I wanted to do an RV trip.  I have never driven an RV, slept in an RV, or lived in an RV. On this trip I would bring one of my youngest dogs(Mooshu), and my oldest dog (Lanna B).  Mooshu is very hesitant, he really hasn’t had to be on his own because he always has a leader in my dog ZuZu to tell him what to do.  Lanna B is an old pro at 16.  I have only had her 7 of those 16 years, but she is my constant companion and she has been around the block. 

Now, for me to take this time, which has turned out to be 3 weeks, I have had to massively organize my life.  I have to organize my other 5 dogs and 3 cats, and well.. a bunch of other critters.  Next, I had to organize schedules for two stores and about 25 employees.  Along with keeping up with their day to day at both BHVs to make sure to mitigate any issues they may be having. Finally, I organized a 17 stop RV trip that spans across the Gulf coast, up the East coast, and all the way to Maine and back.  This also includes 15 Rv Resort reservations and 2 hotel reservations. My goal is to update this blog almost daily and include three pics of each stop that sum up my day that day.  Sum up how I felt, and sum up the locations we are visiting.  If you are interested, follow along!

Back to the Top

We’ve Got to Pray Just to Make it

Holly Beach.. Cameron, LA First Day Sept 19, 2025

This was the first day of our trip. My brother flew in from Houston, and we packed up and headed out. Now, I am super excited at this point. I love planning. I have had everything ready and set out for the last two weeks. We made it out of Austin, stopped in Bastrop to raid my parents’ house, and then headed towards Houston. As we headed out of Houston, somewhere between Baytown and Beaumont, we stopped at a BBQ place right off of I-10. It looked like it had once been a gas station, and it was questionable if they even served food. I scoped it out and used the restrooms, and there was BBQ. So my brother stayed in the RV to get some work done, and I headed back inside for some food. The owner was super nice, gave me some free desserts, and even came out to the RV to give us some samples. We got to talking; he told me about his past drug issues with the drug that starts with C. It was interesting because it wasn’t the drug I was thinking of for him. He continued on about his issues in his early 20s, and now he has found God. I told him I was on a 17-stop road trip and that our first stop was Holly Beach. It was clear at this point that we both had different goals as to where this conversation was heading. So he continued to chat with me for about 15 minutes, and then I was able to bring the food out to the RV. As I am telling my brother all of this, my brother alerts me to someone walking up to the RV. The guy knocks and says, “Veronica, can I pray for you?” I’m like, “What does that entail?” So he has me come out of the RV, holds my hands, bows his head, and begins to pray for me. Basically, he hopes I find what I am looking for. It was odd. But I think he felt good about it. I am still confused about how he is comparing his past drug problem to me, and why his conclusion was I needed to find myself. But regardless, we pressed on. I didn’t have the heart to correct him and let him know that my name is Vanessa. But for all the Veronicas out there, a little prayer was made in your honor.

We made it to Holly Beach, which is remote but very near.. well, the beach.  There are maybe 5 RV spots here. The people next to us are from Louisiana and really had no problem giving me a gasket so that the my water line would stop spraying all over the place.  Amateur move by me. But so nice of them to come prepared for me. I walked the beach, got eaten by mosquitoes, and realized I forgot to buy toilet paper.  We made hot dogs, french fries, and watched a movie. Tomorrow we head to Biloxi and to buy toilet paper.  These are my 3 pics for today! Lanna’s eyebrows are amazing.  Mooshu is still trying to understand what is going on, and a shrimp boat was out in the water. Side Note.. I woke up this morning reading about a flesh eating bacteria that people are dying from in Louisiana.  They are contracting it from tainted seafood and salt water.  I guess I need to tell my brother since he walked in the ocean yesterday.

Back to the Top

Biloxi, Mississippi

(Stop 2) Sunday 9/21/25

Hooray! Biloxi! I spent all that time learning how to spell Mississippi and now it is actually coming in handy. We arrived around 3 pm and I quickly took advantage of being in civilization again. I took a shower, I bought some much needed toilet paper, this RV place has ice, and we are right next to a Waffle House. Since we had already spent one night in the RV, I realized it is super hard to keep it clean with a furry dog. SO I was able to get an Instacart order from Target complete with a dust buster and fruity pebbles. I then took a Lyft to Beau Rivage casino. I had never been to this casino before. It was pretty insane there. I didn’t hear much winning, but I saw the desperation in people’s faces trying to win. I played a Jumanji giant 3 seater machine.. no luck.. and then caught a Lyft back to the RV for some much needed Popeye’s chicken strips. There was some sort of gathering at the beach that I saw on my way to the casino. Lots of red shirts and red hats. The driver said they had been there all day. Not sure what was going on, but I decided to just keep swimming. I couldn’t choose just 3 pics today. I woke up at 6:30 am and took the dogs across the street to the beach. The beach here is like Galveston. It has a seawall type situation. It was early enough that just us and a guy with his puppet were on the beach. The gentleman first took his puppet down by the water for a little walkie poo, and then politely helped his puppet up the stairs. Mooshu kept an eye on him. I did too:)

Back to the Top

Eastpoint, Fla.

(Stop 3) Monday 9/22/25

Well, I have to say, the Vanessa that planned this trip should have sent a notice to the Vanessa who is on this trip. I have no idea where I am. I am not sure why I booked this place either. It is great; it is just a little bit out of the way for where we end up tomorrow. So tomorrow is like a 6-hour drive, where up to now, everything has been in the 4-hour range. I gloated about that a lot to my brother, but it backfires tomorrow. So we are here in Eastpoint, along with probably 4 other people. I did take the opportunity to shower again today. For some reason, I feel like this luxury could be taken away from me at any point, so I take it when I can get it. I am also judging RV RESORTS (big difference from RV parks) by their bathroom facilities. This one boasted a “Bath House (that) has a premium shower facility that surpasses your traditional campground bathhouse.” I was so excited for this that I moved our space front and center. So under inspection, I do like that they have rooms with a shower, toilet, and sink where you can lock the door. BUT I do feel the communal sharing of a shower that only gets cleaned daily isn’t the right fit for me. I feel like I am constantly scanning for… well… random hairs. I said it. However, so far, this is the best shower facility. I only have one other to compare it to though. Moving on!

Again, I have 4 pictures. I couldn’t decide on just 3. Mooshu decided to take the wheel for a change. The pelicans were really on point today. Lanna sits in her little car seat in a chair behind me. Finally, I took a pic of our view from our RV spot. Tomorrow we head to Hilton Head. I cannot wait to see their bathrooms! < I didn’t move on, I am obsessed.

