Sunday, July 25, 2010

Napa Trip Last Blog & My Daisy Dog Travel Review

See blogs below for more on my Napa trip.

On the way to Napa we stopped to take a potty break and we saw these BIG things. HM called them "Dinosaurs". The other stops along the way, were not so exciting but HM & HD always managed to find a spot with grass so I wouldn't be walking around on hot pavement.

I've also included a few photos that HM took while we were walking around downtown Napa. I loved all the grass and like to run and play in it.

And finally... the Daisy Dog Trip Review!
Napa gets 4.5 paws! Sonoma is only getting 3.5 paws because the city square has an unfriendly park with No Dogs Allowed signs everywhere. That's an automatic full paw off. I didn't see any of those signs in Napa, plus Napa has the best dog park ever (see my blog about Canine Commons)!

We stayed at the Napa Discovery Inn. They only charged an extra $20 a night for me (and we learned they prefer that in cash) without a huge deposit like other hotels in the area would have charged. Behind our room there was a grassy field which was convenient for HM & HD to take me when I needed to go potty. I am a very good dog when traveling and have never had an accident in a hotel room because my HM & HD have had easy access to a potty place. This is very important when picking a hotel when traveling with your dog. There was a big Mommy deer and her baby that were in the field on a couple occasions when I went out. Mom deer would make it clear to me that I was not to go play with her baby. She stomped her feet at me. The hotel room was conveniently located to downtown Napa and although not luxurious, they didn't seem to mind that I was there. The Element in Las Vegas is still my measurement for hotels so that's why Napa only gets 4.5 paws as the Napa Discovery Inn was not quite as luxurious as the Element but was about the same price.

When traveling with me, my HP sometimes have to forego eating out. We ate at WholeFoods Market both in Sonoma and Napa for most meals as my Humans like the healthy take out meals and they have tables outside with a bowl of water for dogs. However, they had a very nice lunch at the Rutherford Grill and I got to lay under their table. There was another dog on the patio area as well. I highly recommend this place for humans to go and enjoy a nice meal when traveling in Napa-Sonoma area with a dog.

We also went to V. Sattui Winery for lunch after HM ran the Napa to Sonoma half marathon. We met her running friends there and I sat next to the big picnic table under shady trees. I would also recommend this as a dog friendly place. HM says the wine was very good too. They also have a big barbecue area where you can get all sorts of cool human meals.

Napa got "high paws" because overall there are lots of dog places to go, lots of grass, shady trees, places to eat with my humans and, of course, the coolest dog park (Canine Commons).


Me & HD by the City Hall sign. Note the nice green lawn was one of my favorite places to go potty.

Yum! I love eating Napa grass. Tastes better than fake Phoenix grass.

Some art thing in downtown Napa. They have lots of cool art things to look at.

Uptown theatre in Napa. They had lots of cool human entertainment scheduled. The week after we left, Lyle Lovett was playing. If you are traveling with your dog and want an evening out, there are lots of doggy sitting places that charge a small fee to watch your dog during the day. There were cards at Canine Commons for these services.

Ahhh.... nothing like a little cool grass under your feet when you need to take a potty break.
Note to Humans: Always carry little poo bags to pick up after your dog. Places are more dog friendly when dog owners are responsible.

HD & me next to some strange creature thing called a "dinosaur" during a stop on way to Napa.

At the Napa Half Marathon Expo

I went with my Human Parents to Cornerstone Gardens so HM could pick up her running number and stuff for her half marathon. This place had funny little pieces of "art" in different garden areas. I preferred just laying on the grass next to HD.

While we were there some of HM's running friends showed up and I was not very nice to them at first because I didn't know them. I met Darris in Las Vegas but I wasn't sure it was her so I kinda snipped at her (HM said that I was "bad" and I will be getting some training on being nicer to people that want to pet me). After I realized it was her, I felt bad and wanted her to be my friend. She ignored me though— so I had to try and charm her with puppy love to get her to pet me. It didn't take long and Darris is my friend again.

Me and some funny garden art.

Darris trying to ignore me.

Hah! That didn't last long!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

I went to Napa!

Hi everybody! Sorry I'm so late updating my blog from last weekends trip to Napa, California. Human Mom (HM) needed to get all my photos off the camera and it took her awhile. She says there are too many photos for just ONE Napa blog so I'm going to break it up into 3 different blog entries. Hopefully, I'll get them all done along with my Daisy Dog Trip Review during the weekend.

I wanted to first blog about my most favorite part of Napa—Canine Commons Dog Park. This by far is the coolest dog park I've been to and I had so much fun running around with other dogs. I went there every morning we were in Napa. Human Dad (HD) took me there when my HM was running a half marathon and I ran my own half marathon! The park has lots of cool stuff for dogs. Trees, big fields (HM said they were "acres") play pools, tennis balls, agility obstacles and really cool Napa local dogs. I don't think we need to wait for my total trip review to give Canine Commons 5 paws!

Look at me go! I could run around in this huge fenced in area as much as I wanted. Those green things along the fence are something the humans called "wine grapes". I wanted to run in them too, but apparently Humans don't want me peeing amongst the grapes.

Me and HD by the grapes. I'm panting from running around so much.

This is my BFF at Canine Commons. Her name is Abbey. HM said I'm part Corgi, which is what Abbey is. Abbey has short little legs but she is SUPER fast and we had fun playing together.

Yep! I have some Corgi in me!

Here's the gate to Canine Commons. Once you get through the gate, your home free! You can run around as much as you want!