Before Ace and I could share our tidbits from our eleventh road trip, I want to pause and celebrate something truly meaningful. We are marking our one-year anniversary since we were notarized as a certified guide dog team and handler. Looking back, I vividly recall the fast-paced, highly individualized training, along with the deep responsibility of caring for Ace in a way that ensured his past experiences and struggles slowly faded under my training belt.
Over this year, we have reached countless milestones and created many success stories, most of which we have shared through our road trips and upcoming book. These moments are not about showing off, but about documenting everything we do, how we do it, and how much we have truly accomplished together.
Here are the guide work milestones we are proud to share: we guided through thirty-one Florida cities, navigated eight downtown areas, safely dined in thirty different restaurants, and completed stays in twelve hotels/resorts across various Florida cities.
Through consistent, high-level guide work, we walked 845 miles and climbed and descended 1,230 flights of stairs.
Together, Ace and I worked and walked our way through fourteen routes, becoming fully familiar with each one and ultimately establishing reliable, successful routes as a confident guide dog team. Along the way, we also walked four boardwalks across various Florida cities, further strengthening Ace's adaptability and confidence in diverse environments.
A wonderful message from our trainer, Christie:
When I matched Ace with Theresa, I was confident that she was fully aware of his history with stairs and also that she understood how to work with him to keep his confidence up on stairs, but was also aware that he could possibly become uncomfortable on stairs again in the future.
Theresa is a very capable handler, the type who gives a dog confidence, and Ace is generally a confident dog and also a very biddable dog, so I was optimistic. But if you had asked me whether I thought Ace's mild discomfort with stairs would completely go away, I would have answered, "Probably not completely." As I write this, close to the date of Theresa's one-year anniversary with Ace, I am happy to report that when I see videos of them tackling even the most challenging of staircases, I do not see any indication of discomfort.
Theresa started with "easy" staircases, and once Ace was solid on those, moved on to the toughest ones she could find! Ace learned that Theresa loves it when he does stairs, so over time, his feeling about them changed. I started this process when I was training him, but she finished it and brought it to a whole new level. To watch this team navigate stairs today is to see trust and teamwork in action.
It's hard to believe that at one point Ace was almost career changed for discomfort on stairs! My hat is off to Theresa for putting so much work into creating a truly remarkable guide dog.
I wanted to explore something different and unique, and I was curious to see how well Ace would fare riding Brightline, a high-speed rail. I chose Fort Lauderdale because downtown has so much excitement—and the rates were too good to pass up. I was nervous at first, asking around and researching how to get around Brightline, because I had never experienced it before.
This was our first time. Trains themselves are nothing new to Ace and me locally, but this is a high-speed train that runs along the East Coast down to Miami. So why not?
We were dropped off at the Brightline parking lot and learned the way around—if you park vehicles at Terminal C, you’ll have to take the pedestrian bridge and walk across just to reach Brightline. Once inside, I met a staff member and asked about the restroom and the elevator to the fifth floor. That’s where we explored and found the Brightline station, where you can check baggage or purchase tickets using the kiosks.
Pretty awesome.
I stood there for a moment, looking around, wondering what I should do while watching people move about. It felt confusing, but Ace stayed calm and patient, taking it all in.
Then we met an awesome staff member named Doug. We communicated very well, and I asked him about relief areas for service animals beyond the security point. The answer was no—there aren't any. I started figuring out timing and how long we had before boarding. We went back outside so Ace could relieve for the third time (winner!). When we returned, Ace already knew the way around—he was phenomenal.
Once back inside, we met up with Doug again. I wasn't sure how to scan the ticket because it's very different from the airport process. Security was a breeze—no issues at all for Ace, the bags, or me. I asked Doug to explain the train layout and how to get around, and he told me we would board using a specific elevator to the third floor platform. Just like boarding a plane, timing matters—the train doors close five minutes before departure.
We then met the train assistant, Carmen, and chatted for a few minutes. She was incredibly helpful.
We had a seating area with a table, and Ace settled comfortably underneath, resting peacefully throughout 3-hour ride.
The train itself is not completely smooth. It sways quite a bit at times, but not too badly. That's simply how the train moves, and you have to keep your balance to make sure you don't stumble or fall. It doesn't bother Ace at all.
When we got off Brightline in Fort Lauderdale, we had to take an escalator up, walk around, and then take another escalator back down to exit the building. It's somewhat unique, but that's how Brightline is designed. I was a little confused by the walking direction because the sidewalk wasn't connected. It wasn't clear, so I asked for assistance.
