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Back in 2017, the gang at MyDogLikes embarked on their Dog Friendly Tour of America.
In today’s blog post they made an unexpected stop in Baltimore, MD.
UPDATE: This post was originally published on MyDogLikes on May 18th, 2017. We recently updated and republished here on PuppyInTraining.com.
After a long day of travel and a difficult hike for Harley on Day 1, we decided to adjust our plans for the following day.
I know that every year of the MyDogLikes Road Trip will pose different issues that impact the planning and execution of our adventure.
Last year our work schedules created a frenzied pace where we covered 6,000+ miles in two weeks.
We often got into our hotel rooms at midnight and left by 6am the next day.
Other than our time at the BlogPaws conference, we never spent more than one night in the same place!
This year we have an infant and a senior dog (actually a geriatric based on his size) that we need to accommodate.
That’s why we are allowing ourselves to take a deep breath, recognize how blessed we are – not only to have expanded our family with a human baby, but to enjoy another year with our sweet senior boy, Harley.
Baltimore – Our Home Away From Home
My sister has lived in Baltimore, MD for about 8 years now, so we visit often.
We wanted to start our journey here to see her and to share some of the parks and trails that we frequent on our visits.
As an added bonus, my sister recently had a baby who is only 2 weeks younger than our little man and we had yet to meet her!
Let Him Rest?
Harley is arthritic so it’s a bit of a Catch 22. Even though he was tired and sore from the previous days hike at Ricketts Glen State Park, we knew we needed to keep him active.
So after giving him a good nights rest and some loving we wanted him to take a short walk and get moving!
We packed up the babies and the dogs and 45 minutes later (seriously babies take a long time to get situated), went on a walk!
Gwynn Falls Trail For Dogs? – A Touch of Country in the City
We made our way to the nearby Gwynns Falls Trail, a 15 mile multi-purpose trail system, named after Gwynns Falls, whose course it follows.
What is really unique about this trail system is that it passes through the city of Baltimore as well as some of the outskirts.
The mainline of this trail system is 10.75 miles long and runs from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to the border of Baltimore City/County at I-70.
This trail system also has a number of branches including the Middle Branch Trail, the Hutton Trail, and the one that we frequent the most, the Dickeyville Branch.
We love this trail because it is a short walk from my sister’s home, its quiet, and you feel so far away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Its not uncommon to run into some wildlife, and because it uses a road (Wetheredsville Rd) that is closed to cars, its easy to push a stroller and is accessible to people of all abilities.
We weren’t looking for something epic today, just comfortable and easy for our big guy – and this was perfect.
We did an easy couple of miles of out and back before returning home and hanging out in the yard.
Reflecting and Relaxing
Last year I would have been freaking out about this change in plans.
But as the sun set on this day spent mostly at my sister’s home, I couldn’t help but be completely overwhelmed with gratitude.
Gratitude for love that makes the miles between sisters seem small, the addition of two healthy babies to our family, and each of our sweet senior dogs who have been with us through marriages, cross state moves, graduations, buying homes, etc. – basically becoming adults.
Its hard for me to imagine Harley not being a part of my life – its too painful.
He is our heart dog who still has so much energy and vigor, but occasionally needs life to move at a slower pace. He deserves it.
So on this day where my biggest accomplishment was loving on my whole family, fur and human, Im just going to be thankful for all the love in my life.
Tomorrow we start our journey to Myrtle Beach, SC – feeling refreshed and ready for adventure!
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