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Pet Travel
By Gordon Groene & Janet Groene
A nonstop flight from Miami carries you and your pet to St. Croix, the most verdant of the Virgin Islands, in just over two hours. Suddenly you're surrounded by cinnamon sugar sands, Windex waters, windmills galore, and an exotic European setting that almost makes you forget that the Virgin Islands are no longer owned by Denmark. The American islands of St. John and St. Thomas cluster with the British Virgin Islands well north of St. Croix, which floats on its own in a lonely ocean, lovely and aloof and soaked in sunshine. While St. Thomas developed as the Danes' commercial center, St. Croix continued to be their breadbasket. Even today, the countryside is peppered with old windmills, plantation ruins, croplands, and meadows filled with grazing cattle. Whim Plantation Museum has been restored with care. Tour the greathouse, the sugar mill remnants, the bake house, and one of the best gift shops in the islands. While you're on a driving tour, stop too at Little La Grange Plantation where the old home and gardens have been restored as the Lawaetz Family Museum. If your dog loves playing fetch on the beach, just drive the north shore road until you find a deserted beach and help yourself. During turtle nesting season, be on the lookout for nests and give them a wide berth. Disturbing them is against the law. Driving on the beach isn't permitted, and environmentalists ask that you be careful where you build a fire or drive an umbrella pole into the sand. You could destroy precious turtle eggs. Play golf at the Buccaneer Hotel, Carambola Golf Club or The Reef. If your hotel doesn't have tennis courts, there are public courts near Fort Frederik and three lighted courts at Canegata Ball Park near Christiansted. Rent a bicycle from St. Croix Bike & Tours in Frederiksted, or go horseback riding in the rain forest with Paul and Jill's Equestrian Stables. Go deep sea fishing, take a snorkel tour, rent a boat or kayak, book a sunset sail, go scuba diving with Ed and Molly Buckley from V.I. Divers, try parasailing, or rent a board sailer.
When the tropical sun goes down, St. Croix cools quickly in the sea breezes and nightlife can go on for hours. Wahoo Willy's at the Caravelle is one of the island's favorite hangouts, home of St. Croix' only bloomin' onion, and a good-times bar as well as a seriously good restaurant right on the edge of the sea. Live music plays most nights. Sail model boats while your order is on the grill at Bandana's at Seaview Farm. The friendly, open-air restaurant just south of Frederiksted specializes in prime beef prepared to order. Also in Frederiksted is Le St. Tropez, a little slice of Paris where you'll be serenaded by Edith Piaf as you dine on escargot or homemade paté. The Lost Dog Pub doesn't have an appealing name for pet lovers, but the place itself is a popular hangout, a good place to get beer and pizza. At Breezez you can get authentic Danish Aebleskivers (pancake balls). Indies, located in a historic Christiansted courtyard, is a culinary tour de force. Try the Caribbean spice-rubbed chicken with pineapple chutney. Live jazz plays on Saturday night. Live music also plays at the Hibiscus Beach Hotel, where gourmet food is served in an informal, beachfront setting. If you can't function without American fast food, you'll find familiar logos on St. Croix including KFC, Pizza Hut, and Subway. People who travel with their pets are accustomed to meeting roadblocks, especially in the Caribbean, where many islands ban pets or impose a long quarantine period. Here's a chance to have the best of the Caribbean without having to leave the four-legged member of your family at home.
If You Go
Pet Travel News If you need a getaway close to home, the luxurious Fontainebleau Hilton Resort and Towers on Miami Beach welcomes pets 25 pounds and under. There are no restrictions. Just clean up after your pet. Get spa treatments, walk the beach, swim in the pool, sign up for the fitness program, put the children in the Kids Korner for non-stop fun, or rent any of a long list of watersports equipment including Yamaha Wave Runners or a banana rider. The resort has tennis courts, pros, lessons, and packages; golf privileges can be arranged. (305) 538-2000. Pets are welcome at many Holiday Inns, (800) HOLIDAY; Best Westerns, (800) 528-1234; Quality Inns, (800) 228-5151; and Marriotts, (800) 228-9290. In San Diego, you and your pet can also stay at the Marriott Suites Downtown or Marriott Mission Valley and the Sheraton Inn San Diego Central. In Chicago, try the Blackstone, (800) 622-6330 or the posh Four Seasons, (800) 332-3442. Both are downtown, handy to McCormick Place and Merchandise Mart. Pets are also welcome at the legendary Palmer House, (800) 445-8667. Thinking of going fishing in the north country this summer? Pets are welcome at Fisherman's Choice Bed and Breakfast in Wilson, New York, tel. (716) 751-9481 and Ship-N-Shore in Saugatuck, Michigan, tel. (616) 857-2194. Remember that "pet friendly" means something different at every hotel. It is more difficult to find a welcome for pets weighing more than 40 pounds; many hotels limit pets to 25 pounds or less. Two books are indispensable for traveling pet lovers. They are Vacationing with Your Pet by Eileen Barish and Florida Pet Lover's Companion by Sally Deneen and Robert McClure. They can be ordered at any bookstore. "Socializing your pet is an important way to show love and affection, and camping with your pet is a great way to socialize it," says Char Bebiak, head animal trainer and behaviorist for Ralston Purina Company. Purina also reminds travelers not to let a dog ride with its head out of the car or RV window because its eyes could be injured from road debris. If you'll be on the road for a long trip, carry spray-on pet shampoo. Campground owners frown on bathing pets in showers built for humans. Pets are welcome at almost all KOA campgrounds including seven in Florida: Okeechobee, Madeira Beach, Ocala, Naples, Homestead, Fiesta Key, and Sugarloaf Key. A free campground directory can be picked up at any KOA.
Travel News You Can Use Traveling with Your Pet, the AAA PetBook is a 544-page powerhouse of a book that lists thousands of hotels and motels where pets are welcome. It isn't an armchair read because listings are so brief, but in words and symbols, it tells you at a glance the hotel's basic rates, and whether it has a pool, restaurant, coffee shop, no-smoking room, cable television, refrigerator, AAA discount or other features. Only local, not toll-free, reservations numbers are listed with a brief address, with no other information on the motel's location. Still, it is probably the most comprehensive listing of pet-friendly motels on the market, and it also lists national parks where pets are permitted. Order the book from your AAA office, or through any bookstore. Dogs and cats are welcome at Fess Parker's DoubleTree Resort in Santa Barbara. The 24-acre seaside resort has a swimming pool, tennis courts, spa services, fine dining, and a gourmet menu for pets. Take your pet almost anywhere on the property.
Enjoy a Pennsylvania farm vacation complete with kids and pets at Carealot Farm at Dawson in the southwestern part of the state. The 150-year-old Mennonite farmhouse has three guestrooms with 1˝ baths, a family room with fireplace, and a year-round hot tub. The pool is open in season. 888-824-3232 or 724-529-0443. Pets on a leash can camp with you at Lake Kissimmee State Park near Lake Wales, where the first Saturday of November is Patrick D. Smith Cowman Day. Family fun, bluegrass music, and Florida history will be celebrated at the Cow Camp, where you can see original Florida scrub cattle and marshtackie horses described by Smith in his book This Land Remembered. The cattle and the horses were specially bred by early Spanish settlers for the Florida scrub. They are unique. For information call the park at 941-696-1112. About the Authors
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