We went to a place called Justin Trails for a night last weekend. We did this because I requested a getaway for my birthday and this was a place we could take Hannah with us that was within a couple of hours driving distance. We only did a night because a) we weren't sure how Hannah would do with it, b) I don't really like being anywhere besides my house, and c) do you think money grows on trees? Ha ha ha. That last one made me think I was my dad for a hot minute.
It's a cool place. You can choose from tent camping places to glamping to actual suites in real buildings with real bathrooms. Hopefully you all know me well enough to know we stayed in a suite in the renovated farm house.
Hannah did okay. She was not crazy about hearing people in the other suite when they were going up and down the stairs and she did a bit of barking. This is actually a bit problematic because I think it means she would be a nightmare in a hotel situation and this limits our ability to travel, even if we take her with us. She also wouldn't eat dinner that night, so that's another worry. Oh, well. Some dogs aren't meant to be on the road. Also, my boss suggested we get a prescription for a sleep aid for her from the vet for this type of situation and I hadn't even considered that.
The resort had llamas, goats, and lots of dogs roaming around.
They also had hundreds of acres of maintained trails. I think we saw approximately ten acres of those because we were pretty worried about poor Hannah overdoing it. Sometimes she forgets she's an older dog who has a dodgy back.
But it was so much fun because we left her off leash and once we were out of sight of the house, we never saw another human or canine.
And we even tried to do a fun selfie with the dog, in the spirit of Birchie, although Hannah was not the most cooperative.
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| That vein in my forehead! Folks, this is what it looks like when I don't wear makeup. Also, Hannah was PISSED that we told her to stay when she could have been RUNNING AROUND. |
Oh, AND I made Dr. BB drive twenty miles to a well-reviewed bakery where I purchased myself a tiramisu dessert cup AND and a turtle sweet dream. #noregrets
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Do you ever take your pet with you when you travel? How does that work for you? Do you find it easy to get a pet sitter or board your pet?
That looks fun! Sometimes it's nice to have a little getaway, and the ones close to home are the best. It sounds like the hiking trails were fantastic, even if you didn't get to explore all of them. Maybe you can go back at some point?!
ReplyDeleteBB is a good sport, since I know he can't have any of the treats, and that would be hard for me! If you ever get to Marquette MI in the UP, you have to go to the Huron Mountain Bakery.
Ooohhhh... I love a good bakery recommendation. Noted for next time I'm near Marquette.
DeleteWe might go back. It really was lovely, but it was also sort of pricey. I would love to see it in the fall, though. Maybe another night in late October would be perfect!
LLAMAS!!! I love them so much.
ReplyDeleteIf we can drive to a destination, we usually take Rex with us, and we used to do the same with Barkley until he was really too old to be in the car for long periods. Some exceptions would be if we were doing a lot of activities during the day that don't allow dogs, then we would leave Barkley at the "pet resort." Rex is a pretty good traveller though, he likes being in the car and he's always excited to be going somewhere. He will usually skip at least one meal when we travel though, but I feel like he makes up for it later, so I don't stress about it. Hell, sometimes he skips a meal at home if there is something different going on.
If we fly, which we often do, obviously we board Rex. I can't even fathom what I'd have to do to fly him somewhere.
Also, you look great with or without makeup! You have perfect skin!
We used to board Hannah before her injury. She also used to do doggy daycare on a regular basis. But now I worry that if she were playing all the time, she'd hurt herself. Dogs can't self-regulate! I guess we do need to figure out a boarding situation, though, if we ever want to travel without the dog worry.
DeleteHannah's an okay traveler, which is to say she doesn't get carsick or whine. But she also is stressed out in the car, always pacing in the back and panting. But she seems happy to be with us, so I let it go.
SO beautiful!! Love that you got to take Hannah along-- Beatrix always started at a doggie resort, but I think she would have liked to tag along.
ReplyDelete**stayed.
DeleteWe saw so many dogs there. We are clearly not the ones with a dog whose hard to board. Beatrix would have loved it there, I bet!
DeleteIt looks like a nice place to stay and wander, and you did something a little out of the ordinary. Happy Birthday, by the way.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun! It's always nice to do something you've never done before.
DeleteI am dying to take a little trip with Doggo. I think we can do it next year - right now she's in a furniture chewing phase so we would not be good guests, and puppies are always unpredictable. I think she would bark at noises around us but she usually quiets down if we talk soothingly to her, and she's doing fine at recall when we let her off leash. We would definitely only do one night to start with.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first got Doggo we boarded her at our vet when we traveled, which was fine, but once we started taking her to the Doggy Day Care place, they won all of our boarding business. She gets to play with other dogs all day long, so it's hard to say who enjoys vacation more - her or us.
