Because of Covid, I actually haven’t traveled in months! The last time I was on a plane was January 2020 for Miami and we haven’t really done any road trips either because of Covid. We have just stayed home, much to Weston + Fira’s delight.
When I started this blog, Weston + Fira were a lot younger and we frequently traveled for work and fun, so I had more to post and had a ton of fun creating dog-friendly city guides.
Now that they’re older, it’s a bit different. Weston’s almost 11. We don’t want to add any unneeded stress on him so those long-haul flights to Europe seem like way too much and leaving him for a few weeks is too sad–for all of us! Flights have become stricter, Covid still makes traveling tricky and I’m also getting older. I’m tired. Lol!
With time, things change.
I think, like a lot of us during this time, I’ve been appreciating where I live, doing more staycations and enjoying time at home. The dogs are certainly very pleased about this.
Luckily, we are close to the coast so we decided we were ready to do a small road trip and took a drive up to Carmel-by-the-Sea (4-5 hours north of Los Angeles). We stayed at The Getaway for a few nights and it was just the break I needed!
This boutique hotel has 34 rooms and is in the center of town- you can walk to all the shops, restaurants and the beach. Fira is obsessed with the beach and kept dragging me towards the ocean- I swear she always knows the direction of any beach, even if it’s miles away.
Right across from the hotel is a convenient park for nice little walks or a picnic. One of my favorite parts of the hotel was their daily happy hour. They offer a nice complimentary spread of cheeses, meats + wines. Enjoy outside on their patio next to the fireplace!
Carmel is one of the most dog-friendly cities in America and there were dogs everywhere. It seemed like at every table there was a dog sitting politely next to their owner(s). BYOB: Bring your own dog — so many dog-friendly wineries, wine tasting rooms and restaurants!
Speaking of restaurants, my favorites were Bicyclette (modern French-American), Dametra (mediterranean) and Pangea (Asian-fusion). The owner of Pangea is Korean so I was excited to see kimchi stew + kimchi fried rice on the menu, which of course, I ordered! It was my favorite meal of the week.
I had a great time, drank way too much wine and slept in every morning. 🙂 Btw, I will be partnering with The Getaway to give away one free night stay at the hotel! The giveaway will go live this week on National Dog Day August 26th on @WTFrenchie so make sure to check in and enter!
Where have you traveled with your dog lately?
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