On the road again, and it doesn’t come without its challenges. Unexpected expenses are something we planned for, but they seem to show up when you least expect it. This is especially important as a freelance photographer because some clients don’t care about paying on time. If that’s something you’re dealing with, I’m sorry—I’m trying to figure it out too. Once I find a way to bulletproof my contracts, the first thing I’ll do is share a blog on how to GET PAID ON TIME!
So far, we’ve driven from Brooklyn, made a quick stop in Jersey to go to one of our favorite fighting gyms (CULTR), and then spent the weekend in Richmond, Virginia, to visit some old friends. As you head south from New York City, the country seems to get less and less dog-friendly, with cities being the exception. Although they’re still not as dog-friendly as places like New York City or Mexico City.
From Richmond, we went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to check out the Great Smoky Mountains. They were stunning, and the views were amazing. If I were to go back to Gatlinburg, I’d stay in an Airbnb in the woods because the nature there is beautiful. We also drove through Pigeon Forge, which is the town next to Gatlinburg. If you like chain restaurants, this is your place—I didn’t know TGI Fridays or Red Lobster were still around, but in Pigeon Forge, they’re alive and well. The other surprise was that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park doesn’t allow dogs on any of the trails, except for service animals. This felt strange, as the only trail we did was a paved path about half a mile long. When I looked it up on the National Parks website, I found that none of the U.S. National Parks allow dogs on trails, to avoid them disrupting wildlife—which I understand completely. Luckily they allow dogs in the camping areas so if you’re going to bring your pup to a national park just don’t hike with them.
After the Smokies, we took off west through Tennessee to Nashville. After a long four-hour drive, we took Rowie to a park to play before dark. About 10 minutes in, she ran into a sharp stick, let out a yelp, and ran back to me with her eye closed. By far the scariest injury of her life—I thought her eye might have been impaired by the sharp stick. By the grace of God, we took her to the vet, and it turned out that her bloodied eye had been missed; the stick had gone above her eyeball, cutting only the inside of her eyelid. In the moment, I was pretty shaken, and afterward, I couldn’t help but think what it would be like to be a parent and have an actual child get injured. Luckily, kids can express their pain, either way it’s terrible to see something so innocent get hurt.
Since then, our luck has really turned around. As I write this, we’ve spent two days in Nashville. I got to visit an old friend and Muay Thai coach, P.J. McMahon, at the new Renzo Gracie gym in Nashville. I’ve been going to their early morning classes, and it’s amazing how much BJJ and Muay Thai can improve your mood, especially when you start at 5 a.m. The talent level of their competition team is something I’m not used to, so after two classes, I’m adapting as fast as I can. Meg and I have been working together on creating new photo shoots and videos just for ourselves, and that’s really the icing on the cake. Everyone’s healthy, happy, and we’re having fun together—and we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
