Dog-Friendly Napa

Great site - I had no idea so many of these were dog friendly!

Napa Valley - Dog Friendly Wineries

Hiking Sugarloaf Mountain: San Francisco Peninsula

The park has continued to be a bit of a mystery for me - I have yet to find an official site with a trail map. However, Google Maps comes through for me. You can see the starting point and the trails clearly on the map. This park is dog-friendly but full of critters, including a coyote that watched us from up the trail one day.

Starting at the intersection on the map, head west on Bartlett Way. There are a couple of houses on the undeveloped road (one of which has lost the bridge section of it's driveway - yikes!) then a large gate that enters the park itself. As you walk along the creek, you'll see evidence of an old home and horse corral that were on this road. There is a bit of urban myth / history about this area in this blog. Whatever the history might be, this stretch can be pretty lonely and just ... eerie. Can't explain the feeling, but it is odd.

Maybe part of the eeriness is from another random burnt-out car you'll find when you turn right up the Saltson Trail. The trail gets steeper and as you climb, watch the trees on the left. You'll see the car, part of the collective of burnt out cars in this area.

What the...? Not like there is a road nearby....

You'll reach a junction where you have a choice to make. The path the left takes you up to the houses. The path downhill takes you toward Laurelwood Park. To your right is a wonderful, steep trail to the top of the mountain! Go ahead, climb it! It rises at about a 45 degree angle in most places but it really isn't a long climb overall. From the top, you get 360 degree views of the area.

Fog in the distance, coming over the mountains

From the top, you can extend the hike down into Laurelwood Park where the trail narrows and can be heavy with poison oak. You emerge in the well-groomed park itself - a bit disconcerting after the wildness of Sugarloaf! Alternately, you can re-trace your steps - coming back down the path can be steep and there is loose gravel along the way. Watch yourself. 

And watch for coyotes, deer and bunnies watching you from the side of the trail. ;-)

-- Happy Climbing!

Huntington Beach: No Dogs Allowed

On a recent trip to Orange County to attend a big Shiba Inu meet-up in Anaheim, those of us traveling in from other areas decided to stay in Huntington Beach. After all, it has a huge dog beach and was voted one of the most dog-friendly cities in California.

View from HB Dog Beach

Not so anymore. It was very dog UN-FRIENDLY overall. The Dog Beach is still very good - it goes on for a good long stretch and has enough of a bluff to keep the dogs from escaping onto the Pacific Coast Highway. However, it is pretty crowded and narrow and folks hang out there with their kids. For someone use to Fort Funston, it was a bit of a difference.

The bigger issue was the "no-dogs allowed" policy for all restaurant patios in the downtown / Main Street area and through-out the city.

Every patio had an iron fence around it with a large sign stating no dogs. I asked one of the owners and he said they had gotten multiple tickets, so they had to enforce the rule.

Shorebreak Hotel continues to be dog-friendly - check out this little Shiba's own review of the facilities. Because it is their own property, Shorebreak can continue to allow dogs on their restaurant patio.

Overall, it was very disappointing that they had limited things so much in Surf City - but with California being what it is, there are plenty of other places to go that are dog-friendly! (I'm looking at you Carmel-by-the-Sea and San Francisco)!

-- Happy Travels (woof!)

Dog-friendly in San Francisco: A few of our favorite places!

As mentioned in a previous post, San Francisco has more dogs than children: so thinking "dog-friendly" for your business is going to make a difference. On a recent trip to Ohio, I realized that while the Midwest has plenty of dogs, they stay at home. It was a stark contrast to the dog-friendly environment in San Francisco.

If you are visiting SF with your furbaby, here are a few of our Fuzzbutt approved places.

Eating / Drinking:

Elite Cafe - Sunday brunch is a favorite here, and reservations are not taken. If you want the outside tables (heat lamps are provided), get here early. This is a heavy dog area - it seems like everyone is walking a dog here. If they aren't, they love dogs and will stop and admire yours! Try the habenero-infused vodka bloody mary for a kick and the deviled eggs are yummy!

