Guest Blogger: Photographer Janie Haynes
As I’ve grown older, I find my greatest joy comes from the simple things. Being out on a trail with my dogs, especially on a sunny, brisk morning with winter coming to a close and the first colors of spring just peeking through the deadness, is one of my greatest joys.
For more of Janie’s photography, please visit j.haynes photography.
Neeley Raffini is my guest blogger this week.
Spring is just around the corner and you know what that means – time to plan a vacation or getaway weekend! For those of us with pets, this can be a difficult time. Should we take our four-legged friend with us on our travels or leave them in a familiar environment? Luckily, there are so many options available – here are some of my favorites:
Photo by asleeponasunbeam
If you are looking for a unique hotel experience, one of your best options is one of the very stylish and hip Kimpton Hotels. After reading about their very unique pet-friendly properties, I thought, “Where have you been all of my life?” Not only are they located in cities across the country, but also offer dog walking services, pet beds, toys, treats and have a “Director of Pet Relations” at each hotel. How fun! For more information on all of their pet-friendly activities, check here.
If you are looking to treat your dog (or cat, etc.) to a luxury vacation, check out the Best Friends Pet Care pet resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. This place looks awesome! I recognize that my dog is totally pampered and so this place looks perfect for him. He doesn’t love being around other dogs that much (he’s 12) so one of the VIP suites would be ideal. I wouldn’t mind staying in one of those! If you are traveling to Orlando, FL, Best Friends Pet Care looks like a great option to keep your dog busy during the day while you are having fun at the parks!
There are many options for transporting your dog to your destination. My advice is to plan way in advance! If you are going to be traveling in a car, make sure that you restrain your dog. My dog and I were in a rear-end collision a while ago (actually the person hit us and then took off!) and luckily he was not hurt since he was properly restrained. I’m sure that he hates it, but it is to protect the both of us. FetchDog has a fantastic range of car seats and seatbelts. Buy one and have peace of mind.
It can be extremely nerve-wracking to travel with your dog by air, since they almost always have to travel as cargo. Why not try PetAirways? PetAirways is a pet-only airline, where pets travel in the main cabin, not below as cargo. Check out the cities that they fly to, as it may fit into your travel plans. However, they have recently experienced some financial trouble and may be reducing their routes.
This was just a sampling of some of the choices available to you when deciding to travel with your pet. To help you, I will post a list of additional resources on my blog that I use when planning pet travel.
Happy Travels!
Neely Raffellini
Photo by Ricky David
Ever since I was a child I’ve dreamed of writing and exploring the world. As I grew older, the desire remained, but my ideas about the possibility of my dreams shrank. By the time I was an adult, I believed that following my dreams was immature and impossible. Instead, I told myself, the prudent thing to do was to follow the well worn path. So I took a 9 to 5, married, bought a house and filled my house with stuff.
It was a nice life, it really was, and I was pretty happy. So happy, in fact, that I would go months and months without remembering my dream. But inevitably it always resurfaced, and in those moments I could feel the empty space that lived inside of me, the void of the unrecognized dream.
The more I paid attention to the empty space, the larger it grew, until I reached a point where I just couldn’t ignore it anymore. I knew I had a choice: follow my dream and fill the void inside or spend the rest of my life wondering what if?
I realized that the only authentic decision I had was to chase my dream of writing and traveling the world. I knew as soon as I made the decision that it was right. But new problems surfaced. What would my husband say about this crazy idea? What about our jobs? Our mortgage? Our pets? What about this life we’d built for ourselves? How did it our current life fit with this new life that I knew I needed to live?
I’m making it sound easy, it wasn’t easy, but eventually every obstacle was surmounted. My husband supported my idea. We sold our house. We’re quitting our jobs. My in-laws are watching our dogs while we are away. I started my blog and began submitting my writing to magazines. Slowly the life I was living began to resemble the life of my dreams.
Joy, I think, begins with allowing yourself to be who you are. By acknowledging my dream I gave it life. Once it was alive, the only real choice I had was to feed it and watch it grow. I find my joy, now, in watching my life unfold. I feel like I’m becoming who I’m meant to be.
Kim and her husband are setting off to travel the world in May, 2012. She writes about her journey on her blog So Many Places (www.so-many-places.com). You can also find her on facebook http://www.facebook.com/SoManyPlacesTravelBlog) and twitter (@RTWsomanyplaces).
Jenny Neill is the first guest blogger for Find Your Joy. I am hoping to feature a guest blog every week. Please let me know how you like this new feature.
Photo by Mike Russell
As a sommelier, I frequently get asked for advice about where to buy wine in Seattle. Some eateries carry a “retail add-on endorsement” that allows them to sell bottles for off-premise consumption. Most tourists fare better by looking for regional brands in specialty shops largely because they are better equipped to help you get your favorites home.
These three easy-to-find stores let you try, buy, and ship local brands to any destination legally able to receive wines in the United States. Each location also sells shippers (cartons designed for shipping 750 milliliter bottles). For those traveling by air, the price of checking a box is often cheaper than the cost of shipping it.
Pike and Western Wine Shop, located at the north end of Pike Place Market, has been promoting Washington state winemakers since 1975. Open seven days a week, this store hosts free tastings Friday afternoons. Accustomed to dealing with traveling customers, staff here will pack your purchase for you.
More than a quarter of the shelf space at Sixth Avenue Wine Seller, on the third floor of Pacific Place Shopping Center, showcases wines from the Pacific Northwest. Biweekly tastings on Thursdays cost $10 in the store, a fee that gets applied to the price of a bottle when you buy one. Free delivery is available to anyone living or staying in downtown Seattle, including hotels.
Getting to Wine World Warehouse by car, by bus, or by taxi from downtown Seattle takes approximately 20-30 minutes. Laying claim to being “the largest wine store in the Northwest,” it features an evolving selection of 500 or more brands from Washington State alone. Winemakers visiting Seattle can add themselves to the daily event calendar making for a dynamic line-up of free tastings. Even if you don’t have time to visit, try looking for that favorite bottle on their ecommerce site.
Author Bio:
Jenny Neill is a freelance writer and sommelier based in Seattle. To see where her passion for food, wine, and travel take her next read her blog, Jenny Neill.
For more beautiful photos check out Mike Russell’s website.
FIND YOUR JOY Travel sparks creativity. How do you keep that fire alive when you return … [Read More...]
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