Back to the Top

Hilton Head, South Carolina

(Stop 4) Tuesday 9/23

This was a very long drive. 6 hours from our last location to this location. Right away, I was hit with how bougie this place is. The Vanessa who planned this part of the trip planned a super fancy RV Resort. I had no idea. We pull up and check in. We are given cards on lanyards to open all the doors, etc. in the clubhouse. We are escorted to our spot by a “valet.” This is fancy speak for a guy driving a golf cart. Immediately, I run over to check out the shower accommodations. These are the best ones by far. I am including a pic of these bad boys. The best washers and dryers too. They actually take credit cards instead of me digging around for quarters like an animal. My goal of talking to new people was a bit more difficult. Typically, all the people around us sort of go out of their way to say something. Not here. I watched a couple eat at their outdoor table, and they didn’t even speak to one another. I even walked by multiple people and expected them to say something…but nada. It even felt weird for me to say something to them, so we just passed by one another.

We have decided that we are going to watch movies that were filmed or based on places we are going. Tonight it was Forces of Nature with Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock. I pulled that one out of the long-forgotten movies of the 90s. I also experimented with the air fryer. I had never used one. I made some Totino’s pizza rolls with a mayonnaise dipping sauce. When I say sauce, I mean just mayo. Sorry. I am very disgusting. I was a bit confused about how to get out of this compound, so I just made do with junk food.

The biggest part of the day was me draining the RV for the first time. There is no pooping allowed, so none of that. But I got confused about which hole the tube went in (first time for everything). I forced it onto this one hole I found, released the pull thing, and it started spilling out of the correct hole. So to open the correct hole, I had to get wet. I was disgusted and had to fully sanitize. I am happy to report that everything from here on out will be drained properly, and no one saw the small amount of pee water that hit the ground.

For my pics today, I am including the copperhead my brother saw when he was going to the clubhouse to drop the kids off at the pool. Glad I was walking around without shoes earlier. Dumb.

Another final thing I wanted to add is that for this first week of traveling, we are only spending one night at each location. So that means 7 locations. By the time I reach Pennsylvania (which is 4 stops from now) that will be the first time I get to spend 2 nights at one place. My brother will fly home and then my husband will fly out to come along for the last two weeks. I also have a big surprise happening on Sunday. NO NO I can’t tell you now. But it is huge. Well, not physically huge.. Just exciting.

Back to Top

Bolivia, North Carolina

(Stop 5) Wednesday 9/24

Today we packed up and headed into North Carolina. This area is a bit more inland and about 18 miles from Cape Fear. Which, you guessed it, was our movie tonight! Robert De Niro, am I right? What a creep.

This RV spot was much smaller than the last location and allowed me to test my theory. Are bougie RV resort people less inclined to speak to you than mid-tier RV resorts? The answer is yes. This is because everyone here, when they found out where I had just come from, explained to me how much better than me the other RV resort people felt they were. This is because of the size of their rigs, they explained. They are much more likely to be millionaires, and when I rolled up in my little tiny RV, they realized I was most likely not like them. They told me the price level per night in which I should keep it to be both comfortable and around friendly people. It is $70. I am sharing all of the knowledge I am learning from the RV folks so you will not make the same mistake as me. I honestly didn’t care if anyone spoke to me; it was just a huge shift from everyone speaking to no speaking. I still loved their showers and free snacks.

I did a ton in my short time here, which I did notice was a lot different than yesterday. Planner Vanessa gave today’s Vanessa a bit of a gift. She ordered firewood for this location. I must have thought by this time I would be cold. But the truth is, it is warm AF. Warm enough for me to just dip a toe into the pool on my first approach, but after gathering pine cones and building a nice little stack for a fire, I marched back over to that pool and jumped into the deep end. All of the people cheered me on, actually, so I had to be brave. I didn’t pack a bathing suit, so I had to make due with a shirt and shorts.

A first for me today is I decided to shower IN the RV. I am including with this post the RV resort’s shower and the shower/bathroom in this RV. I think this is my first and last time doing this. I wanted to give it a try, but man, was it uncomfortable. If your “rig” (see I am picking up the lingo) isn’t level, all the water pools in one area, and you can’t get it to drain correctly. I will also include a quick pic of the setup inside. It isn’t much at all.

Tomorrow I am hitting a grocery store for some real food. We are also heading to the Outer Banks. I was told we are at the start of the Outer Banks now. But tomorrow we are going to Rodanthe.

P.S. I almost forgot. I made and lit that fire! No lighter fluid or anything. Just pine cones, paper, and wood. I can’t believe it burned. It began to smoke pretty heavily in the RV resort, but I had accomplished my goal of my first fire.

Back to the Top

Rodanthe, NC (Outer Banks)

(Stop 6) Thursday 9/26

Today’s stop is a mixed bag. The drive out was so amazing. I think some of the best scenery we have seen so far. The RV spot is a bit overwhelming. There are so many people and we are all packed in like sardines. There are all types of people here too. There are RV’s that clearly live her full time, there are people with dogs who have no control over them, there are older people. people fishing, people partying, and families. We have the whole enchilada. I have to say my first few stops were relatively small amounts of people and I got spoiled. This is definitely a packed house.

I was able to get some groceries today and I am learning how to cook basically anything in that air fryer. Today I even cooked a ground beef concoction my mother used to make me when I was small. She called it Traveler’s Delight. I always imagined she called it that because that is what people who were vagabonds made for themselves as an easy meal. It is ground meat, vegetable soup, and baked beans all mixed together. A lot of times my mom did a layer of mashed potatoes on top, but since I didn’t have that, I did hash browns. I mean. My mom was a lot of things, but a chef was not one of them. Regardless, my brother ate it like it was his last meal. I’ll attach a pic below so you can all marvel at my creation.

Since I did not see showers on my side of the park, I showered again in the RV. It was better this time and the RV is a bit more level so the water drained properly. Tonight the movie of the night was Nights in Rodanthe. You remember right? The captivating movie with Richard Gere and Diane Lane? Yeah. I didn’t think so. Me neither. Snooze thirty on that movie.

Mooshu and I took a stroll on the beach, and let me tell you, those waves were no joke. There was this little girl out there running in and out of the water. I just kept thinking to myself, would I be able to save her if a wave took her? Luckily she stopped going in the water and decided on a safe game of sitting in the sand. On our way back up, there was a lady with her amazingly cute puppy blocking the entire walkway. Mooshu has been known to wipe the floor with amazingly cute puppies. I asked her if she could give us some room, but she told me how friendly her dog was. I’m like, yeah, I am not worried about your dog here lady. But, amazingly, Moosh walked by with only a low growl. As we were walking back to our RV, I heard a bunch of dogs barking from inside an RV. Or I thought they were inside the RV. I was telling Mooshu he was so good for not reacting, and two massive German Shepards came running at us. Mooshu ran to my other side, and the dogs were stopped by the end of their leashes with a loud choking thud. I always love how in those situations the owners act like this is the first time this has ever happened. I might have remarked quietly to get it the F together. I said it very nicely. These type of incidents are so scary. Mooshu would put up a good fight, but not against those two kids. Also, it sucks because Mooshu is out of his element and trying to be such a good boy. When he doesn’t feel safe, it really sets him back.

Tomorrow.. Virginia!

