Drab cross country trip

The "Welcome to Speedy's" sign in Lupton, Arizona

No dog, no sun, no joy, no fun photos.

Without Georgie, we discovered, all the joy leached out of our cross country trip. It was our 16th crossing, so we know.

The weather seemed to sense what was in our hearts, so it rained for 1,600 miles. There was no warm dog to make our motel rooms feel like home, so they all remained sterile. There was no one to toss Fritos at over drinks. We still stopped every two hours to switch drivers, but there was no one to walk, so we didn't - until, about four days in, we wandered the aisles of a rest stop unable to process a single decision. It was then we realized that the walks had been good for us, not just Georgie. I mustered the energy to take only one photograph, and it was brown and dusty, like us.

When we got to the boat, it was still raining and the salon was flooded. Also, we couldn't turn on the water and the toilets still don't work, so there we were. Boat living! Makes you stronger!