DOG FRIENDLY GETAWAY IN HISTORIC RHINEBECK, NEW YORK

When the holidays roll around we know it's going to be a busy, stressful time so we try to plan an early pet friendly holiday getaway with the dogs.  We usually go the first few days of December, when holiday decorations are up but before the holiday crowds are in full swing.  For a few years now, our dog friendly holiday vacation has been a few days in the quaint upstate New York town of Rhinebeck.

QUAINT AND HISTORIC, RHINEBECK, NEW YORK IS A PEACEFUL GETAWAY

Rhinebeck has always been a wonderful place for us to get away and unplug, not too far from Manhattan or Long Island.  Our favorite place to stay is the Beekman Arms Inn.  The Beekman Arms, established in 1766, is dubbed the "Oldest Inn in America" and has quite an interesting history.   The hotel consists of several buildings, the most popular being the main Beekman Arms Inn and the Delamater House Inn.  We enjoy staying at both of these beautiful, charming properties.  We've stayed there many times but neither of these properties are a pet friendly hotel so we've had to leave the dogs at home.  😞

Beautiful waterfall, pratically frozen, on one of our walks through the quaint town of Rhinebeck

We love to vacation with our dogs, they are our family, so it was disappointing that we could never take them with us.  I understand why pets are not permitted in the main Beekman Arms Inn or the Delamater House because they are historic inns with upscale furnishings and antiques.  I really can't blame them for not wanting dogs or cats in those unique and special hotel rooms.

DOG FRIENDLY HOTEL IN RHINEBECK, NEW YORK

However, the Beekman Arms does have one building that allows pets, it's called the Guest House, and is described as a "motel style" hotel on property.  We were never able to find photos of this building or the pet friendly rooms online in the past, they just didn't have them which made us suspicious that they might be hideous. Recently though, we found a photo of a dog friendly room at the Guest House on the web site and it didn't look bad at all!  We decided to take a chance and book a dog friendly room in the Beekman Arm's pet friendly Guest House property.  We were pleasantly surprised.  It was a far cry from the beautifully appointed rooms of the main Beekman Inn and the Delamater House, but we really enjoyed staying there.  It was wonderful having our dogs with us in one of our favorite quaint upstate towns!

The pet friendly Guest House building at the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck, New York.  There's actually a cute courtyard area behind this fence, I'm sorry I didn't get a photo of it.

The Guest House at the Beekman Arms doesn't look like much from the outside.  It's definitely more "motel style", but it was clean and comfortable.  We were just so delighted to be able to finally bring our dogs with us to Rhinebeck!  There don't seem to be any other dog friendly lodgings in the town of Rhinebeck.  Here's a photo collage of our dogs Icy and Phoebe in our Guest House room.

Our pet friendly room in the Guest House property of the Beekman Arms Inn, Rhinebeck NY

GREAT WALKABILITY AND DOG FRIENDLY!

Having our dogs with us on our Rhinebeck getaway was great.  We loved being able to walk through this beautiful little town with Icy and Phoebe.  The sidewalks weren't too crowded and there were several places for both the dogs and us to enjoy together.

There's a lovely little park with a lake at one edge of town, which Icy and Phoebe loved exploring.  The lake runs off into a creek with a waterfall that was partially frozen. It was so pretty!

Just steps from our hotel room we discovered another great dog friendly park with a gravel walking path and a large grassy field.  Each morning and evening we went for nice long walks with the dogs here.  It must be gorgeous when it snows.  Unfortunately it's not an off leash area but we enjoyed it so much.

A wonderful dog friendly park where we took lots of long walks with the dogs

ENJOYING THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT IN RHINEBECK, NEW YORK

The town of Rhinebeck and the Beekman Arms hotel were beautifully decorated for the holidays. This wonderful antique sleigh stood right outside the Beekman Arms Inn so we took advantage of a photo op for Phoebe.  Too bad there wasn't any snow, maybe we could have gone for a sleigh ride!

What, we're not going for a sleigh ride?! 

At night the streets were all lit up with beautiful Christmas lights.  It was so nice to stroll through the town in the evening enjoying all the lights.

Rhinebeck all lit up for the holidays

I love Broadway shows in New York City, but I really enjoy dinner theater too. Great food and a show at the same time - I love it! A wonderful theater company performed A Christmas Carol in dinner theater style and sang Christmas carols right in the Beekman Arms hotel.  We loved it!  The actors and singers were all so talented.  The little boy who played Tiny Tim was such a talent, I won't be at all surprised if I see that kid on broadway one day soon.

The talented theater company performed A Christmas Carol at the Beekman Arms hotel

I hope you enjoyed this post. We love sharing our dog friendly adventures and all the great pet friendly hotels and other places we've taken Icy and Phoebe to.  If you're interested in other dog friendly vacations and pet travel tips, check out more of our Dog Friendly Travel posts.

