Sit. Stay. Heel. Good dogs.

Sure, the commands are a bit contradictory, but under the circumstances these dogs seem to have handled it pretty well.

While you and your family are out and about this summer, don’t forget your four-legged friends like the park, too. Most communities have dog parks and beaches where Fido and Rover can run, sniff and fetch until their tail is too tired to wag.

These pups are in Cirencester, England, but there’s probably a dog park closer to you. Make the dog days of summer count and use your smartphone to find dog parks to visit on your travels this summer (dogs not included).

This post is part of the UpTake Friday Family Series because dogs are family, too.

Photo: johnson1952 via Flickr

Apparently there are dinosaur caves at Pismo Beach, CA, but it’s not what you think — unless you are thinking of a giant cement dinosaur that you could walk inside to enter some cliff-side caves via said dinosaur’s belly. If that is the case then it is what you think. Or it was.

However, the dinosaur was never completed and then there was a fire and now it’s just a bunch of ruins and caves below a crumbling wall of sheer rock. Also, a playground.

The kids will love it. So will the dogs. Read More »

House on the Rock in Wisconsin.

Sometimes vacationers want to visit an attraction just to be able to say that they’ve been there. Some destinations are whimsical, silly, or downright odd. Others are firmly tied to the nostalgia and history of the area in which they reside. Here’s a list of the top ten(*) “novelty” destinations to visit in the United States. Consider checking them out if you’re ever in the area!

10 -The House on the Rock in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Unruly architecture that engages all of the senses, complete with exhibits, gardens, and displays that flow into one another with no rhyme or reason. Schedule at least three hours to do the self-tour, because the more you look the more you’ll see.

9 – The Mitchell Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. This is the Mecca for corn enthusiasts (if there is such a thing). There is an annual festival, murals made of corn that are eaten by the local birds and replaced annually, and decor consisting of over 275,000 ears of corn. The Mitchell Corn Palace is home to area stage shows and sporting events with a year-round calendar of events.

8 – The World’s Largest Yard Sale headquartered in Jamestown, Tennessee. Also known as the “127 Corridor Sale”, this yard sale extends 675 miles from Hudson, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama. The Sale always starts on the first Thursday in August and continues through the following Sunday.

7 – America’s Stonehenge in North Salem, New Hampshire. No one knows who built the ceremonial chambers, walls, and meeting places of this 4,000 year old complex. Oddly enough, the location also boasts a growing herd of privately owned Alpacas. Visit Stonehenge, buy an Alpaca. Makes perfect sense to me!

6 – Dog Bark Park Inn in Cottonwood, Idaho. The inn… is shaped like a dog. A beagle, to be exact. It’s a full-service bed-and-breakfast, and pets are welcome (of course). And if you’re a fan of chainsaw art, this place will supply you with more wooden dogs than you can shake a stick at (har).

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A rental lodge on Sebago Lake, Maine.

One of the best things you can do for your family is to spend a week in the summer on Sebago Lake in Maine. I guarantee you that you will have the best family vacation you’ve ever experienced, and you will create memories that you will cherish for your entire lifetime. Indeed, I pretty much guarantee that once you visit, you’ll find yourself going back again year after year.

Sebago Lake (also known as “Big Sebago,” and yes there is a “Little Sebago”) is the second largest, and the deepest, lake in Maine. It’s located just a half-hour from Portland, making it a very convenient location to many tourist destinations and activities. It is a very popular spot in the summertime, which means you need to plan in advance to find a camp that suits your needs.

In Maine, a “camp” refers to a cottage or cabin on or near the lake. Accommodations range from the truly rustic to the truly luxurious. Many camps are not “winterized”, meaning they do not posses the construction or the insulation to be inhabited in the winter. Some camps have only the basics – a loft with bunks for sleeping, simple furnishings, and no television or internet. Other camps are really decked out with luxurious bedrooms, gourmet kitchens, television and cable and internet.

I ask you, though, who the heck wants to spend all their time indoors watching TV or on the computer when they have a lake, fireflies, campfires, canoeing, and loons beckoning outside the door?

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