San Diego:  A Must for your next Pet-cation! 

San Diego offers tourists over 70 miles of pristine beaches. It is the southernmost tip of California and borders Mexico.  From their beaches to mountains, parks, history, culture and attractions, San Diego is an adventurous area waiting to be explored.  As a result, San Diego is one of the most Pet Friendly cities in the U.S. and a MUST DO for any Pet-cation! (see our Webisode)

San Diego has three off-leash dog friendly beaches, as well as, a whole island of poochie paradise, including shops, restaurants, hotels and even places to get a PETIcure (or Brazilian for your dog).  For the sporty pooch, in June there is a yearly surf contest at Lowes Coronado Beach.  Dogs can enter after taking a few lessons.  Coronado Beach is so beautiful that even on an overcast day when the weather is not perfect you can still take a lazy day stroll in the center of town where they have fantastic out- door shops and restaurants.  San Diego is also home to the annual Food & Water Bowl Cat Show.

During our Pet-cation, we traveled to the famous dog beach, the Dog Beach dog wash(a do it your self dog wash-the first in San Diego). We went to the Original Paw Pleasers and Pet-I-cures by  Tess a Paw Spa. Benz got a PETIcure & T-touch massage which he really enjoyed, he got his nails painted. Oh and get this Tess does BRIZILIANS FOR YOUR POOCH! (Yes I said Brazilians-ladies we know this OUCH!)

In honor of our travels to San Diego, Benz and I decided to learn how to make home- made dog treats. We wanted to impress the ladies at The Original Paw Pleasers and Spirit the dog of course, so we took to the kitchen to attempt the dog treat recipe.  First, we had to find cute cookie cutters (obvi.) then we had to gather the ingredients. The biscuits turned out great and even picky Benz liked them (I tasted them too, hehe!).  I have to say however, heading to The Original Paw Pleasers is the way to go, especially since in my house my fiancé describes my cooking as "lucky I didn't burn the house down!" I love this place because they have doggy birthday cakes, fun/tasty doggy snacks and WOW, they also cater!

We had a snack at The Daily Scoop, and grabbed dinner at two different out-door dining restaurants that offer YAPPY HOUR.  Yappy Hour is an hour where pet parents can bring their pups for socialization, take advantage of some great food/drink specials and of course, enjoy some delicious doggie treats.

We visited Balboa Park which is quintessential San Diego.  At the Park we enjoyed listening to a saxophone player while we took in the beauty of the gardens and architecture.  Benz wanted to play with the puppies and the great thing about Balboa Park is that it offers three off leash dog parks.  While there, we met up with Dawn, the owner of Leash Your Fitness.  They offer boot camps where owners can bring their pets and take part in a series of exercises and obedience training.  We found Leash Your Fitness to be fun and unique.  They offer mid-season kayaking, hiking to fiesta Island, summer camping getaways and even yoga with your pets.

We settled in for the night at Lowes Coronado Beach Hotel, where we discovered just how much they love pets.  Hence the name of their pet friendly program “Lowes Loves Pets”.  Upon arrival at Lowes we saw about five dogs checking in with their families, and not just small dogs, big dogs were welcomed too. And after waking up and ordering room service off the dog room service menu, we took a surfing lesson with Jessis Dog-on surfing school! (Yes DOG SURFING-Benz can now hang 10)

San Diego is so amazing!  Benz and I had a great Pet-Cation and can't wait to go back!