Sunday, June 20, 2010

Dog-Friendly Getaway to Santa Barbara, CA


My husband and I took our golden retriever puppy to Santa Barbara for the night and had a blast. Here are thebest places we found to eat,stay,and play that are all PET-FRIENDLY.....
1. Ate lunch at Pierre Lafond Wine Bistro. The wait staff was very sweet and brought Finley a dog-dish of water and 4 strips of bacon! I ordered the Chicken Salad Sandwich and it was amazing! It had a kick of spice and was stuffed in a warm pita. They brought out bread and butter before the meal which is also a nice touch.

2. Played at Butterfly Beach. This beach is located right by the Four Seasons Resort. It was beautiful and quaint. There were no sand bugs, minimal seaweed, and white sand. Finley had a blast! Bring water and snacks, there are no restrooms or parking. You have to park on the street, but we had no problem on a Friday afternoon.

3. Lodged at Casa Del Mar. This was an awesome hotel that was very cute. It had everything that we needed. It was very clean (which I was worried about being a pet-firendly place), had modern and new furnishings, served a nice continental breakfast (bagels, fruit, cereals, croissants, coffee, juices, etc) AND a wine/cheese hour from 5-7pm! It was located right off of State Street off the beaten path but still walking distance to restaurants.

4. Ate dinner at the Union Ale Brewing Company. We walked there from our hotel and they let us sit on the patio with Finley. The manager was very friendly who gave us many ideas for pet-friendly places. They serve an extensive happy hour menu, with many beer selections, most notably, Mirror Pond Pale Ale from the Deschutes Brewery, my husband's fave. We shared a 14" vegetable pizza, wheat crust for $7! It was delicious!

5. Took an early morning walk. We went about 2 miles down the strand (Cabrillo Blvd.) that borders the beach. Dogs are allowed on the sidewalk, not on this beach.

6. Ate breakfast at Sambo's. They allow dogs to sit on the patio right at the table. They brought a to-go box for Finley's water because they are not allowed to use dishes that people eat out of. I thought that was probably a good idea. They serve mini muffins to your table,
chocolate chip & blueberry. We shared the Santa Barbara Omelette, that had avocado, bacon, cheddar, sour cream and salsa, served with toast or pancakes, and hashbrowns or potatoes. YUM! (FYI: We were also told that the Mesa Cafe was a great, super dog-friendly breakfast spot and on the way to the Douglas Reserve.)

7. Played at Arroyo Burro Beach, the Douglas Reserve. There was a steep staircase leading down to a beach filled with rocks, tide-pools, runners, and dogs. The waves are fairly mild here and we walked down and back. Beautiful scenery and fun for the dog as well! Bring your camera!

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