For me, there is no better travel partner than one of my dogs. Since Caesar has better manners in public, he is the one that joins me on my trips. Take it from me, taking your dog on a trip is peaceful. I like to be one with my thoughts but I don’t necessarily like to be alone. Caesar is my perfect companion on a trip because I never feel alone with him, and just because he doesn’t talk doesn’t mean we don’t communicate quite a bit.
For my 27th birthday, I decided to take my first ever weekend trip with Caesar to Columbus. I had googled a bit about what to do but mostly we took the trip kinda blind.
Saturday morning I loaded Caesar and all our things up around 8 a.m. and we drove with Highbanks as our destination. Highbankes Metro Park is north of Columbus and upon googling it was the name I saw the most when I was looking for dog-friendly trails.
When we got there, I realized that while Highbanks is massive, there was only one trail that was pet-friendly. Where I’m from, you can take your dog anywhere so it was a bit disappointing to learn that we would be limited to a 3.5 mile pathway and we wouldn’t get to see all the exciting bridges I saw in the photos when I googled Highbanks. Still, my disappointment was fleeting when I put my backpack on, unloaded Caesar, and hit the trial.
The nice thing about the Highbanks pet trail was that there were tons of trashcans and dog clean up stations. This was very nice compared to trails near home where I have to carry dog-waste for miles and miles. Highbanks was very woodsy but also had open prairie-type sections that were full of butterflies. Of course, we prefer the woods.
Caesar age really started to show during our Columbus trip. He waddled behind me most of the time, and younger, more spry dogs passed us easily. But, it wasn’t a race. I packed my bag with six water bottles and his bag with two, making sure I gave him plenty of water. The trail was very peaceful and Caesar got a chance to meet other doggos. On our way out, there was a small stream, and since Caesar is part duck, we stopped to play for a big. He always loves to lay in the water.
On the way back to the car I grabbed a park brochure that gave a summary about other metro parks in the area. After reading a few of them, and knowing that we had just completed 4 miles, I settled on Sharon Woods Metro Park which had a 2 mile pet trail.
I think I enjoy this one even more because it had several streams that we stopped to play in. Typically, the best hiking spots for Caesar include lots of trees and streams/rivers. The water allows him to cool off by taking a dip and a drink. Plus, running waters are less likely to have nasty algae and bacteria in them.
After our hikes, I wanted to clean Caesar up before checking into the hotel, so we stopped at Pet Valu to use their dog wash. I’m a huge fan of these dog washes. The first time we went on a trip together I tried to use the hotel bathtub and it was a mess. Pet Valu is a savior.
After he was all clean and dry, we headed for our hotel. Since 2012 when a bad storm knocked out power at my home for a week, I’ve been a pretty loyal La Quinta Inn user. La Quinta is dog-friendly, low-cost but still nice looking and clean, offers free breakfast, and has the best cancellation policy I’ve ever seen; you can cancel at no-cost up to 6 p.m. the night of your stay! They also don’t charge you when you bring a dog like other hotels do. So, of course, we booked a La Quinta in Grove City, just five minutes away from downtown Columbus. We checked in, I got clean, and we relaxed on the king sized bed for a bit before heading out to the next adventure; it also gave the sun some time to start to set so it could be cooler when we set out.
After a short nap, Caesar and I loaded up and set out for downtown Columbus. We parked on a side street and ventured down High Street. What was neat was how many places set water bowls for dogs outside. I always pack water, but I prefer to have Caesar use available water before we turn to our supplies. Many stores were also dog-friendly. I had read online that some stores had stickers on their windows indicating they were dog-friendly. This was super neat. There were also many stores without stickers that allowed dogs, all I did was ask if my dog was allowed in and we weren’t turned away once.
There were so many people walking the streets. It was a Saturday evening in the city and everything was so busy. I looked back at my waddling dog and he stared upward taking in his surroundings. I can’t imagine what was going through his head for sure but he looked so happy and amazed. I wish every dog could experience what it was like to see new things like this. I posed him in front of a mural that resembled American Gothic and got a very cute photo. Then, we took a trip to a park in downtown Columbus. There were tons of dogs there, some even off leash. He made a couple of friends there. There was a very interested doodle-type dog that wanted to play but Caesar was mostly uninterested.
After a water break in the park, we started to walk down the other side of High Street. On the way back to the car, we stopped at a pet boutique and I got Caesar a no-rawhide bone. After adding another four miles to our milage, we set back to Grove City for some grub and to relax at the hotel. Caesar was pretty beat for the night and slept great.
I can tell my dog is getting older. He’s not as fast as he used to be and he waddles more and more (not sure if the waddling is a shepherd thing or what?). I want to give him as many of these types of trips as I can before it is too late. One thing that I need to remind myself is that it is okay to go slow. At Highbanks I stoped trying to get Cesar to move faster and instead, I slowed my pace to allow him to choose how fast he goes. Caesar is not the same Caesar he was even one year ago, but that doesn’t mean we stop going places. Old dog likes to see new things; watching Caesar take-in Columbus was proof of that.