Day Two route — Mobile, AL to Van, TX
The Drive
Day 2 — Ellie comfortable on the road
After an exhausting first day of driving from Florida to Alabama, Day Two was smooth sailing. We had sunny skies and no rain. This area of the country has long stretches of highway with very few amenities to be found.
Night Two
The Hotel
Are we there yet?
We arrived at the Fairfield Inn and Suites Van Canton in the late afternoon after about 8 hours of travel. When we stayed there in 2021, the hotel was brand new — the staff were very nice from the front desk to the bar.
We had booked a double queen for $101.00 plus a $50 pet fee. When we arrived, our reserved room had been rented to someone else — but the hotel quickly offered us a king suite with a foldout sofa for the dogs. Score!
The upgraded king suite
Plenty of room to roam
There were several nice clean areas to walk the pups. The hotel offers on-site laundry and multiple BBQ areas. We settled the puppies into the room and went down to the bar to relax a bit.
Night Two
The Only Bar Between Dallas and Shreveport
The bar at the Fairfield Inn Van
The food at the bar was good and the beer was cold. We had a nice conversation with several locals and discovered that the hotel was the only one between Dallas and Shreveport with a license to have a bar.
"The only bar between Dallas and Shreveport — and we stumbled onto it by accident."
Good to Know
Why This Hotel Works
Spacious lot — trailer and all
We slept well and were up and on the road again the next morning. Thankfully the hotel offered a nice breakfast to get us started.
Other great things about this hotel are the parking and the location. This is a remote part of Texas — the hotel sits in the same area as a large fuel plaza, making fueling up easy. Mauricio was able to refuel without getting back on the highway while I packed the room and walked the dogs. The parking lot was spacious enough to park the truck and trailer and turn around. There are also lots of dining options nearby, although the hotel suited us just fine.
Before booking, check out the Cross Country with Three Dogs series for a full guide on making reservations and planning a road trip with pets.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing!