Over 5,000 miles of driving.
One whole month on the road.
Just the two of us. Oh, and our 60 pound dog.
Are we crazy? Probably… but these past four weeks have been some of the craziest/best/most rewarding times of our lives. When we started planning our journey, we knew we needed to do this whole thing right. After all, that’s a lot of time just the two (err.. three!) of us, and that’s a heck of a lot of time in a car. We both have smaller, older cars that are great for getting from A to Z, but when it comes to driving cross country, we weren’t sure they would make it. Thankfully, our friends at Acura let us try out a brand new, bright red, 2018 Acura MDX… what we affectionately titled “Red Rover”.
With Red Rover, it was love at first sight. From the shiny, sleek exterior to the spacious, luxe interior, the Acura MDX is the perfect mix of sporty yet efficient. When you’re driving the MDX you feel more like you’re gliding, and every feature (and there are so many features!) is perfectly placed on the dashboard. The seats - oh, the seats. They’re like butter. Not like sticky and gooey butter, but like soft, comfy, airy butter. Too much? Regardless, we were instantly obsessed - suddenly somehow the idea of driving 5,000 miles cross country didn’t sound too bad!
It didn’t take us long to realize that once you have an MDX, you’re a part of the “club”. We’d pass other Acura MDX’s on our journey, and they’d all smile and wave at us - like we were already friends! One campground we went to, the cabin next to us had an MDX as well. We spent a solid thirty minutes talking to them about road tripping through the US, and how they wouldn’t do it in anything but their MDX. We whole-heartedly agreed!
We found ourselves driving through all sorts of terrain with Red Rover - through windy, cliff-lined roads along the California Coast, to chasing waterfalls along bumpy dirt roads in Alberta, Canada, she handled it like a CHAMP. We felt safe in our Acura MDX, it’s sturdy, reliable, and even though it’s big, it’s incredibly easy to maneuver. In the entire month we were gone, we never had a single problem (except Bobby might have gotten pulled over once)!
Fast-forward to the end of our trip, and even our Bernedoodle Sally was obsessed with Red Rover. Using a set from Kurgo (highly recommend!) we transformed the whole middle row (there’s three rows - we’re telling you, it’s huge!) to accommodate our 60-pound fur ball. We weren’t sure how Sally was going to handle such long days on the road, but she LOVED it. (These pictures are proof.) There were plenty of air vents to keep her cool, and the row was big enough for her to stretch out, lay down, go from one window to the next, and even rest her head on our shoulders. (Our personal favorite.)
Looking back, we remarked how amazing it was that we never once got homesick. Not once! We 100% attribute that to the fact that Red Rover really became our home! Even though we stopped at over twenty cities along the way, we always had a “home base” in our Acura MDX. We’d have our little “things” placed right where we’d need them - both pairs of sunglasses had their home, our mints were in a hidden compartment in between the seats, the XM radio was programmed to our favorite stations, and our seat heaters (and coolers!) were set to just the right temperature. It may sound silly, but these little routines gave us a sense of normalcy throughout our trip that really made a big difference. Not to mention our luggage fit perfectly in the back - and we had a LOT of luggage!
There’s a lot we already miss about life on the road - the constant adventure, the random stops places we’d find ourselves in, the friends we’d make… but we especially miss Red Rover. Yep, even after 5,000 miles in the Acura MDX, we’re still every bit as obsessed as we were on day one. Maybe even more so. It was the PERFECT adventure car. And would be the perfect family car one day… maybe in the not-so-distant future. :)
If this sounds like too much driving for your liking, maybe we can propose a helpful alternative? One way to cut hotel costs (and add to the adventure!) is by renting an RV with RVshare. They're the largest, safest and most trusted RV rental marketplace with wide ranging inventory from affordable pop-ups to luxury motorcoaches. Whether it's just you and your significant other out on the open road, or you're planning a trip with your family - they have something for everyone! They even have pet friendly RV rentals too! RVshare also has 24/7 emergency roadside assistance on every booking, making it a very safe and trustworthy travel option. Head to RVshare.com to learn more!