Dog selfies are always a challenge! Stepdog would humor us by sitting and staying still long enough for the hoomans to move our heads so that we were facing the same direction as her for just long enough to take the picture. Doggo is happy to sit but not still, so we don't have very many selfies with her yet.
That llama tho! Even if it was short, it sounds like a fun weekend. I read somewhere that shorter vacays are more satisfying than long ones - they're cheaper and easier so there is less stress.
Hannah is terrible at recall off leash, but she will stay if I tell her to. It's not ideal, but in her defense, I do work on the stay command more than I work on the come command because it's hard to find times when she's off leash in a safe space to work on come. I should do more work in the backyard on a long lead.
DeleteIt was LOVELY to be home by Saturday afternoon and still be able to do regular chores and unpack and not feel like the whole weekend was lost. I never thought about the advantages of just a one night stay before, but I did like the timing of it all.
I love this! I want to go, and I would definitely stay in a suite with a real bathroom as well. It looks really beautiful. Did Hannah see the Llama? Ha, I'm wondering what her reaction would be.
ReplyDeleteJENNY! Hannah didn't even react to the llamas. We kept her pretty far away from the llamas and the goats, but she's used to livestock because we live in Wisconsin. I don't think you understand how there are random cows and horses everywhere!
DeleteNow you've made me want to visit Sparta, Wisconsin, and Linda's Bakery! 🤣
ReplyDeleteIf you come visit Sparta, let me know! I'll meet you there!
DeleteThis sounds like a lovely little vacation - and how nice to bring Hannah along. I've never traveled with a dog, but it sounds like fun, and I'm glad there are dog-friendly places to stay!
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely and I'm glad we took the time to go!
DeleteWhat a beautiful area! And the place you stayed looks charming. I'm sorry Hannah wasn't a very good traveller, but some animals are just homebodies.
ReplyDeleteWe used to take Piper and Marlowe with us to the lakehouse every weekend, but it was too stressful for them. Marlowe hated the ride there and back and panted in the carrier. Once we got there, she was fine. Piper was great and relaxed in the carrier, but he spent the whole weekend under the bed or hiding in the bedroom and hated it. And trying to get them corralled to go home was a nightmare. Finally, we just decided that leaving them home with plenty of food and fresh water for the weekend was the way to go. We're all much, much happier.
Admittedly, cats are just easier that way.
Zelda gets carsick and pukes in the car and I feel so terrible for her, even if we're just going to the vet. Poor kitty. She never gets to go anywhere! And I think she's okay with that. But cats are sooooo much easier to just leave at home, as you said. Zelda can be okay on her own for up to four to five days and, frankly, I don't like to be gone longer than that, so that has historically worked out for us.
DeleteLooks like a great adventure, and I'm glad Hannah did OK! The only place I've traveled with a dog is one year when we had a cabin in Tahoe, we brought our dog Genevieve. She did great, but it did limit us. Mulder never went anywhere outside of a day trip. If we were gone overnight, we had to find him a sitter. At first that was pretty easy, Ted's family in town would watch him, and he loved their house. Then they moved away. When we went to a wedding in 2019 and all of the people who would usually watch him were out of town at the same wedding, we boarded him. Our neighbors used a local person that they liked and trusted. When we went to meet her and make sure Mulder would get along OK with her dog, she suggested that we book through Rover.com rather than directly with her. That's because if you book through Rover, if (god forbid) something happens and they need to go to the vet, it's covered by Rover. So we did that. I hated dropping him off, he jumped on me as I was leaving and BEGGED me to NOT leave him there. I cried on the way home. But she then sent me pictures of him happily begging for treats, going for walks, all of that, and I was able to enjoy myself. Then in 2021 we went to Maui, and we left him with Ted's parents, which worried me. He was a bit of a handful sometimes, and they are getting older, and I worried he wouldn't be OK. He was fine. I'm a worrier. But all of this worry when we go out of town, even for the day, is a big part of why Ted doesn't want another dog (SOB - The rescue just got a darling Keeshond, and I want him!). I wish he weren't so horribly allergic to cats, because they are SO MUCH easier, as Nance said.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I think you need a new dog in your life, friend. Sure, they're inconvenient money sucks, but think of all the good they bring to our lives! If you can't get a cat, you're going to have to get a dog, right?
