The Five Pees of Travel - Pee 1 - Planning

We are soooooo ready for the B.A.R. to be here!!!

 Mama was ready to just hop in the car and GO, but we are making sure before we go anywhere, Mama is ready and doesn't forget anything (like our cookies!).

Arty and I wanted to make sure Mama had some basic guidelines to follow for our road trip.

After we thought of the 5 Pees, we decided to share them with you,  so you could help your humans get ready too!!

 Today, we are starting with the first Pee, Planning! Since we are driving from the west coast, we knew we better start planning SOON. We sat Mama down last weekend and started our planning! 

 The first thing we did was Plan Our Route!

 You want to make sure your humans get plenty of rest stops and potty breaks, so we usually plan no more than 6 - 8 hours of driving time a day!  

The easiest way we found to do this was by looking at a map (we went to Mapquest) and asking for directions to a town we thought was between 6 and 8 hours away (Mapquest will let you know the exact drive time). This also can help you estimate how long your total trip will be! Since we are traveling from Northy North California, and staying at the B.A.R. for the weekend, this will be a 14 1/2 day road trip for us, PAWSOMESAUCE!!

 After traveling 6 - 8 hours each day we knew we would need a nice comfy place to rest our furry heads for the evening. We needed to find a hotel and made sure they allowed both furry heads and human heads! Our pawrents are big LaQuinta fans; all but one LQ they visited allowed us to stay with them, plus they were so very understanding when Mama brought us all up here to Northy North California from Texas!  We also like that it doesn't cost lots and lots of green papers to stay there (so we can stop at pet stores along the way for special treats!!)  PLUS, they have a great reward program that will earn us free nights for future road trips!

 

If you don't like LaQuinta, or if there isn't an LQ where you are stopping for the night, we hear Red Roof Inns are also very pet and human friendly!! Nowadays, there are many pet friendly hotels around for you to choose. No matter which hotel you pick, we always advise calling ahead to make sure they don't have a weight limit or a limit on the number of doggies that can stay in one room with you! At all of the LQ's we are staying, pups stay for free, but always check wherever you stay to see if there is a pet charge or deposit required!

 We all know how many times humans have to go potty, plus I do love to stretch my pawsies a lot during long car rides, so it is always important to make sure there are rest stops along your route!

We searched and found a couple of websites where you can make sure they have lots of rest areas along the route you are taking. They are noted below with other helpful travel links!

 We also know how cranky our peeps get if they don't eat! 
Nowadays there are bunches of different options for humans, so they should be able to fend for themselves (I especially prefer drive thrus which serve french fries or puppachinos for sharing!)
But here is a tip for us pups. Last year, while I was with Mama on our road trip, I was a bit hesitant eating just my kibble. I found a tablespoon or so of delicious wet food helped the kibble go down much easier! I also find that having big bottles of water from the store (or filled up at home) were great for sipping at rest stops!!

We hope this will help you a bit with your planning!
 If you have a question we didn't answer, please ask in the comments and we will be sure to get back to you!! 
We will see you on February 16th for our next Pee of Travel, 
Preparing for your trip!

 Helpful Planning Links to have for Planning your Trip!

Planning Your Route

Google Maps

Mapquest

Rest Areas

Interstate Rest Areas

Google Map Rest Areas

General Tips and Planning

Go Pet Friendly

Our Favorite Pet Friendly Hotels

La Quinta

Red Roof Inn

Find other Pet Friendly Hotels

Bring Fido

Go Pet Friendly

Update

Hey Everybody!  Did you notice we added a countdown timer to the sidebar?  Yup, the days are getting closer and closer to when we all meet IN THE FURS!  

Our new header (thanks to Dory for designing it with her mom) shows a representation of the blogs (bloggers) who are planning to come to the BAR.  Lots of folks have already made their reservations (mostly Red Roof Inn).  Me and Stanley will be staying right in the park in our little wheelie house!  And of course Sydney from Chewy will be there!

You're gonna want to watch this blog for some information coming up on tips for traveling with your dog  (3rd Tuesday of the month).

