The Long Way Home — A Puppy, the Coast, and Finding the Adventure Along the Way
When I left for this trip, I knew I was taking two half marathons, an RV, and a brand-new puppy on the road.
What I didn’t know was how much this little adventure would teach me about slowing down and making room for the unexpected.
Because the best trips aren’t always the ones where everything goes according to plan.
Sometimes the best moments are the ones you find along the way.
Back to My Parents’
After Cocoa Beach, we headed back to my parents’ house for a few more days.
More crabbing – More fishing – More good food -More time together.
And I finally have proof of something I already suspected.
Bandit has grown.
A lot.
I had a picture of him standing on the same toy from a few weeks ago — the one he could barely climb onto when we first brought him home.
Now heis easily twice the size.
Traveling with a puppy means watching him change almost in real time.
Every stop, he is a little bigger.
A little more confident.
A little more himself.
A Little Taste of Home
On the way, I made a stop in Orlando and tracked down a Puerto Rican food truck.
A little taste of home while I was still out exploring.
It’s funny how food does that — it can connect you to memories, people, and places all at once.
Bradenton
From there, I made my way to Bradenton to visit my friend Holly.
We have known each other since kindergarten, and she had visited me in Kansas City a few years earlier. Now it was my turn to see her world.
I spent the day enjoying Bradenton Beach — good weather, good company, and no real agenda.
Sometimes those are the best days.
St. Augustine
After another stop back at my parents’ — more fishing, more crabbing, and honestly more crabs than I could count by that point — my mom and I headed out for a day in St. Augustine.We visited Castillo de San Marcos and grabbed lunch nearby.
A few days later, we were back out crabbing again.
At this point, it had become one of the themes of the trip.
Heading North
On November 4th, it was time to start making my way home.
I traveled through Osceola National Forest, with Bandit now noticeably bigger than the puppy who had started the trip.
Santa Rosa Sound
I stopped for the night at Emerald Beach RV Park.
Bandit’s paws touched sand again — and this time he was a little more confident exploring it.
I took one more opportunity to get out on the water. Both days I went kayaking on Santa Rosa Sound.
Just me, the water, and a little quiet before the final miles. And I even saw some dolphins (didn’t get any good pics tho)…
The Drive Home
The rest of the trip was what road trips are always partly made of.
Gas stations.
Miles.
Traffic.
Small towns passing by the windows.
By November 9th, I was home.
I had a freezer full of crab meat and fish.
A puppy who was dramatically bigger than the one I left with.
And a month full of memories I never could have planned.
Traveling with a puppy changed things.
Schedules changed – Stops changed – Plans changed.
But maybe that’s what made the trip better.
Because the best adventures aren’t always the ones where you follow the plan perfectly.
Sometimes they’re the ones where you make room for whatever — or whoever — shows up along the way.
