Merry Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas 2015! As usual, I spent the Christmas holiday dashing through airports so that I could spend time on the east coast with family and friends. This means my official dog tag has now logged 31 flights since joining my pack in November 2009. Wow, much air time! 

For air travel, I fly in cabin with my people in my custom made Celltei travel bag. Five years ago, the nice folks at Celltei helped design a bag that would work on cross country flights to keep me as comfortable as possible. Most adult shibas will be too large to fly in cabin, but if you are on the smaller size, or are still a puppy, you may be able to do so. You can see more images of me in my Celltei bag on previous trips in these posts:

Celltei Test Bag (2011) 

Flying Shiba Friendly Skies (2011) 
Christmas 2011 (2011)
Tokyo Turns Three (2012)  

San Francisco (2012) 

Merry Christmas 2012 (2012) 

For dogs traveling through the San Diego (Lindbergh Field) Airport, the airport has an indoor pet relief area which makes it really convenient for traveling with your dogs. This is an amazing addition to the air travel for dogs, as air-side pet relief areas are fairly nonexistent. The San Diego facility is located at Terminal 2 West between gates 46 and 47. It is a small, 75 sq ft space that has a fun fire hydrant and fake grass. Dog bags are available inside.

I hope wherever you spend your holidays, that they are filled with great adventures! 
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House in Palm Springs, California

Since Palm Springs, California is just a short drive (about 2 1/2 hours) from San Diego, I vacation in Palm Springs throughout the year for quick getaways. For this trip, we opted to rent a house through VRBO so we would have plenty of room to relax. While I usually stay in hotels when we travel, vacation rentals are a great way to get more room and privacy. Many VRBO properties are dog friendly, just check in advance before you make a reservation to confirm the details. - pet fee, size restrictions, etc.

Our 1800 sq ft house (3 bed - 3 bath) was in the lovely Vista Las Palmas neighborhood in downtown Palm Springs. The house had everything we need inside and outside to make for a great getaway. 

The house had an amazing private yard that was fully enclosed - with many comfy seating areas - making it very safe for me to play and relax during our stay. 

 

Misters to keep cool in the desert heat.  

Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow me on my many adventures in California and around the country -woof! 

More pictures of me at Tokyo: My Shiba Inu Tumblr 
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Big Bear Lake, California

 

Lodging Review: For spring 2015, I went on two vacations to Big Bear Lake, California and stayed in my own little cabin each time. The best way to stay in Big Bear is definitely to get a vacation rental cabin. The cabin we selected was located in the Meadow Park neighborhood and is within walking distance to the lake and restaurants, including the Grizzly Manor Cafe located at 41268 Big Bear Boulevard.  While not dog friendly, the Grizzly Manor Cafe is a Big Bear "must" for a truly "big" breakfast. Just make sure your people bring you back some bacon. For casual counter service dining with a dog friendly patio, check out Get the Burger which is located a short drive away on 42151 Big Bear Boulevard. 

Nestled in the tall trees, our cabin was a 2 bedroom, 1 bath unit furnished with bear and ski motif throughout (one bedroom had a queen size bed and the other furnished with a twin over full size bunk bed). The cabin had a wood burning fireplace and stacked washer/dryer. While rustic in style, the cabin had 3 flat screen TVs and wifi access. The cabin is dog friendly with owner approval. For this trip, I brought my travel dog bed with me to make sure I was a "good" guest and we made sure everything was clean upon departure. The cabin and its location are both excellent. Being an urban city dog, it was fun to stay in a wood cabin and enjoy the adventure of mountain life and the fresh mountain air. We rented our cabin through VRBO; it can be found directly at this link for more information and rental details. 

The cabin also had a great backyard that was fully enclosed with a wood privacy fence for me to safely play in. The backyard was even full of huge pine cones for me to collect. Wow! The backyard also included a nice table for dining with an umbrella, a grill, spa, ping pong table, and a tent. 

While known for its winter ski areas, spring, summer, and fall are great times to visit Big Bear Lake - because when you are 7,000 feet closer to the sun, the stress just melts off. I give this vacation a high-paw! Be sure to follow me on my many adventures around California and the rest of the country. 

More pictures of me at Tokyo: My Shiba Inu Tumblr 
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Tokyo Turns Six

June 2, 2015 and I am 6 years old. Living life as a Southern California shiba definitely has its perks. While I love to travel all over the US, there are so many fun adventures to have right here in California. For my birthday surprise, my people took me to Big Bear Lake to spend the long weekend in my very own cabin. Be sure to check the next blog post for an update on that special cabin adventure. 

Now that I am 6 years old, I have been weighing in between 18-19 lbs of pure soft fluffiness. Life is good. 100% shiba approved.

Don't forget there are always more pictures of me at Tokyo: My Shiba Inu Tumblr 
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2015!

Touchdown! The bird has landed me on the east coast. #FlyingFirstClass

Tokyo strut.  

2014 was a great year all around. Christmas 2014 found me darting through airports again to visit friends and family on the east coast. At this point, I've now logged 29 flights since I joined my pack in November 2009. The east coast was very cold and there was even some snow for me to play in again. High paw! As 2015 begins, I am looking forward to sharing new adventures with all of my followers. But for now, now that I am back in San Diego, I need to take a quick nap so I'm ready for 2015!

Don't forget there are always more pictures of me at Tokyo: My Shiba Inu Tumblr 
Follow me on twitter @tokyoshiba
Check out my Instagram tokyoshiba