At the BAR we want to give away some awards so we are wondering what types of categories you think will be good.  For instance:  Funniest blog, best photography, etc.  Then anyone winning (we will have a vote) will receive recognition at the BAR (must be present to receive a physical award).

So, what are some good categories?

Park Maps

Here are copies of the park map.  The first one is an overall map and the second one is a close up of our area.

The arrow points to our shelter (Tulip Tree).  We will have nearby trails for walking dogs, and a nearby lake and lookout tower too.

Gimme Shelter!

We are proud to announce that we have officially secured the shelter that will be home base for all BAR activities!  It is called the Tulip Tree Shelter and will hold 50 - 60 people.  

The Description: The Tulip Tree Shelter is an open shelter with a paved floor, a small grill and a group grill. It seats 60 people and has 15 parking spaces. The shelter also has vault toilets and a playground. It is located on the south side of the West Gate Road. The Tulip Tree Shelter sits in a private, semi-wooded area. Hiking Trail #8, leading to the West Lookout Tower or Ogle Lake, is close by.

We thought that this shelter would be pawfectly situated so folks can easily take doggies for walks throughout the day.  There are picnic tables in the shelter but for anyone who is able, you might want to bring lawn chairs (extras if you can).  It makes for more comfortable seating and (weather providing) we can expand into the area outside of the shelter.

Entrance Fee:  As with most all other state and federal parks, there is a daily entrance fee ($9/vehicle for out-of-state, $2/person if you walk in). To minimize this fee we can carpool into the park.  Anyone staying within the park itself will only pay one entrance fee.

Roll Call:  Be sure to check the Roll Call Tab to find out who has confirmed their attendance at the BAR.  Please let us know right away if there are any changes or corrections!

Lodging:  So far it looks like ALMOST everyone is at the Red Roof Inn (see Lodging Tab).  For anyone interested in staying at the park in an RV campsite, you can make reservations in December. They are only able to be made 6 months in advance.  It is expected that Murphy & Stanley will be staying at a campsite in the park.

Your Blogville Awesome Retreat Organizing Committee

Changing Seasons!

 As the weather cools down, the planning is ramping up for the BAR!  Our assistants (aka da Mamas) are working hard to make sure we will be totally spoiled and catered to at all times!

Above is the latest group photo showing the attendees!!

Are you planning on attending??
If so, and don't see your picture at the campsite, send it to Dory's Mama at bethblog(at)ebchristians(dot)com and join us around the campfire!!

FYI: Who's Where?

FYI:  Thanks to Dory for updating our camping photo as folks are committing to meeting at the BAR!  Just so you know, so far 5 blogs have made reservations at the Red Roof!  Me and Stanley are gonna be in the little wheelie house so we will stay at a RV park.  We haven't made reservations yet but it looks like we will probably go with the Last Resort RV Park (see link in tab).

Welcome to the Official Blogvile Awesome Retreat (BAR) Blog!

Let us know if you would like to be added to our group photo by sending a picture to Dory's Mama at bethblog (at) ebchristians (dot) com!

We are sooooo excited about the BAR and we want everyone to have one place they can go to learn everything there is to know about the fun we are planning!!! If you look under the heading of the BAR Blog, you will see separate pages for everything you need in order to plan this once in a lifetime opportunity!!

Let us show you around!!

General Information - Find all the information on the when and where here. You can also find information about regional retreats and some answers to questions you may have!

Roll Call - Who all is coming to BAR?? Find out here!! You can also leave us a comment and RSVP here!

Lodging Information - Need a hotel to stay? This is where you can find a selection of pet friendly hotels!

Cabin Information - Would you like to rent a cabin, or maybe bunk with a couple of fellow Blogville citizens?? This is the place to go!

RV Parking and Camping Information - Planning on bringing your camper or R/V or just want to experience a weekend camping and communing with nature?? You can find a list of places to do that here!

Make sure you follow us (you can click on the Follow Us widget on our sidebar!) so you can get further updates. We are planning a fun filled weekend for all pets and their pawrents!!!


We can't wait to see you there!!!!