We decided to get away for the weekend our baby was due, and chose to go to Clearwater. It was our first family vacation with a dog in tow, and I have to say that little Tuck was an excellent distraction for us all weekend. It's been a busy fall, so this weekend away was just what the doctor ordered - a chance to get out of our normal routine and relax without sitting around at home and thinking about what this weekend might have held, had circumstances been different.
Tuck enjoyed the ride down. His favorite spot to sit was on top of my suitcase in the back, because he loves to look out the window. He had a nice nap on the trip down too. Carson and I got a good chance to talk in the car - we aren't the chattiest people around, so it's relatively rare that we get good dedicated time to connect.
It was our first time renting through AirBnb and we loved our experience! The place we stayed was done with a rustic loft feel, which wasn't beachy but was cozy and unique. We got special permission to bring Tuck along to this place, and he wasn't allowed to sleep on the bed, which made him (and us, let's be honest) sad, but other than that it was a great place to stay!
One interesting thing about planning this trip was that we've never done a pet-friendly trip before. We researched local dog parks and dog friendly restaurants as we planned, and that was a fun way to do things. We hit up a dog park as our first activity of the day.
That evening, we went to a dog-friendly island grill sort of restaurant. We sat on the patio and ate normal food, while Tuck enjoyed dog food and a bowl of water at our feet. He wasn't sure what to think, but liked people watching.
In the morning, we took off for a dog beach! It was a bit of a drive, down at Fort DeSoto past St. Petersburg, but we don't mind being in the car. It turned out that there was probably a closer dog beach to us, but I hadn't realized that until too late.
Tuck wasn't sure at all what to think of the waves and ALL the other dogs, but once we got his tennis ball involved (Carson tossed it in the water), he was just fine. In fact, tireless was the word that best described him. I don't know how much he liked the water, but he LOVES that tennis ball and wouldn't stop going after it. We had to take breaks because we were afraid he would get too waterlogged.
If you don't like sand, a dog beach is not the place to be. Dogs don't understand the concept of keeping towels clean.
There's a dog park right next to the beach, so we hosed him off.
Back at the place we stayed, we relaxed and then got ready for a humans-only dinner!
We went to Clearwater Beach, which wasn't far, and got to see the end of the sunset. I'd meant to time it a little better, but oh well!
Because Tuck wasn't supposed to get on the bed, we'd had to barricade him in the kitchen/bathroom area. We spied on him as we were coming back. We felt bad about leaving our little guy all alone.
We left the next morning to head home to Tallahassee.
We grabbed lunch from Einstein Bagels, and it turned out that they have dog bagels too! Tuck really enjoyed his!
Our next little stop was another dog park. Tuck's not actually in the picture, but he left an impression with us.
Our final stop was to Rita's Italian Ice. This is a chain and it is delicious. I wish we had one closer to us!
The day was so nice, so we stopped along with lots of others next to a bridge that crosses Tampa Bay. We enjoyed the sunshine on a very warm 85 degree afternoon. I love October in Florida!
On the way home, Tuck snoozed and we enjoyed a relaxing drive.
All in all, a good weekend away!
