The upcoming holiday season really makes me value our family – and that family is definitely one composed of both humans and pets. The holidays will be a time for us to stop and relax, to step away from the computers (yes, I am determined!), and just to enjoy all that we are so lucky to have in our lives.
During this holiday season, we also plan to do some traveling, both to visit family and to explore some new destinations as we update our Texas with Dogs guidebook. And, of course, we’ll be taking along Irie and Tiki. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Travel has always played a big part in our lives–and so have dogs–but, for many years, we weren’t able to combine our two interests. For 13 years, our guidebook work took us to Jamaica every few weeks. Along with the Jamaica coverage for Fodor’s guidebooks, we wrote niche guidebooks on the island for other publishers as well.
Along with the fact that we’ve always had dogs too large to fly with (we would never fly a dog who couldn’t travel with us in cabin), there was another big reason we weren’t able to combine our love of travel and dogs: Jamaica doesn’t permit importation of dogs unless they were born in the UK and have never received a rabies vaccine.
In those days, this was our typical morning walk:
In 2008, though, we were ready for a change and made the switch to pet writing. Both our websites and our freelance writing business are now centered on pets–along with the travel that we do for fun. Today all our travel includes Irie and Tiki whenever we are not flying:
Once a week, we head off on a day trip with our dogs as we gather new information for the next editions of our Day Trips from Austin, Day Trips from San Antonio, and Day Trips from Houston guidebooks.
As soon as the dogs see their car harnesses, they get excited and know that a day of fun lies ahead:
Their excitement has been contagious. We have to admit that, after so many books, we had gotten into a travel rut.
Traveling with Irie and Tiki has helped us to appreciate the simplest stops, from a roadside park to destinations that we’ve written about dozens of times in our careers but now see through new eyes.
They’ve also connected us to so many local residents as we travel. Tiki especially has been an icebreaker with more park rangers, fellow travelers, and waitresses than I can remember:
Irie and Tiki have brought back the joy in our travels, and we can’t wait to see what fun our holiday travels may bring and what experiences we can share with Irie and Tiki.
And that, after all, is what family is all about.
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