Lucky

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Basil’s Travels!

Today it has been 1 year since our little blog went live! There has been a lot of traveling, adventures, and a lot of firsts. The first time Basil swam in the Atlantic Ocean and the first time he traveled on an airplane. There is a lot of amazing things to come and we are so happy to be able to continue sharing our travels with you!

To celebrate this blogging milestone we are doing a giveaway!
To win just take a look at the photos below of the two Ball mason jars and take a guess of how many dog treats total are inside! The person that gets the closest to the actual number will win the dog food bowl from ModCloth as well as the two mason jars full of treats from Basil’s personal collection!
So, take your best guess and leave it in the comments below! One guess per person/email! Giveaway ends next Monday, Labor Day, September 1st. I’ll email the winner on Tuesday! Happy guessing!

 

1 Year Anniversary Giveaway

Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

Upcoming Events!

Hello Basil fans! Happy hump day! So many awesome events are coming up soon, we are getting really excited. Also, Basil’s Travels 1 year blog anniversary is on August 25th! I can’t believe it was been a year already; so much has happened!
We are going to be celebrating this milestone at the Pints for Paws event at Noda Brewing Company next Thursday August 28th. If you are in the Charlotte, NC area and would like to hang out with Basil and donate to some good causes make sure to swing by.
Check out all the events below and mark your calendars! All events are dog friendly!Happy dog!

Pints for Paws
August 28th 5pm -8pm
Noda Brewing Co.
2229 North Davidson St. Charlotte, NC 28205
Bring your dog and a bag of dog food to donate to the Spay & Neuter Clinic of Charlotte. Brewery tours, raffles, and prizes.

WoofStock 2014
September 13th 1pm
Amos Southend
1423 S Tryson St. Charlotte, NC 28203
$5 donation

Furry 5k
October 11th
WakeMed Soccer Park Cary, NC
Check here to register and for more details:
http://www.secondchancenc.org/2014furry5k/

If you aren’t in the Charlotte area and are looking for some dog friendly events try hitting up BringFido.com and searching your area.

I’ll be posting photos from all the events as they happen and I’ll be adding more events to this list as I hear about them. If you know of any events that I’m missing make sure to leave them in the comments below!

Travel well, nap well, live well!

-Abbey & Basil

Family Photos!

Hello everyone! This summer has been a good one. Filled with love, laughter, and new adventures. We have been struggling with the heat and humidity here in North Carolina but because of that, I enjoy these stormy days all the more. Last week we had some professional family photos taken by the fabulous husband and wife team at Snow Dog Studios. Melissa & David showed us to a beautiful park in a gorgeous neighbor and took some truly amazing photos. Of course, Basil was the star of the show. When we got the photos back, very quickly I might add, all I wanted to order was every photo of Basil. As if I don’t have enough alright… geez!

Nate+Abbey+Basil Nate+Abbey+Basil Nate+Abbey+Basil

Thanks again to Melissa & David for your time and skills! He had such a great time at the shoot and I think the photos show that.
If you are in the North Carolina area and need family, pet, wedding, engagement, or any other type of pictures make sure to contact Snow Dog Studios. You will not be sorry!

Hope everyones Monday is off to a good start! Just remember only 5 more days until the weekend! Xoxo

Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

Happiness is a rainy summer day in Asheville!

Its been a little stormy around these parts the last couple of days. We woke up Saturday morning and decided to embrace the cooler temperatures and “light” rain and head up into the smokey mountains for the day. We really didn’t have a plan but found ourselves in our favorite North Carolina city, Asheville. What we thought was just going to be a short stop for lunch and to pop are heads (and paws) into The Three Dog Bakery turned into a full day of shopping, eating, drinking, and socializing. Basil, like aways, had a lot of fun and made more than a few new friends.
Special thanks to Posana Cafe, The Southern, and Wicked Weed for giving us shelter from the rain and being beyond welcoming of Basil and his ever so slight wet dog smell!

Rainy dog days of summer! Rainy dog days of summer!Rainy dog days of summer! Rainy dog days of summer! Rainy dog days of summer!
Hope you are enjoying your Monday! Stay dry!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

Super Snuggle Bros.

Sometimes I walk into my living room and everything is normal. Sometimes I walk into my living room and its cuteness overload! Sebastian decided he wanted to snuggle with his brother and Basil was not complaining! They were even so comfortable they let me move the arm chair they were cuddled on, to get better lighting, of course. I’m so glad I was able to capture this moment on camera. I think this gives me an amazing Halloween 2014 costume idea. Yes… Yes… Everything is coming together!

Super Snuggle Bros.Super Snuggle Bros.Brotherly love at its finest! The black & whites return!

Travel well, nap well, live well!

-Abbey & Basil

Southend Dog Crawl — Club Fetch to The Unknown Brewing Co.