Back to the Top

Cape Charles, Virginia (Chesapeake Bay)

(Stop 7 ) Friday 9/27

Today’s stop is in Virginia on Chesapeake Bay. I have never been to Virginia, but this state is for lovers. I was a bit confused by the sign because the word LOVERS uses a heart shape for the V. I thought this state was for LOSERS. I stand corrected. The drive here was amazing. We had to pay a $23 toll, but we both agreed that the price was worth it. Miles and miles of bridges and tunnels while surrounded by water. Cargo ships were going in and out. Absolutely amazing. Best stretch of road so far. I actually stop back in Virginia on my way down, but that stop is going to be a surprise! Since I mentioned Virginia’s tagline, I forgot to mention another tagline that I found absolutely dumb and confusing. When I was younger, I lived in Florida with my dad. We moved there when I was in elementary school from Dallas. Daytona Beach to be exact. My father was trying to find his youth I guess. Anyway, Florida was always always always The Sunshine State. Well, that has been changed and thousands and thousands of dollars went to make new signs. Florida signs now say Welcome to the Free State of Florida. I guess Desantis adopted this to counteract Biden’s woke ideologies with his own woke ideologies. Fun fact he used this phrase at his failed bid for president. Another fun fact, right now you can purchase guns tax free until the end of the year in Florida. Because guns make wonderful stocking stuffers and you can never have enough of them. I honestly thought this was sort of funny, because when I heard about this, I thought the person was going to say school supplies are tax free. I stand mistaken.

I was a bit hesitant because last night we stayed at a KOA, and I just wasn’t impressed. It threw me into a panic of trying to find another place because today we were to stay in a KOA too. I couldn’t find anything and just kept my reservation. I am glad I did. There is a ton of space here, not a lot of people, and the amenities are much better. I am close to laundry, so I did all of it. I am close to the pool, so I swam again. I met some people from Canada in the pool, and we talked for a long time. They were mainly curious about what is going on in America, and we all felt like we needed to huddle for our conversation. They were genuinely curious and almost didn’t come to America for their trip because of everything that is going on with Canada and the U.S. They said a lot of Canadians have stopped coming here. This conversation has been the only conversation like this on my trip. Like I said, I am trying to talk to new people on each spot (which doesn’t mean I run up to them to get to talking) it has to come naturally. Being from Texas alone gets a lot of questions. Anyway, they are driving back tomorrow. I told them if they can’t get back into their country, they can look me up in Austin. We laughed, and then some kids cannonballed on us, so we departed. That was fine anyway because some rain clouds were rolling in at that point. It wasn’t fine for this older couple who were staring at the kids with disdain. I passed the couple and told them the kids were looking for two more people for Marco Polo. They snapped out of contorted face mode and laughed.

My brother was working a lot today, so I hit the restaurant, ate a hot dog, and got more quarters for the laundry machines. It is absolute BS to ask for $2.75 per machine and NOT have a change machine. You become like an animal digging around all over the place, and ultimately, you always fall short. Since my brother was busy working, I opened his wallet and took 2 dollars. He came screaming at me later, “I want my two dollars!” If you don’t get this reference, count your lucky stars. You are still young! Laundry is done, folded, and I feel like all is right with the world.

Tomorrow is a very long drive to Pennsylvania, where I will finally get to spend two nights. HOWEVER, for one of those nights, this tiny RV is going to house two dogs, me, and two very large guys. One of them has not spent a night in the RV, so there will be a learning curve for him.

Tomorrow… Dover, Pennsylvania!

Back to the Top

Dover, PA

(Stop 8) Sunday 9/28

Well, a lot has changed. I got two days in one place! My brother flew back home, and my husband flew out to finish this trip. I wish the place had been better, though. I got sucked into the fact that they had bunnies hopping around and you can feed them. I didn’t realize a lot of things. This was a HUGE family-friendly RV park, which isn’t bad, but that is sort of its main gig. So A LOT of kids. Another thing is it is religious-based. As a traveler, I sort of just want to see the sights and leave everything else behind. Businesses have their prerogatives when running their operations, and I commend them for sticking to their beliefs, but after being in a lot of RV parks, I have learned some have put basic rules out to be followed for a reason. People genuinely do not respect one another these days. A different point of view, or different perspective being tossed out there is just enough to cause issues. One of them even banned all flags besides American flags and sports teams. I can see why; it can really alienate people right now. RV resorts are a small community for however long you stay in one, and it is off-putting to see someone go overboard with their flags politically. Unfortunately, this park had no one working at it. It was run by some children, and they basically worked in the ice cream area. So there was no regulation in this place and it came with two more German Shepherd dogs being tied up outside. Terrible.

That brings me to the showers. SOOOO BAD! I didn’t even take a pic because of how low I had stooped in regard to what I was willing to shower in. Black mildew in the corners… Like, get a magic eraser and some bleach. The worst part, though, is that you press a button and the water comes out for 10 seconds and shuts off. No time to do anything, and no time to get warm. ON top of being packed in that place, it was a no-go for me… That was a real bummer and waste of a stop.

HOWEVER, that all changed when I got to see my friend David. He lives in the area and he loves Pekingese just as much as I do. Fun fact, he will be the Best in Show judge next year at Westminster. He has won two times with his Pekingese, Wasabi, and his Pekingese, Malakai. It was awesome catching up with him and having some tea. YES, tea! He also gave me a couple of Best in Show ribbons. His whole house is filled with Pekingese stuff. I was in heaven playing with all of his dogs. Wasabi too! I am including a link of him in all of his glory HERE.

Last but not least. I picked up a kitten in PA! She is making the trip back down with us and is a tiny amazing little girl. She is so cute. Any ideas for some names?

Up next… The Finger Lakes

Back to the Top

Hector, NY (Seneca Lake)

(Stop 9) Tuesday 9/30

The drive into the Seneca Lake area was so amazing. We were excited to get to this stop to enjoy these views with some wine. We arrived at this RV park with big expectations. We were a bit underwhelmed by our last spot, and this one seemed amazing. It boasted two wineries within walking distance along with a market. We showed up, and the front desk let me know that the poop tube we had didn’t have the correct end piece that I needed to dump waste. We don’t poop in this RV, but, like, you still need to be able to hook up for all the rest. We were in luck though—wouldn’t you know it? They sold the contraption I needed. So I bought it, and immediately it was so difficult to install. We were standing there like idiots trying to get the tube over this contraption, getting super frustrated with one another; I was seriously super annoyed. Nothing about this park’s dump area looked any different, but he assured me it would splash all over me. Super. I looked on YouTube, and they basically told me to soak the tube in hot water to make it more pliable so I could get the tube over the contraption. OK. I feel like this is sort of “need to know” information, right? I got this all done while my husband walked the long distance back to the office.