Absinthe - The sidewalk tables are small and the sidewalk area isn't very broad. So make sure to keep tails well out of the pedestrian walk area. The staff are great with dogs and welcoming. No heat lamps, but this is Hayes Valley which tends to be a tad bit warmer than other parts of the city. Try the burger and the deviled eggs. And the fries. And the cheese. Oh heck - try it all!

Park Chalet - Dog heaven. Hang out on the lawn with your best friend, order food, listen to music. In the summer, it is super crowded here so stake a claim on your spot early!

Playing:

Corona Heights - Fenced in dogpark! Fuzzbutt is not an off-leash kind of dog, so this place is fantastic for us. The dogs here seem to be generally well-behaved and many of the pack walkers and dog walkers come here in the afternoons. After playing in the park, you can climb to the peak and have amazing 360 views of the city. The downside is the park gets super muddy and takes some time to dry out. In the summer, it can get dusty, though parks and rec have made an effort to add more mulch to control the dust factor.

Fort Funston - Since we don't do the off-leash thing, I cannot speak personally to this one. But EVERY dog owner I speak with loves this park. This dog beach is a top spot again and again. It is huge! The NorCal beaches are not known for being warm, so bring layers - and watch your dog in the surf. The Pacific Ocean can have some funky currents in this area.


Golden Gate Park - There is an off-leash and fenced dog park around 38th and Fulton Street. On-leash, the park is dog-friendly and huge. There are cool paths through the woods as you get closer to the ocean end of the park. Stow Lake is very entertaining, especially if your dog likes to chase birds (which is frowned on, but still funny). Do not let your dog in the lakes to actually EAT the ducks and geese - this is seriously bad form. Stow Lake has Strawberry Hill in the center which is a great climb and fun to explore.

Shopping:

Fillmore Street - From about O'Farrell all the way up to Sacramento Street, Fillmore Street is a homage to consumerism. It is also a very dog-friendly area. Every store we've walked in, except for the food stores, has been welcoming of dogs. We always ask first, but have never been denied. One block over at Steiner and California is ... park. More fun for your best friend!


Union Square - We took Fuzzbutt here often as a puppy to help socialize him. It is absolute chaos, so if you have a timid dog, I wouldn't recommend this area. There is only one good green area for potty breaks, located on the Post side of the Union Square green area. The cable car lines in the streets can freak out some dogs also and there is just so much foot traffic that you really have to keep your dog close to you to avoid them being stepped on. The stores are nearly all dog-friendly: Macy's, Tiffanys, Barneys, William-Sonoma, Banana Republic, Lush - all have been tested and are good with dogs coming in. Outdoor dining is limited, but if you go over to Belden Place you'll find plenty of outdoor seating.

Happy Travels!

Dog-friendly in San Francisco: A Lesson

San Francisco is a city with more dogs than children. The SF Animal Care and Control estimates there  are 120,000 dogs in San Francisco while according to U.S. census figures from 2000 and 2005, there are between 108,000 to 113,000 children. When you think of the cost of living in SF and the sheer complexity of raising kids in big cities (quality of schools for starters), it probably isn't a surprising statistic.

With great weather pretty much 3/4 of the year, San Francisco is also perfect for dogs and their people. So - if you open a business in SF and you do not factor in the dog crowd, you are making a tactical error. Perfect example: a business not to far from us recently added outdoor patio space for dining. "Yeah!" I think... but as we walk by I notice this sidewalk patio is accessible only by entering the restaurant and they tell us service dogs only on the patio. Um. Hello? You have a great sidewalk patio with wind-screens and all, in an area with wide sidewalks (so rare) and you choose this as you plan? Guess what? Empty patio for them today on a gorgeous sunny Sunday afternoon. Just a couple blocks away every outdoor patio on Fillmore was filled - and more often than not with dog owners.

Lesson here? Look around your neighborhood and think a little. Sheesh. 

Dog-friendly Wine Country: Sonoma, CA

The city of Sonoma is surprisingly close to San Francisco - just about 45 minutes in the car gets you to the main plaza in this little wine town. This is the Carneros region of Sonoma wine country - further north (another 45 minutes or so) will find you in the Russian River area of Sonoma. Make no mistake: Sonoma is a huge county. Even Napa is a very long valley-based county. Santa Rosa is about 45 minutes from the actual city of Sonoma.