DeleteThis looks like such a lovely place---and you are lovely even though I had no idea until today that you had veins. WHAT? *where's my sarcasm font* 😜
ReplyDeleteI think a sleeping pill might have been good for Hannah? I mean, it could have chilled her out so you could all relax?
I'm happy you got the dessert you deserve. Happy Birthday! Is it today? This week? Last week?
Biscuit gets a bit car/plane sick and my vet said to try Dramamine. It seems to take the edge of for her, which takes the edge off of me.
I will bring up the pill thing with the vet next time we're there. There has to be a way to chill her out or maybe she's just a neurotic dog and I better just accept that!
DeleteWe recently stayed in a hotel where someone has obviously just left their dog alone in the room, and it barked constantly for hours. Thank you for being considerate in your travels!
ReplyDeleteWe did not feel comfortable leaving Hannah alone for even five minutes in the room! I definitely wouldn't leave her all alone for hours. Poor puppers!
DeleteThis sounds like a fantastic birthday getaway! I'm glad it was a mostly-successful trip with Hannah, too. What did she think of the llamas?!?!
ReplyDeleteShe acknowledged they were there, but they didn't seem to phase her. She was much more interested in the other dogs that were roaming around!
DeleteLovely! Lovely! Lovely! The location looks so serene, your selfie is perfection, and short vacays are so satisfying. Are Llamas as peaceful Lamas? Haha.
ReplyDeleteOne of the highlights of my life will always be the road trip we took with all four kids (At, Nu, Scout, and Huck) to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone driving through MI, WI, MN, and the Dakotas. We stayed at the National Park cottages, but although the accommodations allowed doggos, they weren't allowed on the actual trails (because of bears). That was a twist we weren't expecting, but it was still a terrific trip! Thanks for the opportunity to remember it again!
We did a similar big road trip when I was a teen - Badlands, Yellowstone, Tetons. We went down to the Grand Canyon, too. It was amazing, but we didn't bring a dog! Maybe it would have been okay - someone could have stayed with the dog and got a break from all the other people. Now I'm wondering if Hannah would enjoy a road trip like that!
DeleteShe looks so happy! I respect you staying indoors, but I would be really interested to try glamping sometime, maybe soon after actual camping so it would be awesome in comparison.
ReplyDeleteWe don't generally travel with Lucy. She hates the car, she would bark any place down, and she's very happy being spoiled by my parents or Sonia and her daughter Avani. At this point I wouldn't mind trying her camping, but now I'd be too worried about her re-injuring her leg. Animals getting older sucks even more than people.
I would have glamped if there were bathrooms instead of outdoor toilets. I HAVE MY LIMITS.
DeleteYeah, it's hard to get good sitters for our neurotic little pup or we probably wouldn't have even done this experiment. We also are not comfortable with boarding because all the places around here just let the dogs run around together and play and we worry about Hannah re-injuring her back. WHY DOGS WHY?
Looks very peaceful and serene! I'm glad you got a chance to get away for a change of scenery with your hubby!
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely and I'm glad we did it!
DeleteThanks for the link. The cabins look right up my alley!
ReplyDeleteAwesome. The grounds are fabulous.
DeleteOh yay, I am glad you went on a little getaway where you could take Hannah and that you had a great time. It looks like a tranquile place!
ReplyDeleteI don't travel with pets, so I have no stories/advice to share.
It was such a lovely little place. I'm glad we were able to fit it in before things with the beginning of the school year get crazy.
DeleteThis looks like such a beautiful place! I'm glad you had a fun adventure, even if it was a little stressful with Hannah. I think the more you travel with her, the less stressed out it will be.
ReplyDeleteObviously, I do not travel with my cats (unless we're evacuating from a hurricane haha), but I have traveled with my mom's dogs a few times. Lucy refuses to use the bathroom outside during the first few days of being someplace new, which stresses my mom out SO much. Chip has no problems, but he's a barker so there's that.
Oh, ha! Hannah did not #2 the entire time we were away and we sort of knew that would happen. She will hold it if her routine is messed up. Dogs, man, they are stubborn!
DeleteWhat a lovely get away. It looks gorgous wherever it is.
ReplyDeleteAnd lamas. How fun.
No pets so I can't chime in.
It was so pretty. I bet it's glorious in the fall!
DeleteThanks for doing my research for me! I looked at this place last year and thought it looked amazing but I think it was super-new at the time. Putting it on my list, for sure. What was it, 3 hours for you? (It's like 2.5 ish for me). I desperately want to try glamping but not sure they have one-person options. I'll dig into the details!
ReplyDelete