forget a vacation, this is a dogcation.

I'm home from work today because I'm sick, and the only things that are keeping me company are a box of tissues and chamomile tea. You may be wondering where my sweet Claire Baby is and why she's not snuggled up next to me right now. Well, she's at Bark-O-Lounge again today (three times already this week, what a lucky girl!) because it snowed last night and she was extremely excited about it - too excited to stay inside while I try to rest up for work tomorrow!

I spent the majority of the morning browsing Modern Dog and Dog Tipper to try and think of a great birthday present for Claire. Her birthday isn't until April 6th, but it's coming up quick, and I need to be prepared! She will be 2-years-old and I want to do something special.

I think I found just the thing...

...a camping trip at sites that are specially designed for dogs, such as Camp Dogwood in Illinois and Four Paws Kingdom in North Carolina! I did not know that things like this even existed! I mean, these sites have dog parks, agility courses, hiking trails, swimming areas, etc etc etc! I'm thinking that I could invite some friends and their pups and make a long weekend out of it! Claire would have so much fun! (I realize that I sound completely crazy, but... I don't care!) A few weeks ago, my friends and I were talking about taking a trip and noted how great it would be if we could bring the dogs, so how perfect is this!

Has anyone heard about this before? Or even been to something like it? An even better question for you Nashville folks is: would you want to join us? (Amy, Kim, Whitney, and Devon: I am specifically talking to you). If anyone else is interested, go to Dog Play for a complete list of places around the country.