On the Road

May 23, 2006

Two days into our journey and so far, everything has gone wonderfully well. We actually didn’t get going Monday till late in the afternoon. There was a lot more work getting prepared than we had originally envisioned. But once underway, we made decent time; driving to Ft. Pierce where we spent the night at a musty Motel 6 (they accept Pets). This early few days involve more driving than exploring simply because we are actually on a timetable and need to be in Indianapolis by tomorrow. Thus we didn’t stop as often as we might have. Day 2 was a big day for India.

There is an excellent dog park in Gainesville, Florida called Dogwood Park and we had wanted to stop there for her sake, sadly we arrived to find the place closed. It felt a little like the Griswold family in the National Lampoon’s Vacation movie, who drove to Wally World only to find it closed. Thankfully, just across the street from the dog park is the amazingly beautiful Kanapaha Botanical Gardens which welcomes pets, so we went there and it turned out better because we really enjoyed it. Gainesville made for a nice pit-stop.



The excitement wasn’t over for India, as we ventured on into Georgia. Our friends, JD & Amy Mettler live near Macon and they happen to own India’s brother Peppy. The dogs had not seen each other since JD & Amy moved from Florida 5 years ago. It was a happy reunion, India’s happy squealing noises reaching new heights. I first met JD & Amy years ago when they were working at the Pizza Hut in Key West. They are an inspiration because they have pursued and fulfilled their dream. Since before we met, JD aspired to be a comic book artist. Through hard work, perseverance, and self-taught skill, he has not only made it, but made it in a big way. Last year the book he works on, Ex Machina, won the Oscar of the comic book industry called The Eisner for best new comic and he was nominated as an individual for best colorist. Pretty impressive stuff. Check out the Jolly Rogers Studio link and see some of JD’s work. We enjoyed a great, but too short, visit and dinner before continuing on through Atlanta, stopping in Marietta for our second night on the road.