Cross Country and Beyond With Three Dogs

Days Three and Four - Dayton, Ohio to Secaucus, New Jersey to Paris, France

We woke up early on day three having spent day two driving to Dayton, Ohio, and headed out to New Jersey for our final trip of our U.S. journey. As I mentioned in Cross Country and Beyond With Three Dogs, I built in a cushion on our last days just in case we encountered any issues on the trip. Thankfully, other than traffic, we didn't, so that meant we had two nights in Secaucus, New Jersey, before our flight to France.

This leg of the journey took us from farmland to areas of incredible beauty in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. We saw lakes, canyons, and rivers while driving through the Poconos. Had it not been for the pressure of time we were under, I would have been tempted to stop and explore those areas more. But we had to push on.

We finally arrived in Secaucus about 11 hours after our day began at Residence Inn by Marriott Secaucus Meadowlands.

As I mentioned before, here are a few reasons we typically choose Marriott hotels when we travel:

We have lifetime status with Marriott. That means sometimes we get perks or upgrades. And of course, we are either earning points or redeeming them each time we stay.
Marriott has a large catalog of hotels that are pet-friendly.
They are a trusted corporate brand. If anything goes wrong, we know they will make us whole.

Right now, we aren't receiving any affiliate payments from Marriott. So my recommendations are solely based on our experiences and personal choice.

Once again, the staff did not disappoint. We were given a very spacious room on the bottom floor next to the exit. This meant we only had a neighbor on one side and one above. This is a big help when traveling with pets. It helps with their anxiety due to unfamiliar noises and helps quell barking (for us at least). We were also a quick walk to the parking area. The only downside of this was that the hotel was much larger than others we've stayed in with our dogs, so it was quite a trek to the front desk.

Being such a busy area, we also opted to move the car as little as possible to avoid not being able to repark.

We were not really interested in dining at the hotel, but luckily, this hotel is inside The Plaza at Harmon Meadow, a large complex similar to an outdoor mall. There were several bars and restaurants to walk to, as well as a movie theater and various banks. This was helpful for us because we were able to deposit some cash to get below the amount you must declare when traveling to the EU. Our chosen place to relax and eat a good meal was Houlihan's.

It was a short walk from our room, so the dogs weren't alone for very long, and were pretty much ready for some R&R anyway.

We still had our journey across the Atlantic ahead of us before we reached Málaga, but the last leg of this U.S. trip was emotional and symbolic. We were at the end of a monumental road trip, but only halfway through our entire journey.

We knew we were leaving the United States, perhaps for a very long time. We had left our jobs. We had sold, or were selling, all of our property in the US - truly cutting the ties that bind. We were stepping out into a world that was somewhat familiar, but at the same time completely unknown. And we were bringing our most cherished treasures, our dogs, along for the ride.

While the last two days in Secaucus were monumental and exciting, they were also bittersweet. We had attended a family gathering in September and I was able to say goodbye to most of my close family. But there were still very important people I did not get to see before we left.

We had not been able to travel to Brazil since 2018, and it was scary to think the next time we did would be from Spain.