What dog friendly place can you suggest visiting?  Leave us a comment and share! We love hearing from you. 🐾💖

WINNER, WINNER, BETTER THAN A CHICKEN DINNER!

Recently BlogPaws, a pet blogging and social media network hosted a contest on Instagram.  You had to leave a comment about how you first discovered BlogPaws and why the annual BlogPaws conference is important to you.  The prize was a $200 Pet Travel Kit from Chewy.com.  I was so excited when I found out We Won the contest!!!

Phoebe was excited about all the great dog products we won in the contest!

As most of my readers know, we travel a lot with our dogs, Icy and Phoebe.  When planning vacations I always search for pet friendly destinations.  If we can't bring the dogs I pretty much don't want to go there!  As far as I'm concerned, Pets Are Family and you don't leave family behind when you're going on a fabulous vacation!  Well, OK sometimes you need to leave family behind when you take a holiday, but most of the time I want my fur kids with me if I'm traveling to a great vacation spot.

A few days after being notified that we won the contest, this box full of wonderful dog goodies from Chewy,com arrived on our front porch.

We won the BlogPaws & Chewy.com Pet Travel contest on Instagram!  Here is the first half of the winnings Chewy sent us.

I am so thrilled with all the wonderful pet travel gifts we got from Chewy.com.  Natural Balance treats, a giant Nylabone chew stick, Kong toys, a treat bag and more!  Here's a closer look at these wonderful pet products from BlogPaws and Chewy.com!

As if this wasn't fabulous enough, the next morning another box from Chewy was sitting on the front porch!  The dogs and I were so excited, it felt like Christmas morning!  This second box contained car travel safety harnesses for the dogs, a fabulous travel bag that will fit all of the dogs' travel gear, travel bowls, a beautiful pet blanket and more.

The second box of pet travel goodies from Chewy.com had everything we need for  great road trip!

Here's a closer look at the wonderful pet products in the second box of pet travel gifts from BlogPaws and Chewy.com!

When we travel with our dogs it's almost always by car.  Phoebe is a small dog and can fly in the airplane cabin with me.  But Icy is a Siberian Husky, way too big to fly in the cabin of an airplane, and I won't put my pets in airplane cargo.  

When we moved to Phoenix years ago, we thought it best to find a home and settle in before bringing our cat Maggie over.  That meant I had to fly my cat by herself in airplane cargo.  I hired a company to do all the necessary work needed for a pet to fly in cargo but I can't tell you how worried and stressed I was!  Flying with your pet in the airplane cabin is a bit of a process, but  I didn't realize how complicated it would be to fly pets in cargo.  Never again, so now we load up the car and road trip with the dogs!

All these wonderful pet travel products will be so helpful on our road trips with the dogs!

WITH ALL THIS GREAT TRAVEL GEAR FOR OUR DOGS, WE ARE BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE BOUND!!

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

Great Places To Go With Your Dog: Waterville Valley, New Hampshire

Years ago we discovered beautiful Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire.  It's a resort area with a small town square, condos and other lodgings.  It's geared toward outdoor activities such as skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, and other fun activities.  There's an indoor ice skating rink as well.  We had been there a few times many years ago when we didn't have a dog.  We always knew it was family friendly but until recently we didn't know it was also dog friendly.  

Town Square in Waterville Valley resort, NH

The absolute BEST part of taking our dogs with us to Waterville Valley is the dog friendly trail that runs along the back side of the resort.  It's actually a cross country ski trail, but dogs and foot traffic are allowed on this particular trail.  We took the dogs hiking each day.  It's a nice long trail, we had so much fun and it was just beautiful!

Icy pulls Phoebe in a sled along the dog friendly trail

We bought this adorable little sled for the trip and Icy had fun pulling Phoebe on it.  However, Phoebe didn't want to stay put in the sled, she kept jumping out!  It was a riot.

As we meandered along the trail, we took in all the crisp mountain air and the gorgeous scenery.  This lovely stream runs all along the length of the trail.  The soothing sounds of the stream and the birds chirping happily were so relaxing.  We desperately needed to relax and unplug from all the craziness of daily life, and this was the ideal place to do that!

A section of the lovely stream that runs along the dog friendly trail in Waterville Valley, NH

Icy and Phoebe pause to take in the beauty of the mountains during our hike

I wish I could lead into telling you we found a great dog friendly hotel to stay in, but that's not the case.  There are very few pet friendly lodgings in Waterville Valley.  Much of the lodgings are privately owned condominiums that don't welcome pets.  The few we did find were all booked up, you need to book those well in advance.  We found a dog friendly place to stay but it was pretty awful.  The place itself was older but it's a nice rustic lodge.  It definitely could use some updating but with a rustic feel it worked.  What didn't work at all was the dog friendly room!  When you travel with dogs you don't expect the Ritz for sure, but it should at least not be horrible!

