This off and on cold DC city weather has gotten really old… like really fast. Mom and Dad love getting out of the city and exploring new areas for a long weekend (especially places where the weather is a little warmer than DC). Last month we decided to take our little family on a spontaneous trip south to Lynchburg and Roanoke, Virginia. Why you may ask? Well, Mom and Dad went to school in the area and Mom has been meaning to go back and share all of her college memories with Dad and Navy. Okay, she actually really wanted to visit the wineries and gorgeous trails in the area ;).
We really have not traveled out of town much with Navy besides visiting family. We are often hesitant to travel with her because we are unsure if the area visited is pet-friendly or not. We wanted to start a series of posts where we share our little weekend getaways and how we discovered dog-friendly perks in new cities.
What we packed…
Anytime we travel, we pack Navy a little to go bag with all of her favorite toys, treats, and food to make her feel comfortable away from home. As we have talked about before, we feed Navy raw. I know one of the biggest cons for feeding raw is that it is difficult to transit. Instead, we got her some Vital Essentials Freeze-Dried Raw Kibble before her trip, making it super easy to take on the go.
Because we planned a lot of walking around and hiking activities, we decided to bring our K9 Sport Sack Air dog carrier to carry Navy around in if needed (Navy uses a size large, you can use the code “Navy” for 15% off any K9 Sport Sack Air.). The K9 Sport Sack is the ultimate dog hiking pack! We not only are able to stuff Navy’s fluffy body in there, but also her water bottle and ours, a towel for her muddy stumps, snacks for us humans, our camera, and of course Navy’s treats.
We also traveled with our Gunner Kennel (Navy uses a size small) for traveling in the car. We also brought the kennel into the hotel for her to sleep in at night (we were worried she would destroy the room or have an accident if we let her roam free). We made sure to pack her favorite interactive toys and a a couple bully sticks. As mentioned in our other posts, Navy (and Mom) go absolutely nuts for ZippyPaws burrow toys. We brought Navy this popcorn bucket toy for the trip. You better believe those little popcorns were being tossed all around the hotel room!
Lynchburg, Virginia…
The trip down to Lynchburg from DC took us a little over 3 hours. We left mid-morning on a Saturday and drove straight to the downtown, historic district of Lynchburg to walk around and grab lunch. Downtown Lynchburg is located on the banks of the James River. Over the past 5 years this area has really developed! There are now several streets lined with locally owned stores, coffee shops, restaurants, and businesses. What was really awesome was that there were so many amazing dog-friendly restaurants to choose from. Ultimately we decided to brunch at El Jefe Taqueria Garaje. The website noted that the restaurant was dog friendly, but we always call ahead to double check!
Photo courtesy of El Jefe Taqueria Garaje
After lunch and a little walk around the downtown area, we checked into our hotel. This was actually Navy’s first time staying in a hotel! Because this was a spontaneous trip we decided to take advantage of Hotwire.com hot rates. Hotels use Hotwire hot rates to sell their unsold rooms at prices below what you’ll find on their websites! You are able to pick the quality, amenities (pet friendly option!), and a general location. The hotel name and exact location will be revealed after you book. The hotel we selected was Extended Stay America, Lynchburg University Blvd.
After resting up for a bit, we decided to walk around Liberty University’s campus, Momma’s alma mater. We even ran into a couple other pups on campus! Just before sunset we hiked to the Liberty University Monogram on top of Liberty Mountain.
The temperature dropped a bit so we opted to have dinner at RA Bistro in downtown Lynchburg minus Navy. They do have a lovely patio that is pet-friendly and open during the warmer months.
Roanoke, Virginia…
Roanoke is only about an hour west of Lynchburg, Virginia so after checking out of the hotel on Sunday we drove straight to Ballast Point Brewery in Daleville, VA. In late 2017, the San Diego based craft brewery opened a tasting room and kitchen just outside Roanoke as part of the company’s East Coast brewing operation. Believe us, the views, brews, food were amazing ;). The best part was that the brewery is dog friendly!We had high hopes to visit the very dog friendly Chateau Morrisette winery for a late afternoon wine tasting, but we passed out after checking into the hotel and decided to take Navy to a local dog park instead.
We had a lovely dinner at the 419 West restaurant and for dessert we stopped by Champloo Desserts for some super yummy Thai styled rolled ice cream (unfortunately for Navy, we did not give her any ice cream).
Monday morning, we left the hotel early to head to the amazing McAfee Knob trail. If you have ever seen any photos of the Appalachian Mountains, odds are you have seen photos of this trail. The McAfee Knob trail is one of the most photographed locations in the Appalachian trail. I mean, look how gorgeous our photos turned out! It is important to remember that not all trails are dog friendly. Mom and Dad use www.alltrails.com when searching for dog friendly hikes. Also, most trails require dogs to be on leashes! It is not only safe for other hikers, but also safer for your pup as well.
The trail was just under 8 miles round trip and took us approximately 3.5 hours to complete. We brought our K9 Sport Sack just in case Navy got tired during the hike, but surprisingly she didn’t! We made sure to stop and give Navy a water break and high protein treat (we used Vital Essentials Turkey Fries) about every 30-45 minutes.
If you are ever in the area, we highly recommend enjoying this hike, with or without your pup. Certain areas of the trail were very rocky and a little difficult to climb, but the majority of the trail was rather flat and easy for pups and humans to navigate!
We hope you all enjoyed reading about our long weekend getaway! We can’t wait to share more of our adventures with you :).
Total Trip Length: 2.5 Days
Distance Traveled: 475 Miles
Cities Visited: Lynchburg, VA; Roanoke, VA
*This post is not sponsored! Some of the links we use are affiliate links.*
#dogfriendly #travel #dogfriendlylynchburg #dogfriendlyroanoke #virginia
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