Dogs are family members, too.

There are some things in life I just don’t understand, and while taking the mother of all road trips incredibly long journey to the Midwest this weekend, it made me think about one of the things that I find puzzling. Our first stop was right outside of Oklahoma City in a town called Yukon, a mere 1350 (give or take) miles from Scottsdale, Arizona. Everything was perfect. The weather was perfect, Alfredo was perfect, and even Sally, my 11 year old Mustang, was running perfectly. The Holiday Inn Express, however, was not so perfect. Nestled along the 40, an interstate which has replaced Historic Route 66, lies this hotel, which I would argue exists for the primary (if not sole) purpose of providing travelers rest. Given this, I find it incredibly surprising that this specific hotel, unlike hotels in the surrounding area, had a no tolerance pet policy. Really? According to statistics, 15 million travelers took their pets along for vacation last year, and while I realize that not everyone took a journey through Yukon, having pets on board is something this hotel needs to consider. Unfortunately I had dad book the hotel prior to discovering the no pet policy. Fortunately, however, I knew this on arrival, so I didn’t make the mistake of confidently walking to the front desk with Alfredo in hand. Now, I like to consider myself a positive, productive member of society. I have chosen to dedicate my life to America’s youth by working in education, I have done my fair share of giving back to the community, and yes, I even vote (which of course is unusual for a 28 year old). While these things may seem impressive, I guess the saying holds true that no one is perfect. After traveling for 14.5 hours, I decided that not only was I going to stick with the hotel reservation, I was also going to smuggle Alfredo into the hotel, which is exactly what I did. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to capture an image of this strategic plan in action, but I took a picture of the outcome. Here is Alfredo, relaxing with his soccer ball after a long day of driving.

Don’t let him fool you in to thinking he helped get us there. Instead, he literally slept almost the entire way, on my lap, regardless if I was in the driver or in the passenger seat. Here he is in my lap while driving. That's an almond next to him, which he played with for awhile. 

 Here he is again on the passenger side. He slept like a baby.

I guess the most important thing, other than our restful sleep in Oklahoma, is that we’ve arrived safely. Let the Midwest memories begin…