Pensacola Road Trip

 As soon as my family told me we were planning a summer beach vacation I had my doubts that I would enjoy it.  As everyone knows getting around in sand or snow is a difficult task.  When you rely on mobility devices to get around it seems almost impossible.  After researching we found the tools we needed to make it a great family trip.  We set off on a 14+ hour car adventure to get to our destination.  This was our first long car ride with Tibbs ( and he did amazing!).  We stopped at many rest stops to stretch out along the way. When we finally got there it was night and we were so tired.  You could smell and see the ocean from our hotel.  We all slept soundly anticipating the beach day the following morning.  

We woke up early! Tibbs never wants us to miss his breakfast time, and my family were eager to go and eat by the ocean. We gathered our beach gear and headed to the ocean. The beach where we stayed was only service dog friendly. Tibbs loved walking on the sand beside me.  We built an awesome sandcastle and watched the waves roll in.  Tibbs got a sandy nose taking in all of the ocean smells.  Our beach morning was interrupted by a little rain so we headed back to clean up.  By the time we got cleaned up the rain had cleared and we went shopping.  Souvenir shopping is always fun.  Tibbs is a great shopper and loves to help me find unique things from the area. We saw lots of cute shops and stopped in to see what they had. 

That evening an awesome power sand chair we rented for the trip was delivered to the hotel.  We picked our vacation spot because it was available to rent there.  It went so fast on the sand!  It drove differently from my power wheelchair so it took a while to get used to driving it. Tibbs and I were able to take long walks on the sand and find some neat seashells.  After a short while on the beach I start to get uncomfortable.  Tibbs and I both enjoyed relaxing by the pool or cooling off and resting in the hotel air-conditioning.  We were able to have this routine for a few days.

Pensacola is a very dog friendly spot.  At every restaurant my family went to they loved seeing Tibbs.  The waiters always offered and brought Tibbs a water bowl.  The only problem with it being such a dog friendly spot is that many people forgot to ask to pet Tibbs.  He was a very good boy and tried hard to not get distracted and look for my directions. Tibbs enjoyed seeing all the sights and new experiences with me. We were able to navigate new places with each others help. We were able to go out on a pier and see sea turtles and dolphins.  We got really up close to a pelican sitting on the pier, and fish that were caught by men fishing on the pier.  Going to new places has always been difficult because you can not plan for all the obstacles you will encounter.  For my first vacation with a service dog I do not think it could have gone better.  

 

I did not think I would enjoy a beach vacation, but Tibbs and I are already planning for our next beach vacation. 

Tune in for my next post on our visit to Fort Pickens