Carneros has tons of great wineries; however, due to the onslaught of massive rain storms, our trip was cut a bit short and we didn't get to fully explore as much as we liked (guess that will be a follow-up trip and blog!).

First stop in Sonoma: Three Dog Bakery. This store is huge with a bit of everything - including treats for the kitties! We were looking for lunch locations and the ladies working were super helpful in recommending places and letting us know that Sonoma Plaza is NOT dog-friendly. Huh? Really? Sure enough, big signs - no dogs allowed in the plaza, not even on leash. As we walked around the edge of the plaza fuzzbutt expressed his opinion of this. Thankfully I had doggie doo-doo bags. (How embarrassing).

After buying carrot cake and mini carob-chip cookies for fuzzbutt and being embarrassed by him on the plaza, we went to the Swiss Hotel. They have a nice front porch area which is covered and heated with heat lamps and the staff were very dog friendly! A bowl of water was brought out without us even having to ask. Food was pretty good and drinks were strong. A win-win for everyone!

After lunch we ventured to Cline Cellars where every tour bus in the world was stopped. It was madness. The grounds were very beautiful but we really didn't bother to explore much due to the weather. We did end up tasting there and the wines were decent. We didn't confirm their dog policy but they seemed pretty casual so it would be worth trying if you have a pup with you - they appear on several sites as being dog-friendly.

Our hotel for the night was further north, in Santa Rosa, near the Russian River area. The Hilton Sonoma Wine Country is dog-friendly with a $50 non-refundable fee. That is it - no other comments or restrictions. I asked about special walking areas (or areas to avoid) and was told any place is OK. The hotel has a great pool area and the rooms are typical Hilton rooms - nice bedding, ugly furniture. The restaurant at the hotel, Nectar, has an outdoor patio with heating lamps but is NOT dog accessible. Stupid, right? Dog friendly hotel with a restaurant where the patio can only be accessed by walking through the restaurant. Dumb. Well - you aren't really missing much - the food was horrible. The drinks were good, but the service was pathetic, at best. For details, check out my yelp review.

The next morning dawned cold and rainy. As in raining cats and dogs (ha-ha). We cut things short, but I was determined to go to the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center for their new food and wine pairing. For $25 you get seven (or more) pours of their reserve wines, paired with yummy little snacks. You really can't get much better than this! Our chef, Ryan, was terrific and explained everything he brought out. If you have dietary restrictions - speak up. Ryan adjusted on the fly for us when told hubby doesn't eat pork.

Due to the downpour of rain, we didn't take fuzzbutt into the wine center with us. I did ask and the gentleman working said he didn't see any signs forbidding it, so he didn't see any issue. Yeah!

And with that, we braved the storm and traffic to return home.

Happy Travels!

** This post approved by fuzzbutt

Traveling with Pets

Recently we started planning a long trip to visit family and we want to take our Shiba Inu with us. He's too big for cabin travel (27 pounds) and most certainly will not fit under the seat. Folks with a dog under 20 pounds have some GREAT options. Petfinder.com did a fantastic job summarizing these and the top 5 pet friendly airlines for the 2009 year.

I called Continental since fuzzbutt isn't going to fit under any seat, any where. They have a 24 hour desk and the lady I spoke with told me the pets are in cargo, but in an area separate from the luggage. This area has the same temperature and air-pressure as the main passenger cabin. It is kept dark, but no one is down there with the pets during travel. Pet are loaded last onto the plane and taken off first by dedicated staff (not the regular luggage handlers). In talking to friends, I joked that I might almost prefer to travel in the "pet cabin" versus the main cabin (dark and quiet)!

Rates aren't cheap - but we are booking our fuzzbutt and will see how it goes. Stay tuned!

For those who live in some key cities (Chicago, NYC, DC, etc), check out Pet Airways. They ONLY fly pets and seem to have a first class service. Be warned though: they do not land in most of the major airports in those areas. For example, in LA they do not fly in/out of LAX but rather "Hawthorne". No idea. . .