Last weekend we traveled to Ohio for a hunt test. All week I posted about the test, (you can read those posts here, here, here).
In the spirit of summer vacation season, today I would like to share some pictures from our trip. All of these photos were taken with my cell phone and sometimes from a moving car.
We headed out on Friday about noon hoping to beat the rain and the traffic. We took Freighter (who was entered in the tests) and Storm with us. Three dogs in a hotel room is hard to juggle so Thunder stayed home with friends (thank you Robin and Cindy!).
Heading south, we passed the Ambassador Bridge. This is one of the crossing points between Detroit and Windsor Canada. In the photo there is also one of the ever-present road construction signs. We hit construction along the way, but thankfully not here.
In Ohio, we passed this cool suspension bridge which I thought made an interesting picture.
We knew we were on the Ohio Turnpike when we passed this big rig.
Finally we arrived at the hotel. I called a couple of hotels in the area. One was adamant that only one dog was allowed in the room. I kept looking and found a nice Super 8 in Mentor, Ohio. I always call ahead and let the hotel know that we are bringing dogs. If they do not sound welcoming, I move on because I understand that not everyone is “a dog person”.
When I called I requested a first floor room and the hotel honored that request. I was told that there was a $15 pet fee, but for some reason the hotel did not end up charging us the fee.
I also asked about places to eat within walking distance. We usually like to order a carry out dinner to eat in the room rather than leave the dogs unattended or in the car. I was told there were a number of places and that was true. In fact there was a Bob Evans just across the parking lot. I had never eaten at Bob Evans before and it was tasty food and a nice variety. I was happy to be able to order vegetables with my meal. So often meals on hunt test weekends are from whatever fast food place is close.
The hunt test grounds were interesting. It is a nursery (or was a nursery). There was a heavily wooded area that we drove through to get to the testing grounds.
The grounds were nice although the fields and ponds were not huge. When Freighter starts running Masters we may head down there again because it is a good place to test when a dog is transitioning from Senior to Masters.
The weather was not great. We took our van and had to take care where we parked because there was so much mud. I think next time we may take our truck rather than the van. We were lucky because we never got the predicted thunderstorms, only rain. Lightening would have required the tests to be temporarily suspended.
We finished up around 3 pm on Sunday and headed for home. Of course we hit rain.
We did see some blue sky but mixed with thunderheads.
When we got to Michigan, there was a rainbow to welcome us home!
We sure had a fun weekend. Thank you Buckeye Retriever Club, judges and workers!
This weekend we do not have any tests or dogs shows but we still have a busy weekend planned. I hope to have photos to share next week.
I will also have a give-away starting next week in honor of Storm’s 8th birthday so stop back and check it out!
The Ever Changing Theme
If you are a regular reader, you may have noticed my ever-changing themes this week. I was alerted to an issue with photos loading in Internet Explorer. The issue started recently but I could not figure out whether it was browser or wordpress issue (there had been no changes to the theme so I do not think that was the issue and the theme developer was stumped too). To make a long story short, I was able to find a couple of themes that worked so I switched. I still have to customize this one a bit, but at least it works. Of course this was just what I needed when I am behind from our trip. Hopefully I will be able to catch up a bit this weekend.
Have a nice weekend!
It was great to read about your trip, great that you asked for a first floor room… we sadly forgot to ask and had to to manage the stairs… it was not really the stairway to heaven :o)
I greatly enjoyed seeing Lake Erie and seeing the word “Mentor”. You see, I lived in the Cleveland area for 35 years and to me, Cleveland and Ohio are STILL “home!!!”
It is very pretty in that part of Ohio.
I have noticed the changes on your page lol. There just always has to be a problem at the worst time doesn’t there?? The photos from your trip are beautiful!!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Finding a good hotel that takes a dog, let alone two or three is tough, we know. We found out in April that Red Roof Inns are pet friendly and actually met up with them at BlogPaws. Their official policy is one pet, but most will allow more and there is no charge. We were also not thinking highly of their rooms, but the one we stayed in was so nice! The outside was old, but inside was great. Give them a try sometime if you need a room with dogs.
Actually that was the first hotel I called. Not only did the front desk say one pet only and it was a “strict” policy but the person was very rude about it. I will look to other places before that chain again. Lots of places gladly welcome pets.
I like the new theme.
Thanks. It sure has been a challenge.
Love the look of the site. Dog friendly hotels are such a pain to find!
Am at library since computer on fritz! Your journey is one driven many times. There are many nurseries in Northeastern Ohio, used to unload the trucks for the garden shop. That being said,
yeh for hotels that like dogs! Storm and Freighter looked very well behaved, almost. Beds are a problem! So Freighter’s pot of gold at the end of the rainbow were those ribbons! Next up…
Ortonville.
Hi Y’all!
My Human has trouble finding a decent hotel with only one of me. Can’t imagine travelin’ with 2!
The places usually like me though. I have a bath and all and take clean bedding when I go. Once, when the maid came into the room as I was leaving, I overheard her ask my Papa, “I thought there was a dog in this room”?
Is that a triple bottom truck? Good golly! My Human says she’s never seen a triple bottom and only rarely a double bottom on an Interstate.
Love the new theme. Neat how the pics take you to the dog’s pages.
Y’all come on by,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Mum loved seeing the pictures of the Cleveland area — when she first came to the US she lived in the Cleveland area (West side cos her ex worked at NASA) so she gets leaky eyes sometimes looking at pics of the Cleveland area!!!
Thanks again
Toodle pip
Cookie
Sorry about the rain, it started the beginning of June and hasn’t stopped. All three of my Newfs came from a Breeder just outside Cleveland and there is a great Holiday Inn that loves the dogs. Mica doesn’t mind the elevator, she walks in and turns around, waits till we say its our floor and walks out. We try to take an empty elevator to be polite but a lot of times people will get in and say dogs don’t worry them. Hope if you visit again you get better weather:)
I think this theme looks good! I’m glad you had a good weekend, and found a good place to stay. Your highway scene with rain and thunderheads in Cleveland looks just like our trip home from BlogPaws! The way we went through Ohio, we never saw Lake Erie though, which I was very disappointed about.
Love your new theme – well done. How did Freighter do in the tests?
He passed both days although now we have to crack down on his obedience. Lots of ducks make for excited Freighter.
I love this theme too! Thanks for sharing your trip with us, great photos!
Well it sounds like an eventful trip! I always call ahead when traveling with the pups. It can be somewhat discouraging at times because many of them have weight restrictions. While I understand the need for some of these ‘rules’ it can also be very discouraging. I’m glad you found a hotel that worked for you.
The current theme is nice… Donna has not gotten to stay at a hotel yet. Haha 😛
It’s so fun to see that you were in our area! Barley and I train in Mentor! Glad you were able to find a hotel that welcomed the pups–that’s always a challenge when I travel with a dog and a cat. If you come back again with Freighter, let us know if you ever need recommendations of places to eat or parks to visit.
Nice road trip!