Thursday evening was a blast! Basil is still recovering from the huge amount of friends and fun that happened during this months historic southend dog crawl. Hosted by the fabulous Club Fetch and sponsored by The Canine Cafe and The Unknown Brewing Co. Charlotte area pet parents gathered at Club Fetch and then made our way a mile down the road to The Unknown Brewing Co. The Canine Cafe provided dog food samples, puppy treats, and even a dog friendly birthday cake to celebrate the birthday of The Unknown Brewing Co.’s brew dog, Patton. New friends were made, butts were sniffed, and a good time was had by all! Basil can’t wait until the next dog crawl!Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBCHistoric Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC Historic Southend Dog Crawl - TUBC
Historic Southend Dog crawl - TUBC
Thank Dog its Friday! Thanks again to Blaire, Jackson, and Julia at Club Fetch for this amazing event. Also, thanks to The Canine Cafe for the treats and The Unknown Brewing Co. for letting us take over your brew house for a couple of hours! If you are in the Charlotte area, go check out all these local businesses. Shop small!

Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

Basil the Amazing Flying Dog!

Its been 3 weeks since our amazing trip to the BlogPaws conference in beautiful Lake Las Vegas, Nevada and Basil’s first airplane ride. We think that Basil is now officially the amazing flying dog!

I wanted to share some tips and tricks that we learned from flying with a four-legged friend. As well as a photo or two. I’ll also give you a short review of the SturdiBag pet carrier that we used and that helped Basil take another giant step for dog-kind.Basil at the airport


Tip 1: Give Yourself More Time Than You Think You Need!

When it comes to traveling on airplanes or just plain going to the airport, even when I’m traveling without Basil, I always show up WAY too early. I find that sometimes its a breeze and sometimes the line to just check-in is a mile long. Too many times have I been in line at check-in or for security and there is a frantic traveler in front of me yelling and complaining that he or she is going to miss their flight if they don’t get through this line NOW. I never want to be that person so I would rather be too early than too late!
As for traveling with your pet this tip is even more important. Most airlines do require that you make a “reservation” for your pet before your flight but this reservation is not a guarantee that your pet will be on this flight. When going to Las Vegas we flew on US Airways. They were great but they do have a 6 pet per plane max. This means if 6 pets show up to your flight before you do…Sorry, you are out of luck and that so called “reservation” means nothing! For our flight from Charlotte to Las Vegas for the BlogPaws conference I was slightly concerned, being that Charlotte is an US Airways/American Airlines hub, that there would be more than 6 pets on our flight. To make sure Basil made the flight and the conference we showed up the airport 3 1/2 hours early. This may seem like a lot but it was what made me comfortable and gave me a little piece of mind. As it turned out, we were the only pet on the plane that day but again, better safe than sorry!

Tip 2: Be Kind!
This one may seem like common sense but you would be surprised how many grown adults don’t follow it. Every person you have to deal with when traveling through an airport is just doing their job. From the clerk at the check-in counter to the person that scans your ticket at the gate and the flight attendants, they are all there to do their jobs and serve you. This doesn’t mean you can walk all over them! With just a simple smile and a thank you it really does make all the difference.
In our case, Basil and his pet carrier is slightly larger than the approved pet size allowed on most airlines. This means at any point before the plane takes off we could be confronted and asked to leave. I didn’t want this to happened and we were fortunate enough to not have any issues and everyone we spoke to had zero problem with Basil or his carrier. I do know, for a fact, that this would be a different story if I was overtly rude and chose to complain about issues that couldn’t be resolved. So, just remember to be kind and if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!

Tip 3: Know Where the Pet Potty is!
For this trip I booked a direct flight with no layovers so that Basil don’t have to “hold it” for too long but I know that sometimes that is not an option. Do research on each airport before you travel. If you can’t or forget I would recommend using the time once the plane touches down on the tarmac and they allow you to switch on your phone to look up where the pet area is in that airport. Will you have to exit the airport and go through security again? Do they even have a spot for pets? The last thing you want to worry about when in an unfamiliar airport is cleaning up an accident. I also have read a tip from a fellow pet blogger, Dog Jaunt that said to bring pee pads. If your pet needs to go while on the plane, this is a way to take your buddy to the tiny airplane bathroom and set up a pad. Also, if you are unable to get to the pet potty or maybe have a short layover, you have a back up plan.Basil is ready!

Our first airplane trip with Basil was pretty smooth and what helped a lot was the SturdiBag pet carrier we had ordered. I choose this bag after doing hours and hours of research online and reading more than my fair share of reviews. I found the large size SturdiBag to fit our 20+ lb. Boston terrier perfect. Its soft sides make it fit nicely under the US Airways seats and the super soft pad inside make Basil feel comfortable. Disclaimer! The large size SturdiBag is 2 inches longer than most airlines listed max size. Please be aware of this if you do choose this bag.Basil in his carrier on the plane
The only down side to this fabulous pet carrier is there is only one door, on the front. If both front and back zipped open it would make it much easier for my dog to enter and exit the carrier. Other than that, I loved the bag and would purchase it again in a heart beat!

Hope you enjoyed this post and we can’t want to get back up into the friendly skies and log some more air miles under Basil’s collar.

Travel well, nap well, live well!

-Abbey & Basil

 

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