My husband and I are looking for vacation ideas of where we can go for about 4 days with our dog in Northern California. Any ideas. Any places you've been to. Let's hear the poop! Thanks!!

Best place in Northern CA for pooches is Carmel! Try to book at Doris Day's Cypress Inn. Luxurious, centrally located and very, very dog friendly. The Wayside Inn is also good and keeps a scrapbook with photos of dog guests. Dogs are welcome leash free on Carmel City beach. You can also take them to most restaurants as long as you eat on the patio and many places give complimentary hamburgers or water in a champagne bucket. Our favorite is Portabella on Ocean Ave. Do know that dogs in Carmel are very clean, you should pick up after them and they should be people/kid/dog friendly because it's a small town with lots of people. Have a great time. Also dog friendly is Santa Cruz but not to the degree Carmel is.

And, here's a website, Sarah, that is lists places in various Northern California counties where you and your dog(s) are welcome -- specifically where your dog may go off lead.

http://www.ilovethisplace.com/dogfun/ca/north.html

We just took our pooch to Capitola for the weekend and stayed at the Best Western on 41st Street which just opened in June. The rate was about $90 per night including a $10 fee for our dog. This was on a Saturday and Sunday. The room they gave us was one reserved for travelers with dogs. It was clean and had larger doorways and tub as if designed for disabled. Helped when it came to bathing the dog after time at the beach. The clerks were helpful by telling us that we could take her to a dog beach in nearby Santa Cruz (by the lighthouse) rather than traveling 20 miles further to the better known dog beach near Watsonville. They also speculated that one beachside restaurant (in Capitola) would let us take the dog on their deck to eat lunch. They did but I won't advertise the name here since its probably against the Health Code. Big burger and great-looking Margaritas (didn't try one at that time, though). We had checked out Doris Day and Son's place in Carmel but it was far too pricey for a couple days with the dog. We love her but agreed that if we wanted to spend $200 up for a nice room at the beach, we'd rather be without the restrictions the dog brings. We took her to Greta's Bakery, well known in Capitola, for breakfast but they weren't comfortable with her even on the patio. She had to be tied to a post close to the patio but not on it.

This is a great site for finding places to go and stay with dogs. We have found it very helpful. Check it out:www.dogfriendly.com