How to vacation with a dog in Vermont

Summer’s flying by! The headlines? Daughter home from college. Boyfriend moving in the last of his possessions. Blog under major renovation. Writing, gardening, cleaning, adjusting…and, vacationing. With a dog.

The latest dog in my life is Roscoe, a mellow, old shepherd. He and the bf have been together for more than 14 years. They moved in as a package deal.  :)

When the three of us decided to visit Vermont, I was surprised by how easy it was to book a hotel room. I dreamed about canine vacationing back in the ’90s, two dogs ago. But in those days, most places didn’t take pets. Now we have affordable, uncomplicated options.

All I had to do was Google “pet friendly hotels vermont.” From here, I narrowed the search to our hippy-dippy destination: “pet friendly hotels vermont burlington.”

The Quality Inn in Shelburne offered the best rate: $136.25 per night. To get that price, I called the hotel directly instead of booking through a website like Expedia.com. As usual, mentioning my American Automobile Association (AAA) membership knocked off a more bucks.

The room was around the back, near the dumpster. No view, yet convenient. We parked practically next to the room, which was next to a dog-friendly patch of grass and near the indoor pool and sauna.

Our digs featured a separate alcove that contained a chair, a fridge and a spot for the dog bowls. We got a kick out of the pricing list posted in the bathroom, detailing what we would be charged if we decided to rip off a bath towel ($20) or a bed with mattress ($875):

For the views, we hit the road. There was so much to see and do:

Burlington is a town for dog lovers. At the Saturday morning farmers market, dogs were everywhere:

The food at this weekly event features delicious, locally-sourced produce and products. We tried Taiwanese dumplings made with non-GMO ingredients, chorizo sausage franks and fat toast. Fat toast is a tasty  concept: a slice of bread slathered in your favorite grease — coconut oil or butter —  then topped with jam, honey, nut butter or more butter:

One night, we took in the sunset overlooking beautiful Lake Champlain. As always, the Green Mountains (that’s what they’re officially called) were in the background. Visually, the greens and blues just blew me away.

So that’s Vermont, along with an update on my personal life. I came home feeling refreshed and excited about more dog-friendly trips. How about you? Any doggie travel tips or travel plans? Hope you’re having a great summer!