My Weekend Trip: By Me, Heidi, Not Diane

Hello it’s me, Heidi, to write about my trip I got to go on last weekend before Halloween.  My peoples took me because they felt bad because they left me at dog camp last month when they decided to go to Hawaii instead of taking me, Heidi, on a car trip to Santa Fe instead.  I didn’t get to learn “Aloha!” or see red lava or other fun things they have on that island. I watch the TV show though and since German Shepherds are police dogs I always think of myself as “Heidi Five-O” for maybe an hour after it’s on.

I thought maybe they were leaving me again when I saw suitcases, but then I saw them packing my food and things in my own blue bag so I knew I got to go this time! Sometimes I growl when strangers get near my blue bag because my things are important and you can’t have them.

The place they took me to is Santa Barbara. We stayed at the Beach House Inn which his not by the beach and it's not a house either but I love it, the peoples are nice there.  We got there in the dark because my Dad Alan forgot he had meetings on Friday, but Alan and Diane both said that’s OK because we’d miss rush hour. I don’t know why they call it rush hour since cars go slower then, but after it we drove really fast in the dark.

We have a tiny lady we keep in a box who tells us when to turn right and left, her real name is Gee Pee Ess but my peoples call her “Toots” and I’m not sure they like her because they leave her all alone in the glove compartment with no toys.  I was mostly sleeping except when I stood up and my ears hit the ceiling in the car and then suddenly we were there!

I jumped out of the car and was excited to read pee mail from a lot of dogs I didn’t even know.  But the peoples got tired of me stopping and sniffing and kept pulling me away even though I wanted to answer all the mail. I was only peeing a little in each place, saving up so I could say hi to everybody.  I missed some because they pulled me, and now Santa Barbara dogs will think L.A. dogs aren’t as dog-friendly.

But you should take your dog to Santa Barbara because there are lots of things for us to do!  I had my own hotel room and my own big bed and a little kitchen with real bowls in it that I could eat from. There was so much space I let my peoples  stay in my room and sleep on the bed, too!  They were inside the blankets and I was on top with my own blanket from home. They complain because I sleep sideways instead of up and down. We are like the letter H, for Heidi, with me being the across-ways part and them being the sticks.  That way they can’t move or do anything else together in bed unless I think it's a good idea.

On Saturday after we were done sleeping I went to a lunch meeting with someone Alan wanted to talk to about business things. We went to lunch to a place called The Natural Café that the Internet said was dog-friendly but instead they made me sit outside the gate while the peoples ate without me, Heidi, on the patio! I had water but you should look at the picture of me unhappy stuck behind the bars like a bad dog in jail.

Then I got happy again because we went shopping on State Street and all the stores let me in to look at things! Also we went out to dinner at a dog-friendlier place called The Brewhouse, with heat lamps outside and an actual dog menu with stuff peoples could order for us. It made them laugh. I got a marrow bone but it was just bone no marrow so I didn’t like it. There are lots of college students in Santa Barbara, they are younger and stay up later than regular people and they like to dress up for Halloween.  Our waitress Amy wasn’t a student but she dressed up like Tinkerbell who I think must be a big green bug.

But Sunday was even funner!  Breakfast in the sun at Sambo’s Restaurant, where I ate my own treats I like, not menu things, and the peoples had eggs and pancakes, and then we all went to a big Art Show in the park by the ocean. We walked and walked and I would have liked to be off leash but it’s not allowed.  And guess what, a guy there drew my picture on paper that we could take home to keep. He was so good, I’ll bet it was Art himself that the show was named after! [Note from Diane: Here's caricaturist Michael Beickel's website.]  My peoples think the drawing makes me look like Scooby-Doo.

So, don’t go outlet shopping in Camarillo on your way home because Diane couldn’t find any black jeans that fit her and they don't let dogs in the stores, but otherwise you should take your dog to Santa Barbara after rush hour and do everything!  Trust me, Heidi – you don’t have to go to Hawaii or some other places on a plane without your dog to have a super good time.