The website is also a bit misleading. There are no lake views, but the website sure does look like there are. It must be a very high drone shot because all I saw was the gas station. The good part about this stop was the weather was a bit cooler. We were able to have a fire in the fire pit. That was great. All of the places I had stopped by while heading north had been pretty warm. This one we were able to light a fire and chill. The laundry facility was all the way back at the office, which was a bit strange since it could have been right in the location of everything else. But regardless, laundry was done. I had never done so much laundry or wanted to shower so much in my life. Part of it is the drive and then wanting to go to bed clean, too. So a lot of times, I shower twice. RV life, especially in these close quarters with animals, requires cleaning ALL of the time.

On our off day, we decided to walk up to one of the wineries. They cut a little path for you so you can hike right up to the place. My husband did a little wine tasting, and my stomach was hurting… SO FUN… so I drank some water. We met a couple from Maryland and their dog Gidget. We spoke at length about her love for QVC, when I decided I needed to bail because something was not right. Traveling really can mess with your insides. So I have learned.

We later made some Totino’s pizza rolls (I was suddenly hungry) and watched the new Fantastic Four movie. When I woke up from that movie, I decided to watch a film that was shot around the area where we were. Paul was watching Snake Eyes (if you know, you know), and I watched The Place Beyond the Pines. It had been a while, so it was nice to crawl in bed and watch this. He decided to purchase his own TV for this trip and put it outside along with his Keurig and mini grill. This trip took on a lot more baggage when he arrived.

Next stop… Vermont!

Go to the Top

South Hero, VT (Lake Champlain)

(Stop 10) Thursday 10/02

This stop was so amazing. Vermont apparently hasn’t had much rain, but it is still so green and lush. So many different fruit trees and flowers we just don’t see in Texas. I finally got the weather I was chasing too. So we definitely had a fire outside and even grilled some steaks! Real food! This is a first for me on this trip. I don’t know why, but I have wanted to see if I could cook everything in an air fryer. It is like I decided on the most idiotic challenge for myself, accepted the challenge, and then made everything under the sun in it. We have cookies, biscuits, pork steak, twice-baked potatoes, pizza rolls, and fries to name a few.

The views here were stunning, and we were parked one row behind the big mama Jamba RVs. I am not too, but they take up the first row with about six of them. I can only assume they must be more long-term? Anyway, we didn’t have anyone next to us. We went to the pool, which was heated, but my husband decided it was too cold for him. I did remind him I had been swimming in much cooler pools on this trip and tried to convince him to jump in, but I was denied. We did hit the hot tub, which was pretty great and my first on this trip.

Later on, we did some hiking with Mooshu and Lanna. I mean, for 16 years old, I have to say, Lanna kept up the pace. I tried to be helpful and carry her, but she fought me. I always just let her take her time because she is my life. I love watching her poke around and then run up to me like she almost lost me. I never leave her too far behind, and I always let her wander. I am enjoying my years with her and, like all of you, love her more than my husband. Well… I will let you decide if that is true… Hint, it is 🙂

We do need to make a side stop on our trip to our new location. We have been having some tire issues with one of the back tires. I have been told maybe it is a slow leak? So we have to find a place that can fill it… again. This has already happened one time. It is the interior tire on the back. The back tires have two tires side by side. This is probably called something, but I have no idea what it is. Next, we need to take this kitten to a vet to get her checked out. I just want to make sure she is all clear and healthy before I get her home to my other kittens.

I got a lot of good pics on this leg. Oh and I almost forgot, my movie on this leg was…. What Lies Beneath.. it was filmed in Vermont. Harrison Ford, such a doucher in that movie.

Next stop…. MAINE!!

Back to the Top

Belfast, ME

(Stop 11) Saturday 10/04

Welcome to Maine. What can I say? WOW… Like, seriously, holy shit. Everyone keeps telling me it is unseasonably warm, blah blah blah, but why doesn’t everyone live in Maine? I left Vermont seriously thinking, how can I live here? I will live in an RV on the lake; I do not care. Arriving in Maine gave me the same feels. The drive in takes you through stunning foliage, lakes, and numerous small towns to explore. Everyone is so nice. EVERYONE. Our RV spot was so amazing too, right on the water. Our very first stop as we approached Belfast was… A LOBSTER ROLL!

For this stop, our RV spot was the best. I planned this months ago, so every single stop and RV spot is a surprise at this point. This was the very first place that we moved everything around to stay 3 nights. Just look at the pics below. We also stopped at two lobster roll places. One place literally was on the water and was actively bringing in their catch of the day. Honestly, I think there was lobster poop in mine; I thought it was parsley at first, but I couldn’t get it out of my head. It was in all of the lobster pieces on a toasted bun. I ate most of it, but I got so full of poop… Just kidding. I got full (not really). I forgot to take a pic of this roll, but my favorite roll was the one above. The setting of the poopy lobster location was the best, though. I just cannot believe people look at this every day.

My goal was to sort of assess what I am seeing and hearing politically every day in Texas and apply it to real-world experience as I travel through these different states. How does it apply? How does it change? Does it change? Are we as a people going to be okay? As I am starting to head back down south (tomorrow), I know I have learned a lot. The biggest thing that we have commented on is that we will see something on the news that seems huge. Like… WTF is happening now huge… But this isn’t translating into people’s real worlds. People are still out there being kind, helpful, showing love, etc. BUT we still have those assholes too. In my assessment, when those people arrive, everyone knows it. AND these people have ALWAYS been around. Right now in our country, we are all scared. Some people see themselves as winners by being extra loud and buying all the flags and making sure everyone knows they are there. This is something I am very used to in Texas. On this trip, in Maine, I saw a different type of sign. A first for me. I initially had my thoughts of what this flag-posting person was about, but as we approached, it was different. Regardless, being true to who we are and figuring out how we can make things better, how we can be kinder, speaks volumes. Everyone I have spoken to (and it is hard for me to speak to people in a social setting) has been so nice and welcoming. Take this how you will. I do not think things have changed, and there is a lot of information thrown at us all the time, and maybe the sky IS really falling. I only have one life to live; I know how I want to live, and I cannot waste it on the BS anymore. I know what is right and wrong, and that is how we all should be living. Not by some bullshit a politician tells us we should be afraid of or what we should be believing. Not the fear-mongering. But our lives are ours. That cannot be taken from us unless we let them. Please live. And please, do not let me forget how to live ever again. Here is the flag I saw here. It was one house, but I have never seen anything like this before. This showed a big shift from the conservative Texas, to the more liberal north. ALSO a peek at how kitten life on the road has gotten and how we feed both dogs and kittens together. DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER, MASS HYSTERIA. If you know where that quote is from, we can be friends.

OH! People have been asking me what I named the kitten. After much deliberation, and so many names we have named her Newt. Newty Tutti Fresh and Fruity.. Or what Paul calls here when she poops, Newty Tutti Smelly Pootie, or Fig Newton. BUT I got this name from my favorite movie. “Newt, my name is Newt. Nobody calls me Rebecca, except my brother.” What movie is this??