The lobby area was one of the nicest parts of our hotel.  The giant scarf around the moose's neck was adorable!

I won't say the name of the hotel, I would never recommend it for travel with dogs or other pets, and I'm not one to badmouth products or places on my blog.  Suffice to say that the dog friendly room was super outdated, and by outdated I mean downright dingy!  Next time we travel to Waterville Valley with our dogs I'll look for a much better dog friendly place to stay.  Either that or I'll just leave the dogs home.  The only good thing about our room was the view of the stream from our window.

Phoebe stops for a photo by the stream along the dog friendly trail

I was amazed at how much Phoebe loved being in Waterville Valley!  She normally Hates the cold and doesn't even want to go out in the yard to potty.  But something happened to transform my fluffy delicate dog into a snow dog!  She was racing along the trail each day, and even during nighttime potty breaks she was happy to be walking around the village.  Who was this dog?!?  I guess there's a bit of magic in those mountains.

Here's a quickie video of us Icy pulling Phoebe on the sled:

John and I had some fun of our own too, we both had a chance to ski!  You may be wondering how we swung that with two dogs.  I like to downhill ski and John is a cross country skier, so we ski separately anyway.  I got to go skiing while he watched the dogs.  When it was his turn to ski I stayed with the dogs.  The cross country trails are right at the resort and the downhill trails are a quick shuttle ride up the road so it worked out great!  

We each had some fun bonding time alone with the dogs out on the trail and we both got a chance to ski.  The skiing was terrific, and being mid week the slopes & trails were practically empty, I felt like I had the whole mountain to myself!

Despite the crummy accommodations, it was an awesome trip!  I would definitely recommend a trip to Waterville Valley Resort, just be cautious about where you stay if you brings your dog or cat along.  Happy Trails!

What would you think about a trip to Waterville Valley?  Leave us a comment, we always LOVE hearing from you!

DOG SAFETY AT THE BEACH

On a warm and sunny Summer day, what's more fun than a day at the beach with your dog? 



A beautiful day at the Montauk Lighthouse beach, but Watch Out! there could be dangerous breakers ahead!

Dogs love to frolic along the seashore with their faithful humans at their side.  Along with all the exciting stuff to discover along the shore are dangers to watch out for so keep dog safety at the beach in mind.

During a beautiful romp along the dog friendly beach at the Montauk Lighthouse, we discovered one such shoreline danger. 



My husband and my dog found a dangerous stray length of fishing line with a two pronged hook and weight attached

Road Tripping With Pets

I've been helping Mom plan some exciting Summer road trips.

 

It's exhausting work!!

 

I also helped Mom put together these Tips for a Successful Road Trip With Dogs and these tips if you're Flying With Pets by Air.

How about you, are you planning any travel with your pets this Summer?  Leave a comment & tell us about it!

 

 



Winter Safety Tip For Pets

If you live in a warm climate, you may think you don't need to be concerned about Winter Safety for your dog or cat.  Not true, especially if you travel to colder climes with your pet!  Ever head up to the mountains for the weekend?

Beautiful view from the car traveling through New Mexico

We live in Phoenix Arizona but we travel quite extensively with our 2 dogs.  I recently had a Pet Winter Safety scare I wasn't prepared for during our trip back to Phoenix from the East coast. 

Your Dog Can Be Your Best Travel Buddy

I know many of you are dreaming of a fabulous warm weather vacation.  As you dream and plan for your next vacation, will you be taking your dog along with you?  I hope so because your dog can be a great travel companion! Here is some travel inspiration for the dog friendly vacations we've taken with our dogs. You might want to consider these next time you choose a travel destination.

We've travelled extensively with our dogs across the country. It's gotten to the point where we hate to leave the dogs behind when we travel!



Phoebe proved she's no prissy girl when she made it up this mountain in Sedona, AZ

Nearing sunset, we reach the end of this beautiful hiking train in Sedona

Iscy sits inside the famous Imagine Circle in Central Park's Strawberry Fields, a memorial to John Lennon

Icy in Central Park standing next to her idol, Balto, the last lead sled dog to reach Nome, Alaska, saving the town from a Diptheria epidemic during the Great Serum Run (aka Great Race of Mercy)

Icy chillin' on a beach in The Hamptons, NY

Phoebe refuses to get out of this super comfy bed during one of our road trips!

At the International U.F.O. museum in Roswell, NM.  The dogs weren't too sure about this place.