Unfortunately, the staff member didn't point us in the correct direction, and I quickly realized it wasn't safe for us to walk across the parking lot. It also made me wonder if he understood that we rely on curbs for safe travel.
Anyway, we found our way to the correct major street, Broward Boulevard, and Ace and I navigated across several railroad tracks. It brought back memories of working with my late guide, PK, in Denver, Colorado. Ace did a perfect job, and we continued on to another semi-major street, where we crossed a six-lane crosswalk with no issues.
Then I realized I had made a direction error—thanks to a glitchy GPS—just one long block later. We turned around, crossed Broward Boulevard's six-lane crosswalk, and found the hotel.
There are many tall buildings around us, and we found it exhilarating—feeling the breeze while learning the layout of the hotel. I won't complain about the limited space for Ace to relieve, knowing he's already a pro and can handle it whenever we find the right spot. We also learned which exit to use for the stairs: going out through the exit door leads to a small balcony where we can enjoy some fresh air, then we enter through another exit door to head back down. A nice workout. There is also an indoor staircase that leads up to the second floor, where the dining and bar area and pool are located. Yes, the swimming pool is on the second floor. Looking out the window, we were surrounded by tall buildings glowing with gorgeous lights as the sun set.
I felt so motivated after researching a few sculptures I wanted to check out, and off we went—navigating a difficult route through downtown Fort Lauderdale. Why not? We are fearless and always seeking more exposure. Tall buildings along Las Olas Boulevard did not faze Ace at all. He was super vigilant, making sure we stopped at every curb and searched for a post to activate the crosswalk. Sometimes the posts are not visible, and sometimes they are out of the way, but we made sure to use them so we could cross safely.
Everything we walked on was pretty cool, and none of it bothered Ace at all—he truly is my hero. Near the end of Las Olas Boulevard, the route became the most complicated, with uneven surfaces and crooked sidewalks. Think of a "unconventional path" with unique markings, circular slopes, steep dips, several metal grates, and even one grate that we had to walk through right at the curb. Really! Ace handled it all like a pro and was absolutely ace-mazing.
We couldn't find one of the sculptures we were looking for, so we went hunting for another interesting sculpture. THRIVE is a large public sculpture in downtown Fort Lauderdale created by South African artist Daniel Popper. The sculpture depicts a towering female figure with a calm, grounded presence. She appears to be ripping open her chest, revealing a hollow arch filled with greenery inside. People can walk through the opening, passing beneath the plants within her form. That one didn't scare Ace either. We covered three miles navigating through downtown, and Ace nailed every step of the way.
It was time for us to bid Fort Lauderdale farewell, and we felt it was best to head out an hour early, just in case we ran into any roadblocks along the way. This time, traffic was pretty heavy because of rush hour—right in downtown. Ace knew how to navigate, but some of the crossings were confusing because traffic was stopped in the middle of the intersection due to a train. Go figure.
We were walking alongside a major street, Broward Boulevard, when Ace suddenly stopped a few feet from something I couldn't figure out. About 75 percent of our path was blocked, and there was no way around it—on the left was heavy traffic, and on the right was an uneven area we couldn't safely navigate. We slowly approached and realized it was a homeless person sitting on a blanket on the sidewalk and refused to move, with several cups and bowls scattered around them.
I was nervous, hoping we could pass through because the space was incredibly tight. We navigated through barely twelve inches of space without tripping, and we made it. Ace was phenomenal, completely ignoring the items on the sidewalk next to the person. He knew exactly what he was doing and how to guide us through safely.
We crossed several railroad tracks successfully, and then Ace spotted Brightline. We finally found the correct sidewalk to cross the street safely. We explored around the outside of Brightline, and to our surprise, there wasn't much space for service animals to relieve—except for dogs like Ace, who can handle anything.
He is my hero for the third time in a row. I was in tears, knowing how phenomenal Ace is, especially after facing real dangers, and how he absolutely kept me safe.
The ride back to Orlando from Fort Lauderdale was a breeze, and Ace quickly knew his way around. I felt very confident that Ace can handle riding Brightline, and we will absolutely be using it again in the near future. This experience showed me that Ace is ready to advance to a brand-new challenge—flying on an airplane.
Here's a video that features several photos woven throughout the clip.
Next up, we have another road trip coming up—this time a "day trip" to a hidden gem somewhere in Florida. Keep your eyes peeled for it in a few weeks!