Speaking of movie, the movie we watched that was filmed in Maine and even in the Belfast area was THINNER. Nothing like a little Stephen King in Maine! A must!

Go to the Top

Lake George, New York

(Stop 12) Monday 10/06-My 17th Day

Miss me? I was going to skip this post and combine it with the next stop because, as it turns out, it is tough to get out of Maine. It is really far up there. So we basically had to backtrack to start going south. Today is my 17th day in an RV. No hotel stops. This stop was supposed to be a hotel stop, but at the last minute, I changed it. This RV “campground” looked incredible on the website. The reviews were good too. Man, was I wrong. There were a lot of full-timers there. All of their stuff was there too, sort of strewn about. This place was heavily dense with trees. When it got dark, it got scary. Like… I couldn’t remember if lumps of stuff were just stuff or dead bodies. It probably didn’t help that I started watching Ed Gein on Netflix. After the first 5 minutes, I didn’t want to go outside again. After I took Lanna for her final tinkle, I begged her not to wake me up. Luckily, she didn’t.

Like any scary movie, there is always one idiot that goes off and gets themselves killed fairly early on. What happens next is people start to look for their lost person. Well, the only light that was available was a bright ass Coke machine by the fort like restrooms. It was calling to me. I never wanted a Coke so bad in my life. Luckily I came to my senses and realized.. I am not going to fall for it. I go over, get a Coke, enjoy the shit out of it and then I get kidnapped and tortured. I knew it would take forever for anyone to come looking for me because it would take my husband forever to even notice I was gone, so I did what anyone normal person would do. I settled in and watched Love is Blind, sang a song in my head, and finally fell asleep. This location was off of Bloody Pond Rd. What should I expect with a name like that? Oh, and the Coke machine was out of order I just found out. Definitely a trap of death.

This was the only stop I heard my husband say he was happy our dog Mooshu was with us. Great.

Back to the Top

Shippenville, Pennsylvania

(Stop 13) Tuesday 10/07

For this stop, we were a little exhausted. Since we are back to one-stop shops at RV spots (see what I did there), I am back to getting a shower and doing laundry. This RV stop was decent enough. We had a lot of space around us, which allowed us to spread out a bit more. We were able to let the dogs out to run around and stretch their legs a bit without a lot of people around. I did some laundry, which ate up all of my quarters, which was fantastic. When leaving to head to our new destination, I began to itch. First on my arm, and then I could feel it starting to spread on my stomach and legs. Luckily, I packed Benadryl for the dogs, so I slammed a couple of those. Right away, I was exhausted. The trip to the next stop was about a 6-hour drive, which is really pushing the limits of RV life. I slept a lot of the time, which was the first time I had slept while traveling from spot to spot the entire trip. Needless to say, since we are heading back home now, the stops were more strategic than they were engaging 🙂

Next Stop…Virginia!

Back to the Top

Pembroke, Virginia

(Stop 14) Thursday 10/9

This would be my first and only hotel experience while on this trip. The shower in the RV was better and actually found myself missing the RV a bit. I spent two nights here and we leave tomorrow to head to another RV stop. So I am publishing this a bit earlier. Also, above is from my last stop. It wasn’t anything special so I just added to this one.. which is way more special.

Here we are in Pembroke, Virginia OR Mountain Lake Lodge OR the place where they filmed Dirty Dancing! I am sure you remember a silly little movie about a 25 year old who gets involved with a 17 year old and they dance their way into a happy relationship that I am sure lasted FOREVER and made fathers across the world jump for joy. If you don’t remember this movie, again, you are young. Be grateful. Our first memory of this place will always be that we were idiots and thought we could fit under the stone archway. We scraped under and backed out scraping again. Shocking right? What I was really shocked about, but not really, was this hotel hasn’t changed anything since 1986. If they hadn’t filmed that movie here, it would have been closed a long time ago. We rented one of their cabins away from the lodge because Lanna howls when I am not around, and I thought she could potentially disturb someone. After arriving and looking around a bit, I realized, the only people she could bother are the ghosts of Dirty Dancing’s past. For real though.

The word on the streets of this lodge is that Patrick Swayze stayed in room 232? I think? I can’t remember. But they literally sell keychains that look like hotel keys just in case you care about this room enough to purchase a memento. Oh, and people would steal the shower curtain a lot if they stayed in that room just to be closer to him. I told you nothing has changed here since 1986. I will include the link HERE to many DD items in case you need some holiday gift ideas 🙂 You are welcome! Mementos galore. I know because the employee at the store told me I was his best customer all day. I will never be in need of a Dirty Dancing shirt, sweatshirt, mug, another t-shirt, and another t-shirt. Oh, and some for my friends.

Now, this property hasn’t changed a lot since 1986. All except for one very important part of the name of this hotel: the lake! Apparently, that famous lake, where they practice their famous lift, is some sort of geological blah blah blah, on a fault, blah blah blah. Anyway, it dried up. No more lake. Like, at all. So when I show you the pics below, just picture a lake there. They said it came back in 2000 or something and left again. So this is more like Mountain Lodge…the lake has vanished. They did find a dead body in there though. He had been in there for a very long time. I am not sure why they include that on the signage, but now you know and don’t care even more.

I sort of love that they have a scavenger hunt that is self-guided if you want to do it. We sort of did it and would have been successful if Paul had done the bunny hop and then been my “Baby” as we attempted the lift. He was not up for it, so we failed. Paul tried the hot tub, pool, and smaller pool combo while Lanna and I trailed along and saved a frog from the pool. Other than that, there isn’t much to do here. You are way TF up in the mountains, so your whole life revolves around this place. Being that the Wi-Fi is also stuck in 1986, you almost find yourself doing the cha-cha in the gazebo. I’m just saying. We did show our little travel family the famous movie Dirty Dancing, and as you can see below, they loved it.

Next Stop… Tennessee.. So close to being home. Only 3 more stops!

Go to the Top

Bon Aqua, Tennesse

(Stop 15) Friday 10/10

Here we are in the final stretch of this trip. Now we are just hitting RV spots to rest, basically. The drive was SOOOO FARRRR from Virginia. You would think I drove; I was so tired. I was very excited for the spot by the river; it was going to be great.

