Toyota has been getting a lot of bad press lately, so I will combine an update as to where I’ve been for the past few weeks with a plug for my Toyota Prius, which I think has now been deemed The Greatest Car I Have Ever Owned. I don’t care what the media says—I am going to keep driving that car forever, because that’s how much I love it.
And why this love affair with the Prius, you might ask? Oh, it might have something to do with the fact that yesterday we arrived on the east coast, where we have relocated for at least the next year, and for the past ten days or so, I have been driving, in the Prius, WITH THE DOG, in the winter, across America. That’s right. 3,000 miles. In a Toyota. In winter. We are here, we are alive, and when I tally up the total that we spent on gas, you will laugh.
First, the reason: this move has been a long time in coming, as you may or may not know. We originally moved to Los Angeles in 2004 for what was supposed to be a year, and ended up staying there for six. Now, I know some people are all “pro Los Angeles” and they love the weather and would never dream of leaving, but for some reason it just really didn’t work for us, so we started thinking about making a change at the end of last year, and then things kind of fell into place finally, and then—BLAMMO! I was on the road with a 75 pound arthritic dog.
In case you’re wondering why we don’t just fly the dog, he’s big, and old, and very sensitive, and because of his size he would have to fly in the cargo hold of the plane, and ….that just really wasn’t going to work for me. We actually drove him out to California when we moved there in ’04, and he did fine. So, I knew it could be done, but now he’s even older, and it’s winter, and that is really a lot of factors to factor in when you’re trying to work, and drive, and make sure the dog doesn’t freeze while you run in to get a sandwich. You know what I’m saying?
“Road trip with large dog during winter”—sounds like the elevator pitch for a wacky comedy where “chaos ensues,” right? Mostly he does well in the car, sleeping for long periods of time, but I have to say it is very hard to sneak a large dog into a hotel during the winter—most of the nicer chains have a 45 pound weight limit for dogs, so I was forced to become very inventive. Let’s just say that at one point I covered him up with a Burberry scarf and rushed him out the freight elevator. No, I am not making this up. This trip was so long, I have to do the recap in installments, so I will start with the first few days.
So, where did I go? From Los Angeles I went to San Diego, where I visited friends, saw clients, and tried to recover from moving all the stuff out of my house during a pouring rain storm in Los Angeles, where I got wet, and the movers got wet, and the dog got wet, and I’m not going to lie, there was some crying. Did you know that you will never be able to accurately estimate the amount of stuff you have left versus the amount of space in your car? Well, you won’t. You will have to throw things away at the last minute so that the dog can lay down in the back seat. That is the law. So, thank you to Dan and Sarah, and Matt and Jared, and sorry I was so late for dinner. Did I mention there was a rainstorm and a traffic jam? Yeah, good times.
Next I moved east to Palm Desert, where I am from and where I wanted to hang out a little before beginning the epic journey. I ended up staying a few days in my friend Brook’s guesthouse, and I swear I was about to become her Kato Kaelin that place is so nice. There I saw high school friends, enjoyed the weather, and plotted out the great Toyota Across America trip.
Next installment: I go to Santa Fe New Mexico and have dinner with a famous person. You’re dying to know, aren’t you?