Icy gets up close & personal with a statue of one of our Founding Fathers in Colonial Williamsburg, VA

That was fun! Where to next, Mom!?

East Coast to West Coast, mountains to beaches and everything in between.... Take Your Dog With You!!  For tips on traveling with dogs, check out my post Road Trip With The Dogs.

Do you take your dog on vacay?  What's your dogs favorite vacation?

100 Places To See With Your Dog: NEW YORK CITY

After working long hours, commuting, and making their way through the hustle & bustle of the city each day, city dwellers love to come home to their adoring pets.  Nowhere is this more evident than in New York City where you have crazy commutes, stress, and hustle & bustle in spades!  New Yorkers cherish their pets, and New York City responds by providing all manner of dog friendly places and activities.  You'll find lots of pet friendly places in New York City to welcome your dog. 

One of many dogs walking their owners in New York City!

New York City truly is the city that never sleeps.  All day and all night long you'll find people on the streets.  You'll also find them walking or hanging out with their dogs at all hours! 

New York City is super dog friendly!

One of the best places to take your dog in New York city is the infamous Central Park.  The park is alive with activity every day of the week!  That activity usually includes dogs.  Dogs in the enclosed dog park, dogs walking or bike riding through the park with their owners, or just sitting out on the Great Lawn, people-watching and taking in the fresh air - well, as fresh as the air can be in over crowded, traffic riddled New York City!

Icy posing for a photo in the famous Imagine Circle. Icy imagines a world where all dogs have a peaceful, loving home.  What does your dog imagine?

Strawberry Fields is my favorite section of Central Park, where I spent countless hours when I lived in NYC.  Strawberry Fields is an area of Central Park that pays tribute to the late John Lennon, of the legendary music group The Beatles.  It's named after their hit song Strawberry Fields Forever.

At the center of Strawberry Fields you'll find the famous Imagine Circle, named after the famous song Imagine, which John Lennon wrote.  He lived in the Dakota apartments close to the park, where he loved taking walks with his wife, Yoko Ono.  This beautiful mosaic honors his life, music, and peace advocacy.  The dedication of Strawberry Fields and the Imagine Circle followed his tragic death in 1980, where he was gunned down outside the Dakota apartment building.



Icy poses with the statue of her idol, Balto.

On the East side of Central Park is a bronze statue of the hero dog, Balto.  Balto was the lead dog in the last relay team of sled dogs that saved the town of Nome, Alaska from a deadly Diphtheria breakout in 1925.  

Nome didn't have enough antitoxin serum to treat all the children and adults infected by the disease.  The only way to get the life saving serum to Nome was via sled dog.  20 relay teams of sled dogs delivered the serum over treacherous terrain to the desperate community of Nome.  Balto was the lead dog of the last relay team to deliver the serum, saving the town of Nome.  

The dedication plaque beneath the statue of Balto reads:

Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the Winter of 1925.  

* Endurance * Fidelity * Intelligence

Other fun things to do with your dog in NYC include visiting the many sidewalk cafes, a walk across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, or a stroll along the waterfront downtown.  From Battery Park at the tip of lower Manhattan, you can see the Statue of Liberty in the distance.  There are a number of fun dog parks scattered across the city as well, just search for them online.

Dogs aren't allowed at the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, or the ferries that take you there, but they are allowed on the Staten Island Ferry.  You'll get a lovely view of the NYC skyline from the Staten Island ferry. You can see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from the ferry as well.  Dogs must be in a carrier or muzzled to ride the ferry.  You can find a few pet taxi companies online that will take you and your pet anywhere in the city with advance notice. And of course, some Uber drivers will welcome your pet as well if you follow their individual instructions and requirements.

One thing to watch out for in New York City is the LOUD noises and heavy traffic that go along with NYC.  If your dog is very sensitive to loud noise, Sunday may be the best time to see the city.  Icy doesn't like the noise of the city so we take her to central park on a Sunday.  The park is so huge, traffic noise isn't an issue there. 

There are plenty of dog friendly accommodations in NYC, just do a Google search!  Plenty of stores are dog friendly too, including Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, and Ralph Lauren!  There are dog friendly boutique pet shops all around the city, and there's an Orvis store on 5th Avenue that is, as expected, dog friendly.  Bring plenty of Money & your credit card to Shop Til You Drop!! 

If you & your pooch do decide to visit, I hope you have fun in the City That Never Sleeps!!

TELL US!  If you've been to New York City with your dog, what was your favorite thing to do?   Share any tips or advice you have for traveling to NYC with dogs.

If you're traveling by air, click here to read my post on essential Tips For Air Travel With Pets   

Find other great Dog Friendly  travel destinations and Pet Travel tips in the PET TRAVEL tab on my blog's home page!