Skoolie Tails & Trails

If you have been following our newsletters, you know my husband and I have been touring the country in our very own converted school bus. We have totally downsized our footprint and have hit the road, traveling and visiting stores and meeting as many of you as possible. Check out our adventures here!
12 posts
Topic
#12 - January 2026
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#12 - January 2026

At the end of December our 3yr old golden (Blanca) went in full heat/estrus… and let me tell you, living on a school bus with Kingsley, our 3yr old GSD gunning for some action and Blanca flagging like it was going out of style, suddenly became “not a lot of fun” 
by Kat Donatello Travel
#11 - Fall 2025
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#11 - Fall 2025

We got back to Seattle in August which, while awesome in so many ways, was full of surprises. In short order: no sooner had we got back and said hi to the team and started work on some exciting new projects then I got some worrying medical news, and we’ve discovered our lovely calm GSD is an anxious reactive mess.
by Kat Donatello Travel
#10 - July 2025
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#10 - July 2025

Living in 300 square feet with four large dogs and Tim, running a growing company from a converted school bus—something had to give. And what gave was me. I became so caught up in the daily grind of managing everything (where are we staying tonight, do we have enough solar, can I get raw food for the dogs, will we make it to SC for my daughter’s wedding and an important trade show) that I lost sight of why I was doing any of it in the first place.
by Kat Donatello Travel
#09 - Summer 2025
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#09 - Summer 2025

OK - back to our tails from the road..,our home base for much of the month was Markham Park (near Ft Lauderdale), which has the most brilliant dog park called Barkham Park. The pups have been in absolute heaven with all the space to run and explore. But would you believe the unexpected highlight for us has been... the nearby shooting range? Sounds crazy, but it's been a game-changer for our skittish Harper. When we first arrived, the distant pops would start her trembling. But with carefully timed visits near (not too near!) the range, she's gone from hiding under the bus to calmly lounging outside during practice sessions.
by Kat Donatello Travel
#08 - January 2025
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#08 - January 2025

Ever find yourself saying "last month was a blur"? Well, January was exactly that! We've rarely stayed anywhere longer than a couple of days, and when everything is constantly new, sometimes I wake up wondering which state I'm in (thank goodness for the bus GPS!).
by Kat Donatello Travel
#07 - December 2024
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#07 - December 2024

What a year 2024 has been! Before diving into our December adventures (and there are plenty!), I want to take a moment to reflect. This year brought massive changes – we finally finished the bus and took the leap into full-time life on the road, which meant selling practically everything we owned (harder than it sounds!). As a company, we grew our small but mighty team, launched our new Omega oils, and have been working on updated packaging that you'll start seeing in a couple months. Most importantly, we passed our NASC audit, which was a huge achievement for our production team – they absolutely crushed it.
by Kat Donatello Travel
#06 - November 2024
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#06 - November 2024

I honestly don't know where the time went this month...but our purple bus adventure took an unexpected detour to Las Vegas to get me on a flight for a last-minute trip to Florida. Didn't know what to expect driving to Vegas but oh my goodness, was it incredible. Tim navigated us through a wind storm in Utah's ever-changing landscape, across vast valleys that took my breath away, and then down into Vegas which was hidden by a duststorm!
by Kat Donatello Travel
#05 - October 2024
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#05 - October 2024

If it’s fall where you are then ENJOY IT! I’ve been traveling for nearly 3 weeks (CT, GA, TX) on different work events and let me tell you…it’s not fall in TX yet!  I can’t begin to describe how much I’ve missed the dogs. Tim’s been looking after all four (4!!) and he’s frazzled, but I can’t wait to get back and be licked to death by my pups. I’ve been getting daily videos and photos with them swimming, sleeping, and getting in Tim’s way when he’s “redecorated”, whatever that means. We’ll see in 2 days!
by Kat Donatello Travel
#04 - September 2024
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#04 - September 2024

What a whirlwind couple of months it's been! After an incredible trip to the UK to see family and a quick explore in Austria, it was back to the US to be reunited with our furry pack. Let me tell you, five weeks is a LONG time to be away from your pups and I'm not sure who was more excited - them or us!
by Kat Donatello Travel
#03 - July 2024
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#03 - July 2024

Hello Hello! It’s been 12 weeks since I left Seattle with the dogs and we’ve now driven through…WA, OR, CA, NV, AZ, NM, TX, OK, CO, KA, IL, IN, KY, MO, OH, PA, NY, MA, RI, CT, NH, ME!! Along the way I’ve got to see the landscape and local culture change, the pups have experienced over 40 dog parks, and we’ve all had a brilliant time visiting all the stores we drove past.Each day I set off in the car with the dogs in search of a park for a morning run to wear them out. Moxey then slowly follows me in the bus and each night we park up and work on completing all the loose ends. We’re now 95% complete and have officially started living as full time bus nomads!
by Kat Donatello Travel
#02 - May 2024
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#02 - May 2024

Well y’all, the last few weeks have been filled with bus building, retailer visiting, new product designing, and even more dog rescuing! I left you last month on the cliffhanger that we’d decided to foster a TX stray that we named Kingsley. He’s a gorgeous white German Shepherd that has spent 18 months roaming the area we’ve been recently staying. To say he’s a gentle soul is an understatement. He integrated into our little pack so well that we’re going to keep him, and we’re redesigning the bus to accommodate him.
by Kat Donatello Travel
#01 - March 2024
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#01 - March 2024

Well, y’all the journey has begun! I’ve finally set off to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with the dogs and my husband Tim on an 18 month roadtrip around America in a (nearly) converted school bus! We’re halfway through the conversion and are finishing things in Austin (naturally), Texas with some help from our friends Kels and Jay, veterans in the art of renovating school buses, vans, and Airstream trailers.
by Kat Donatello Travel