Day Seven route
Homeward Bound
Last morning — heading home
We were so excited to finally be driving home that we left at 7:45 AM. The drive across the Florida Panhandle is deceptive — it takes much longer than you think! We crossed the time zone line, losing an hour, but gaining the sunshine of our home state.
We arrived home at 7:00 PM. We only made a couple of quick stops for gas and potty breaks. It took 11 hours to reach Florida's central East Coast, but pulling into that driveway was the best feeling in the world. We were all so happy to be home! Even though the movers hadn't arrived yet and we had no furniture, sleeping on an air mattress never felt so good.
"Sleeping on an air mattress in an empty house with three tired dogs. It was the best night's sleep of the whole trip."
This trip was monumental. We drove over 3,000 miles from the Pacific Northwest to the Atlantic Southeast, staying in 6 different hotels, navigating ice storms in Oregon, desert heat in Texas, and humidity in Alabama. And we did it all with three large dogs without a single major incident.
Key Takeaways
The pack made it
- Prep is Key: Booking pet-friendly hotels in advance saved us. Never assume a hotel's website reflects their true pet policy — call and confirm every time.
- Dogs are Resilient: Our three pups handled the car far better than we expected. The Bach's Rescue Remedy and No Toot supplements helped set a calm tone from day one.
- Safety First: Having a go-bag with medical records, a first aid kit, and emergency blankets gave us genuine peace of mind on the more remote stretches.
Nine years later we wrote up everything this move taught us about relocating with pets. If you want the full breakdown of lessons learned — hotel call scripts, cleanup kits, first-floor room strategies — read 3,753 Miles in the Dead of Winter.
This wasn't our last cross-country move with dogs. In 2021 we did it again — Florida to Colorado, two dogs, and a very different kind of trip. Read the follow-up series: Cross Country (Almost) with Two Dogs.
We eventually took it all the way to Spain. If you are considering a move with pets — domestic or international — our DIY Pet Relocation Roadmap covers both: hotel booking strategies, health certificates, microchipping timelines, import regulations, and everything we wish we had known before we started. Need hands-on help? The Premium edition adds email support and a phone consultation.
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