Because we travel so often, I like to plan at least one experience with our youngest, a standard poodle named Lucia. She doesn’t enjoy car rides, but when it seems the entire family is going, Lucia is the first one in. I spent some time investigating and discovered that St. George Island in Florida is a dog-friendly destination.
After a long drive, over ten hours, we arrived on the island, checked into our beach rental, and went for dinner. What a treat that dogs are welcomed in most places! With a gulf view and a fresh bowl of water, we dug into some fresh grouper and, of course, “hush puppies.” It was so successful that she was present at every meal.
St. George Island is a thin strip of land south of Apalachicola. If your appetite includes oysters, there are places o’plenty. We tried, but I have never found them to be anything but salty-flavored rubber. There is a moderate number of seafood restaurants, as well as one pizzeria that was quite tasty, all located in the middle of the island. A grocery that had anything you might want, a donut shop, and an ice cream parlor, completed our needs. The remainder of the area is beach houses. With some extra money, dogs are welcome on boat tours.
Frequent beach accesses lead to a sandy, shell-filled walkway that was great for leashed walks. The Gulf Breeze, moderate temperatures, and lack of tourists made the early mornings and late evenings quite pleasant.
Lucia enjoyed the week almost as much as we did. It gave us a European feel to be able to bring our dog with us as we explored.
Lucia is such a star! ❤️ Love how she’s part of every meal and moment. This looks like such a relaxing and meaningful road trip.