What I have noticed with a lot of parks is that some people live there long term. Nothing wrong with that, but they start to take liberties the longer they live there. You can always spot them because they put up fences, have tons of junk outside, and have a lot of plants for some reason. We pulled up to this cool spot by the river, and immediately were greeted with huge groups of kids next to us, a few dogs, a few people… I don’t know. It was a lot. I sort of figured everyone would keep to their part of the river in which their RV was parked, but this wasn’t the case. These people were out there when we went to bed, and out there when I woke up. The amount of kids screaming and running around was only trumped by the neighbors across the river playing super loud music to drown out the children. It was a lot. It wasn’t my favorite, so I didn’t really come out much. We did watch a Tennessee movie, The Firm, and man, does Tom Cruise run a lot in that movie. Does he run in every movie? I feel like he does. Yesterday our drive was over 7 hours in the RV. The thing about this RV is it is so LOUD. Sometimes it just isn’t worth talking at all. I spend my time playing with the kitten… and getting another kitten. I have a problem. I almost took home the cat/kitten I was feeding at the RV site. She was so cute. She looked very well taken care of, and I was afraid I would be stealing someone’s pet, so she stayed behind. Anyone who knows me and is reading this knows I do not need anymore animals. The reason I have been at BHV for so long is because of my addiction to saving and acquiring puppies. Eventually, in order to ever leave town, it costs a fortune to board 7 dogs. So I am very glad BHV is there for me. Most of my dogs are good with other dogs, except Mooshu. I think he just created this complex because it allows him to come everywhere and leave Beanie (his arch nemesis) behind. I didn’t take many pics, because I was in the RV a lot. Paul did grill some steaks though, and I contributed twice baked potatoes (premade) in the air fryer.

Next stop.. Winstar in Oklahoma!

Go to the Top

Hot Springs, Arkansas

(Stop 16) Saturday 10/11

So this stop I almost forgot about! This was another KOA stop and it was just in the middle of nowhere. Again, these final stops are sort of rushed. My mind has switched to how the heck I am going to pack up everything and why did Paul buy so much extra stuff that is packed underneath. My girlfriend has more stuff than I do. I guess we are headed home with some firewood too.

At this stop, I just focused on trying to do some laundry because they actually had rolls of quarters you could buy. Paul really liked this place. He wasn’t with me at the start, so he has no idea how nice RV places can be. For me, this just felt like a stopover. Nothing really to do. The pool was even closed. Paul likes to sit outside, and that is great; I like to sit inside. The weather is increasingly warm and depressing as we start to move further south. How do we, as Texans, deal with the heat?

For our movie choices, we tried to watch Sling Blade. For some reason, Amazon was being sticky, so we ended up renting the movie Mud. Both of these were filmed in Arkansas. Paul fell asleep, so I took Mud to my “room,” pulled the curtain, and finished watching. I am going to miss this fort-like feel of a bed. Paul would sleep in the dinette fold-out, and I got the bed with the dogs and kitten. I did have to sleep backwards and diagonal, but this is making me question my bedroom setup at home. How do I get a curtain on tracks to enclose my entire bed?

Next stop: Thackerville, Oklahoma (Winstar Casino)

Back to the Top

Thackerville, Oklahoma

(Stop 17) Sunday 10/12

Listen, I have not had any alcohol or anything for at least, well, since July for my friend Jennifer’s 50th birthday. Funny story about that. I went to a random bar that I have never been to, but Jennifer goes to all the time, and who is at the table next to us? Her ex-husband. Divorced for like 15 years or something? Never have run into one another, and here we are sitting next to him. I noticed right away, and then we bounced. Anyway, this was the last time I had anything to drink. Prior to that, it had been months. This body cannot handle it anymore. Plus, I am not a drink-to-relax type of person. I am Generation X; there is only one reason to drink, and that is to partyyyyyy! So what better place to have some drinks than Winstar Casino and leave a millionaire? Well, one of those things definitely happened. I had some Coronas, and yes, some Jagerbombs (I told you I am Gen X) and took off to win my money. Wellllll… the money went fast, this place was insane, and after two shots, I was done. I just kept telling girls how much I loved their boots. When compliments to random people begin, I must make my exit.

One cool thing that happened is when we checked in, they really were pushing the players club card. Of course, I am against those because when you play with them, they track you, and you never win (kidding)… but they convinced me. Also, I got a free stay in the RV, so amazing. They have a tram from the RV park to the casino and back. It runs 24 hours. Also, this casino is a mile long. It was considered the largest casino in the world until a Dubai casino opened. But just think, the two largest casinos in the world exist in Dubai and Thackerville.

On our way out and back on the tram, we were sitting next to this older couple. I happened to take a cute pic of them earlier, so I shared it with them on my way home. Every guy on the tram was ex-military, and they had plenty to say about the government shutdown. I can’t begin to understand what is happening right now, so I sat silent and thought about what I could eat in the RV. The answer? Pierogies. Paul had bought some somewhere, and they were Philly cheesesteak. I made a little A1 mayonnaise sauce, and I went to sleep.

Tomorrow: Home

Back to the Top

Austin, Texas

(Start/Stop Point) Monday 10/13

Did I learn anything in my final moments as a youthful 49 year old?

I ended up combining my last two spots with my final destination home spot. So those are available above if you are interested. After we unloaded so much stuff from the RV, I had to clean it out so it can be returned. We ended up driving 5,700 miles in total. When I say WE, I mean everyone else drove. I just sat and talked. RV trips tend to take almost double the time for each stop. Like I mentioned, it is soooo loud; a lot of times you can’t hear one another.

I kept thinking to myself on those final days about what I learned… I mean, did I learn anything? Maybe? I am going to try.

One thing I learned is that everyone is fascinated by me living in Texas. That one gets a lot of questions from out-of-state people and people from other countries. I noticed the North is much more liberal than the South. Far less political signs and flags, unlike here. Everyone in Texas is sooo vocal about everything, so that wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was in Maine; I actually saw anti-administration signs. I had never seen that before. I felt like I was in a foreign land.

What I really learned. As a 7th generation Texan on one side and a 2nd generation American on the other side, I am here to say (unfortunately) this country is way divided. Almost mean. I don’t know how we are going to dig ourselves out of this mess. It seemed like every day… EVERY DAY… the news was horrible. I feel like we are just being hit every day with so much, so I learned I just need to stop looking. I only trust a few people in my life: all things with four paws and fur, and myself. I have only let myself down a couple of times in my life, and not for a very long time. I am just choosing not to live in the “news” world anymore and just continuing to be who I am. I haven’t been arrested in a while (ha ha), so I am assuming I am a pretty good person. Not perfect, but I am extremely passionate about the people I get to work with (people from all over, all educations, all races, all genders), and I know that this group of people all love your dogs. They show up every day, clean up poop, take a lot of poop, and we all keep going for the love of what we do. I can continue to provide a safe place for them all to work and pay part of their healthcare, etc. I love my country, I love my state, but sometimes we aren’t all represented. Sometimes money is the controlling factor. I would rather live in my small world. I will continue to do so until we can all come out and play nicely together again.

Finally… thank you so much for humoring me with this blog. I know I would have forgotten a lot of this trip, and I will now be able to look back and remember. I appreciate all of you guys who trust us with your pups, and I hope we all get to do this for a long time. Thank you so much… Truly. You guys have been a huge anchor in my life. ❤️

Next stop: My own bed and 50!

Back to the Top

Older Posts:

The Saddest Outcome..

