Cross Country (almost) with Two Dogs - Day 2

Day Two: Mobile, Alabama to Van, Texas

Cross Country (almost) with Two Dogs

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 no amenities to be found.

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!

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. 

The food at the bar was good and the beer was cold. We had 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. 

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 is in the same area as a large fuel plaza, making fueling-up easy. Mauricio was able to refuel without getting on the highway while I packed the room and walked the dogs. The parking lot was spacious enough for us to park the truck and trailer as well as turn around. There are also lots of dining options, although the hotel suited us just fine. 

Before booking I highly recommend reviewing my original blog Cross Country with Three Dogs where I explain all the necessary steps to make reservations when traveling with pets.

Check out my Day-to-Day posts where I describe each hotel and area:

• Day 1 - Mobile, AL
• Day 3 - Amarillo, TX
• Day 4 - Colorado Springs, CO