And so it was time for the first doggie road trip to end. We pack up the car, put the top down, and said goodbye to our hosts and it was time to head north. The sun shine was glorious! We were heading up the west coast this time to make a change from our east coast southward trip but the split was about the same: 5ish hours both days. Of course, we forgot about “the London effect”: no matter how much time you have planned, add at least one hour if it involves going anywhere near the M25. Now let me tell you why I have a newfound hatred for Google maps…
We plugged our chosen route into Google maps and set off. As we approached the M25, Google suggested taking an alternative route to avoid a 15 minute slowdown on our chosen route. Given that we had more than 5 hours in the car, saving 15 minutes seemed like a good idea. So we changed to the newly suggested route. And 10 minutes later, Google maps told us there was a 25 minute slowdown ahead of us. WTF!?!?!?! Why did you suggest it if it was going to be slower? AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!
I’m not sure it would have mattered in the end because the traffic was terrible everywhere. It is a bank holiday weekend in England as well as midterm break for most schools so EVERYONE was on the road. Our 5ish hour drive took us 7.5 hours and we finally pulled into Lytham St Annes in time to find no parking at our hotel and a very busy beach town. A very nice beach town with large Victorian houses, a pier, and a beach with actual sand! We found parking, checked in, and wandered off to get something to eat. Of course, we found some gluten free fish and chips which was just the ticket.
After dinner it was time for Casey to stretch her legs so we headed to the do friendly part of the beach and let her go. For the next 30 minutes or so, she ran like she was trying to get away from a fire. She played with other dogs, tried to eat shells and seaweed, and generally had a wonderful time. Then it was back to the hotel for an early bed.
An early bed means an early wake up, at least for our puppy. We were up WAY earlier than planned so Casey got some more beach time before breakfast – we were hoping she would sleep most of the way since we wanted to power through to home. After breakfast, we did just that. With no where like London in the way and grey clouds forecast for the entire trip, the top stayed up and Frank’s foot stayed down. And late this afternoon, we pulled into our driveway, happy to be home.
I have to say that this was a great trip, soggy field walks notwithstanding. And we have decided that Casey is an excellent travelling companion. She happily sat under tables in numerous pubs, nearly always came when we called her, and was just generally cute. She has learned not to back away from nice people who want to say hello but still has a problem with drunk people who get down on their knees to maul her. I think we got all our relaxation in and just generally were able to recharge. It was a good week.
Data for the trip:
- Mileage driven: Who-knows-because-Frank-doesn’t-care-about-data-so-he-didn’t-pay-attention. Harrumph.
- Amout spent on petrol: £212
- Number of Spitfire planes spotted: 5
- Number of pubs/restaurants Casey visited: 8
- Number of days until we take our next road trip: 29
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