J.T. Farnham's Fried Clams and a Day at the Beach

Another year, another last-minute realization that the time when dogs are allowed at Crane Beach was coming to an end! Since we had such a great time the last two years, we schedule a trip and hoped that it wouldn't be TOO cold or windy. Somehow we lucked out with blue skies and temps in the 30's, which was practically a heat wave given the winter we've had!

Nick the dog whisperer

A week on Sebago Cove in Naples Maine

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that Nick and I spent a week up in Maine enjoying some time away from the city with the pups.  Using VRBO we found a small cottage on Sebago Cove, which is on the north side of Sebago Lake in Naples Maine.  The house was pet friendly and right on the lake - just about our only requirements.  The week away was just perfect.  The time flew by and its hard to believe its already been a couple of weeks since we were there!  Here are some pictures from our time away...

Navy Yard Bistro - Seaside Dining in Charlestown

Over the last eight months, Nick and I have been slowly exploring all that Charlestown has to offer. One of the places we were most looking forward to visiting was Navy Yard Bistro. As the name indicates, the restaurant is located right in the middle of the Navy Yard, but if you weren't watching out for the blue awnings, you might walk right by it! Word around town was they were super dog friendly, and given that Arthur is a bit challenging to leave behind, the three of us walked over on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

The Naumkeag Ordinary - a Trip to Salem, Massachusetts

When you see friends' dreams come true, it is always something exciting.  This is definitely the case when it comes to Naumkeag Ordinary. After working as the GM at CoDa for a number of years, our friend Matt Brady and chef Dan Bitler took their culinary skills to Salem to open their own restaurant, which as most of you know is no easy task!  After a couple of months renovating the space of a former Polish restaurant, Matt and Dan opened Naumkeag Ordinary, which specializes in local cuisine and seasonal influences.  The bar has a rotation of beers on tap that can change daily depending on what the locals favor.  One beer was gone within the day after word got out that Naumkeag had it on tap!

Deviled Eggs

To give some context behind the restaurant's name: "Naumkeag" is the name of the native American tribe that originally lived in Salem and the name that was originally used for the town, and an "Ordinary" is a colonial term for a tavern.  The name harkens back to the history that Salem is so famous for (when you're there, you can see some cool historical photographs, including those of a baseball team with "Naumkeag" across their uniforms!)

A Trip to Crane Beach with Holly and Arthur (our new dog!)

Two weeks ago we expanded our family to include a new furry friend - Arthur!  We rescued Arthur through Lucky Lab Rescue and he has been a wonderful addition.  He is just over a year old and may be the sweetest boy around.  We decided to rescue a dog because we did not really want a puppy (although they are available through rescues as well) and there are so many wonderful dogs looking for their forever homes that we knew we would find the perfect fit.

Meet Arthur!

This past weekend we made it up to Crane Beach for the last doggie-friendly weekend (the season ends the last day of March).  After last year, we were looking forward to a day with a bit less wind and some warmer temps; luckily Saturday had both.  The beach had a bunch of people walking with their K9 companions - this was a perfect Easter weekend adventure.

Woodman's and a Windy Day at Crane Beach

Being from the North Shore originally, and since my mom still is up there, Nick and I like to get out of the city on occasion and see the sights.  One of those is Crane Beach in Ipswich.  I spent many a summer getting very tan on those beaches and enjoying time on some friends' boats (I was a lucky girl!).  Since it had been such a mild winter, Nick and I thought it would fun to take Holly up to the beach for the day and enjoy the off-leash area and play fetch (her favorite obsession).  We picked a nice sunny day, but it ended up being SUPER windy out.  That weekend the news was reporting 50 mph wind gusts, but decided to push on.  Having learned my lesson from previous visits, I forced my mom and Nick to head into the wind first - a more trying trip out but a pleasant return trip.  What was great was that because of the wind, there were only a few others on the beach that day, so we had plenty of beach to ourselves.

Windy Day!

Wind is Not Stopping Holly

Family Photo :)

While Crane Beach does cost money to access ($8 in the winter off season) the money goes to the the Trustees of the Reservations, which works hard at preserving the Crane Estate area, which is beautiful, so it lessens the blow - that, and a car and trunk full of people to offset the cost!