July 29, 2025

I have been doing this for a long time. By “this,” I mean I have done every aspect of this job. I have been a kennel tech at BHV, I have worked the front desk, I have been the manager, and now in my new role.. the owner. Connection with clients is by far my favorite. Having them trust us with their companions is the best feeling in the world. What I hate is when I hear stories about other facilities that do not live up to the standards of BHV. Not just up to OUR standards, but also creating doubt about BHV and the other hard-working facilities that exist in Austin. I know there are facilities out there that work just as hard as we do, and we are by no means shading you. We know and you know who you are.

The story I am about to tell you, the owner has cleared me to speak about and wants to share her story regarding her recent experience at a very well-reviewed facility in Austin. Due to other factors, I am going to keep her name and the facility out of this blog post.

Our client began bringing her puppy to us last year. Her puppy has been well documented as a great player, a non-escape artist, who was just feeling herself as a puppy. Due to our spay and neuter policy, they had decided to wait to spay her at the direction of their vet. This is not an uncommon situation, as many vets advise their clients to wait on these surgeries for the proper development of the pup and to help eliminate common health issues. Unfortunately, due to our communal play, we have to require spay/neuter by 8 months for a variety of factors. No big deal. The client and I chatted about it, and she was going to wait just a couple more months and bring her pup back in September. The client had tried other facilities in town, and due to past experiences, she took her to a fairly well-known boarding facility that also has a few other spots in town (all under different names). Well, she received a call while out of town that her pup escaped and unfortunately didn’t make it.

We spoke for 2 hours today. How could this happen? What was the setup? She blamed herself. I blamed myself. It was intense. Not only was this such a young life that had boarded and done daycare with us in the past with no issue, but the story the facility was asking her to believe was challenging to believe at best. Apparently, her dog escaped her closed kennel, turned a doorknob, unlocked a door, and escaped during the night. LIKE?? WTF?

What she did mention to me was she wished she knew what to look for when visiting different places. I know I did a small blog post below about this before. But for me, when I heard this story there were multiple red flags as we sat and dissected the information she had been given. First of all accountability. Like..a door was opened without setting off an alarm? Were there no interior or exterior cameras? How are you to know what is good and not good if a place is highly reviewed? I had to think about this for a bit. Reviews are in their very essence the way we vet most businesses these days. I can look at reviews for boarding facilities and decipher what I am concerned about with a client complaint in a business, and what is just a customer not satisfied. You can also tell how an owner responds.. IF they respond. Is their tone..well..shitty? If you see a review that concerns you, ask them about it. If they don’t know the story, ask to speak to the owner and ask them. Some of you may know me, and I will tell you everything. Good and bad.

Accountability is a HUGE factor in gaining a client’s trust. BHV is not without fault. We are people and there are human errors that can occur with feeding occasionally, we contact you and let you know, and immediately fix the error. Scuffles can happen, dogs can get stressed etc. When situations arise, we work hard to figure out the “why” and “how” and go through the steps to fix them. However, when you travel, at the very least you expect to come home to your healthy puppy still alive. I don’t have the answers really of what to look for in a good boarding or daycare facility. I know that “things” can happen. However, any good boarding facility spends the money to make sure their facility is safe. This should be the base requirement. They need to make sure it has safety protocols in place to contain the animals they are being paid to take care of. They have, at the bare minimum, some sort of security. Burglar alarms, door sensors, fire systems, and cameras should just be the norm. You need to be able to approach them and ask them questions. They should be able to approach you to let you know how your dog is doing. Basic security and basic communication.

Unfortunately, none of this will bring this puppy back. Even with due diligence, negligence can happen. I just hope this family can find some closure and stop blaming themselves. I also hope, by writing this, we reach someone who remembers this story and asks a billion questions of a facility before leaving their family member in their care. I think too often we trust blindly, thinking that there is no way the worst can happen. Too often, a facility can continue to collect money without being honest with their clients about the lack of safety in their facility.

Finally, RIP sweet P. Your mom will make sure you are remembered… and so will we. 💔

What They Don’t Tell You

July 18, 2025

Here we are. 14 months into the new store, and 5 years (as owner) at the south store. What I wasn’t expecting was how hard certain parts of this process would be. It has been 25 years since I started as a kennel tech at BHV South. I truly stayed because I loved the dogs.

The clients were easy because they KNEW all of us loved the dogs. It was a different time too. No texting, emailing; most everything was done by phone, and applications for BHV were filled out by hand in person. There was a lot of face-to-face contact. Emotion could be felt between two people genuinely vibing about their dog. Now we are living in a world of massive technology. Instant access. Texting, emailing, social media, phones…all of it. It is a lot to keep up with. I have absolutely loved the ease with which technology has allowed people to check on their pups, and how much smoother the process has become to register, etc. However, the “relationship” with the client is harder to forge due to the more instant and less social aspects of communication in general. Intent and inflection in someone’s voice cannot be heard. When a client has a concern, I will respond with every effort to help you understand the issue you are having with BHV, and will jump through hoops to resolve it. Why? Because there are three parts to this equation: the first part is BHV, the 2nd part is the client, and the 3rd part is the dog. So if a client is, say… unreasonable. Rude. Arrogant. Dismissive. Whatever the word. I can see past all of it, because at the other end of it is a cute dog whom I have now grown fond of and want to see again. I must be clear though, most people are genuinely kind in their approach. I am talking about the smaller population; however, it is a population that has grown with much of our lives spent behind screens. The direct result is that connection isn’t direct anymore making it harder to navigate genuine sincerity.

I have 7 dogs. I love dogs. I thought expanding would just create more avenues for me to meet more dogs. I was so excited to see the first dog walk into BHV North when we opened. What I have found to be the toughest part of the north store, and people ask me this all the time…is getting through to the client. Expressing how very much we love their dogs, and them actually trusting that as fact. We have had some lessons, especially with a new staff, communication, etc. But never once have we faltered on the absolute care and love we put into each dog that walks into either store. Why is this north store harder? How do I break down this new communication wall when we now have been so trained to not speak or look at one another, but instead stare at our phones? This is something they don’t tell you. This is something that is absolutely new to me. Wish me luck!

BHV Learning from Lessons

September 8, 2024

What makes BHV different? We had a crazy incident last week. One of our long term clients was moving to Florida. She has 4 dogs that frequently board with us. Two of them were staying with us, and we were told that a transport driver would be picking them up to drive them out to her.

I was out of town at the time I saw the note in our communication log, and assumed this driver was someone who was trusted and knew the dogs. I make it home from my trip, it was a 12 hour drive, so the next day I was exhausted. I woke up from a nap to a text message from the client letting me know that one of her dogs, Harley, had slipped her collar at a welcome center near the Louisiana and Mississippi border. The transporter, security guards, and animal control chased her for hours around the center but were not able to catch her. The animal control officer decided he was going to dart her (I have never heard of this) and when he did, she took off running. They chased her, but they eventually lost her. Once I had received the text from the client, she had already been missing for 24 hrs. The area she was lost in was 120,000 acres of forrest that NASA had cleared of homes and businesses years ago so they could do rocket testing. This area was dense, it was wet, and for a dog who knew nothing but her comfy life and backyard… it was an absolute nightmare.

