Miami

It took five long days of low-speed, low-mileage driving, but we did finally make it to Miami. The photo shows us on the evening of our arrival, passing our new Coconut Grove apartment building on our way to U-Haul to get the car taken off the trailer.

That was almost four weeks ago. Since then, we have settled in to our tiny new apartment, I have started my new job, and we have picked up Scout from Monica and Vicky's care. They looked after him in Bentonville while we finished our relocation, which was especially helpful because we were unable to move in to our apartment right away, due to a delay in the homeowner board's approval process, and needed to stay in the pet-free hotel next door for three nights.

Mobile, Alabama is halfway between here and Bentonville. Last weekend, Nan and I drove there to meet Monica and Vicky for Scout's hand-off. He was sporting a cool new puppy cut and was overjoyed to see us. After all that has happened in the last seven months, he must be feeling more than a little confused and insecure.

The three of us have spent the past week establishing new routines to get Scout comfortable in his new surroundings. There are two dog parks within walking distance, and they are always full of dog buddies to meet and romp with. Nan takes Scout on walks both morning and evening that usually have the closer dog park as the turnaround point. I join them for the evening walk if I get home from work in time.

Together, we are settling in to our new life here in Miami. It feels at times like starting over, but I know that it's really just another step in our long journey. We're already looking ahead to sailing the boat up here from Mexico next spring.