Yappy Hour - Halloween Style

This summer, Nick and I took Holly to Yappy Hour at The Liberty Hotel and had a fantastic time.  Basically, the Liberty Hotel sets up a bar tables, chairs and plastic couches out in the Yard, behind Scampo, and allows pets and their owners go crazy.  Most of the dogs are running around off-leash, just having a ton of fun while the owners are hanging out with the dogs enjoying a few drinks.  For me, it is really nice to be able to head out with Holly after being away from her all day.  Yappy Hour is done every Wednesday through the summer, up until (as it turns out) Halloween.

Enjoying a drink with Holly!

The Liberty Hotel's cap to the Yappy Hour season was the Halloween Party!  I had seen an ad through Four Preppy Paws' twitter account and thought it would a fun way to spend the evening.  Even better, we got to torture Holly by dressing her up in a costume.  We were a bit late to the shopping, but were able to find a great bee costume at Fish and Bone on Newbury Street.  The costume was a little snug, so we said she was the bumble bee girl on the cover of the Blind Melon album, but doggy glasses are a little hard to come by ;).

Heading to Yappy Hour

On our way down the street, Nick asked if I was sure it was truly the costume night because he did not want Holly to be the only pup dressed up.  He knew how uncomfortable he would have been to be the ONLY one dressed up.  Even though all the dogs were dressed up, at the entrance we saw a french bulldog dressed in the exact same costume!  Oh the horror!  Turns out bumble bees were big this year.

Look of panic

The first time we were at Yappy Hour, Holly was definitely the shy girl, and this night was no different.  We found ourselves a nice little couch area, and Holly made herself right at home looking down at the other dogs - from all angles.

Asking "what is going on?!"

There was a doggy costume contest going on throughout the night, so while there were repeats, there were some real original ones as well.

Great Dane as a horse - owner was a jockey

Hooters Girl

There was also a dog dressed Hugh Hefner, complete with a captain's hat, and the owner had a bunny costume on.  Meanwhile, Holly still was hanging out on the couch with the humans.

Eventually, she decided to seek refuge on Nick's lap.

A close up on her sitting position was needed because she was literally sitting like a person would on a bench.  But she was a happy camper.

The winner of the evening!  & Holly's twin...

 

Blackhawk - the lit couch was killing my photo!

Finally, when we were ready to leave and I got up to pay the tab, Holly jumped down from her perch and and ran around a bit.  While it was only to see other people - not dogs - I was proud nonetheless.  Next year maybe she will branch out more.

Yappy Hour is such a fun time and a great way to have some apres-work cocktails.  If you have a dog or just like dogs, I highly recommend heading over to the Yard on Wednesday evenings next summer.

Yappy Hour at the Liberty Hotel

Yes you read that right - Yappy Hour.  Every Wednesday night during the summer months, for at least a year now, The Liberty Hotel graciously opens "The Yard" to both four-legged friends and their owners for cocktail hour, and Four Preppy Paws provides some dog friendly items.  For those who don't know, The Yard is the patio area next to the outdoor seating at Scampo, between the hotel tower and the orignal Charles Street Jail building.

Yappy Hour is something I have been wanting to take Holly to for awhile now, but it never seemed to work out.  For some reason, this week I decided we needed to go.  Nick was NOT sold on the idea, but with a little convincing (they do serve alcohol) he was in.  Yappy Hour technically runs from 5:30pm - 8:00pm, so we arrived at about 6:15pm not having a clue of what we were getting ourselves into.

Hanging with Holly having a beer

The Esplanade

I only recently realized how lucky I am to live right by the Esplanade in Boston...I quick walk and I am standing right along the Charles.  This weekend I went for a run, pretending I was just like all those other crazy people I have been seeing over the years.  I dread going for runs, for me they are one of they worst 30 to 40 minutes periods, but the feeling afterwards really does make it all worth it.

The Esplanade however, makes the process so much easier, the views are amazing (both Boston and Cambridge), plenty of good people watching, crossing the bridges provides just enough of a "hill" to push you that much more, and the breeze (or gusts this weekend) coming off the water cools you off so nicely!

View from the Longfellow Bridge

Holly has been taking advantage of my "new" find as well...she can be let off the leash without worry that a park ranger is going to end all the fun.  While I am sure some other dogs would be going straight for the water, Holly is (luckily) still a bit unsure.  She just investigates a bit...the waves this weekend were a bit to big even for that!

Holly thinking park benches are for her...

Time may be running short this season for more Esplanade fun, but I am looking forward to taking full advantage next spring!