I was stunned when I read the text. If you know me though, I knew I had to do something. The transporter had left the area and continued down to Florida with the client’s other dog. So Harley was just out there. Immediately I tried to locate the welcome center on a map. I wasn’t exactly sure about location, so I posted what the owner told me was correct and got moving. I posted pictures all over any lost and found pages on Facebook from Alabama to Louisiana. I pleaded for help and let everyone know I wasn’t from that area. I also hit trucker lost and found pages and every city or town in between. I had the owner contact a drone company, who was willing to head out, but we didn’t have anyone there to catch the dog if he found her. I was 12 hours away and the client was 8 hours away. Right away I started to receive comments etc from my posts. My location was wrong. I found the correct location, edited all the posts, and the search began. Some women reached out to me over messenger who lived in the area and went out that night at 10 pm to see if maybe Harley was still at the welcome center… no luck.

The next morning at 6 am, I got on the phone with these amazing women and they were in their vehicles with treats etc to begin the hunt. The drone guy was also on his way, but wouldn’t arrive until 8 am. Luckily…. we wouldn’t need him. I ask for the transporter to call one of the local women and tell them exactly where he last saw her. There wasn’t any judgement, we just wanted to find Harley. I told the women she isn’t aggressive, she is scared, and will probably be in that same area. We chatted on the phone while they were looking, they went to the last area where she was spotted, and guess what?? She was out there. The chase was on. They stopped traffic, the bribed her with treats, and they were able to secure her. Not only that, they were willing to drive 4 hours to meet the owner half way and deliver her safe and sound.

Medically Harley had a systemic infection of unknown origin all over her body, her eyes were scratched, and she had lacerations on her feet. She was beat up, but she was going to live.

After all of this, I learned there are people out there that you don’t even know that are willing to help. These ladies and this network have become my friends. They never would have known she was out there because my client just didn’t know what to do. I didn’t either, but I am crazy. Luckily I found a group of people just as crazy as me. I will do ANYTHING to help BHV dogs and really, any animal. I am glad I was able to put myself out there and get her back due to the kindness of others.

Dog Facilities: Which One is Right for You and Your Pup

June 29, 2024

Let’s be real. The pet industry is booming. When it comes to pet care there are so many options available to us. How do you figure out what type of place is best for your dog? I am going to go over what I look for when trusting dog facilities here in Austin and how to set your dog up to succeed when transitioning them to a boarding facility.

Who Owns This Place?

Start with their website. Who owns this facility? Is it a chain? Is it a huge conglomerate that has bought out a local facility, and those original owners have nothing to do with the business anymore? Why does this even matter? When I was starting our second location, I was shocked by how many facilities in Austin are either franchises or were home grown, but now are owned by huge companies. When an owner is hands on at a facility and you can actually know them and meet them, they have a personal relationship with you and your dog. When I take my dogs to the vet, I like that my vet knows us. I like that she is invested in us. It is the same for a facility.

Who are the People?

Having a relationship with the people who are taking care of your dog is a must. I have used places before on my travels in which I had to board my dogs last minute, and let me tell you, I was frightened. You should never feel this way. Your dog should never feel this way either. You should never be charged for pictures of your dog. I have seen this as an upsell at other facilities and it shocks me. The place you choose to leave your dog, should WANT to show you what your dog is up to. They should be excited to take care of your dog. They should never have an issue giving you updates and pictures.

Can you Take a Peek?

When you visit the facility, at any time of day, do they let you tour their spaces in the back? I don’t know about you, but I want to see where my dog is going to stay. I don’t always have the time to stop everything to go at a certain time to tour the facility. In my opinion, dogs are always going to be on site right? So when they say it disturbs the dogs etc, I find that a bit unsettling. I’m not trying to move in and hang out, I just want a little peek. You should be able to look around at any facility you are trusting with your dog. When you are walking around… look up, look down, and smell the air. Do you see cameras? Do you see a fire system, fire extinguishers? Does the facility seem clean and maintained? Do the dogs have water and bedding? Do you get the general sense the staff is understaffed and stressed, or just generally busy but still in control? These things matter. It shows the facility is willing to spend money to make their space safe for the dogs. Anyone can buy crates from Petsmart and keep dogs. But does the facility go above and beyond, even if that means they make less money, because they want the experience for your dog to be the best it can be? Keep this in mind when you are searching for the best place for your dog.

Set Your Dog up to Succeed

Just because you think your dog will love boarding at a facility and doing dog daycare, this isn’t always the case. Many times people will do a trial day and then drop their dog off for boarding for weeks. Sometimes the dog will get stress poops and then the owner is shocked by this. Dogs do better at facilities when they are eased into them and it is made a part of their routine. Any change to your pup’s normal day to day can be a big change for them. I know sometimes it is hard to avoid, but allowing your dog the time to adjust to a new facility allows for success and happiness all around.

Below are some great things to ask yourself before you register for any boarding facility but also before registering for BHV. We want to make sure your dog is set up for success.

  • Does your dog to great with other dogs? Meaning, does your dog love other dogs and being in communal dog settings? At BHV we require dogs to get along with other dogs. Not sometimes, but all of the time. This helps to ensure that all dogs can have a safe, fun time.  If your pup has a bite history with either dogs or people, this could be a stressful environment for them. We do not do training. So please, do not put your dog in a situation where it may fail to get the benefits of communal dog play.
  • Is your dog anxious? How does your dog do at home? Are they destructive? Are they anxious when you leave? At BHV we love all dogs, but have found that dogs that have high anxiety do not do well in this environment. BHV is a fast paced fun atmosphere that some dogs just do not want to be a part of. Unfortunately we are not trainers, so curbing this behavior, while in this setting, is something we simply are not qualified for. 
  • Can your dog be destructive when you leave? At BHV we provide pups with their own luxury suites. These suites have been built to safely house many types of dog personalities. If your dog is a chewer, destructive, anxious, OR displays any or all of these qualities… BHV may not be the right fit. In order for dogs to do well in a boarding/daycare situation, they must be able to be comfortable and non destructive. 
  • Is your dog healthy? This is a big one. When dogs are not feeling their best, they do not act their best while at BHV. Is your dog wearing a cone? Recovering from surgery? Coming off of an illness but still showing symptoms? BHV may not be the right place at that moment in time. We of course can dispense medications for dogs who are on the up and up, feeling better, but just need to finish some meds. However, when your dog isn’t feeling great and the vet doesn’t think it is a good idea for them to be around other dogs, BHV is not the best place for your pet’s recovery. BHV is an active, fun place where other dogs are running around wrestling and swimming in pools. Bringing your pup to BHV to be exposed to a bunch of other dogs while recovering surgery isn’t the best idea. We would prefer they rest at home until fully recovered so they can come to BHV feeling rested and healthy and ready to play with their friends. 

I hope all of these tips were helpful for you in your search for pet care!

Vanessa Calabria