Lola here! My mom gave me permission to take over her blog today so I could tell you all about our awesome weekend in Woodstock, New York. A few weeks ago, my humans parents (Mom says it’s rude to call them “humans”!) decided Mom was too stressed with working two jobs – they needed to go on a mini vacation! Usually that means that I get to go spend some time with my older humans that have a better house grandparents, but one of mommy’s friends said we could all go stay at this cabin in Woodstock, NY. So we packed our stuff and went on a road trip.
But before I tell you all about our trip and how much fun we had, let me tell you about something really cool that happened a few days before that. I was relaxing on the couch, thinking about my favorite subject: – guess? – yes, food, when the door bell rang and this man handed Mom this big box. Mom set the box on the table and, as I’m a curious dog, I went to check it out too. THE BOX HAD FOOD IN IT! Food for meeee!!! Plus some toys for me and for Mom. How cool is that? Can you believe it? I was dreaming about food and the food appears at the door? I did a happy dance – and barking singing – around the apartment to celebrate, but Mom said I would have to slowly transition from my old food to the new Rachael Ray™ Nutrish® Zero Grain™, because I have a sensitive stomach (Say whaaaat?!? I think she’s lying!) and my body could take a few days to get used to the new food. I huffed and puffed a little – after all who wants to eat old boring food when there’s a whole bag of Beef, Potato & Bison waiting to be devoured? – but ended up having to agree. Mostly because my Mom set the bag somewhere where I couldn’t reach it… ??
The truth is that my parents really care about what food they put in my bowl. It all started a few months ago, when I was scratching my ears too much (They are loooong and they bother me!) and they took me to the vet just to hear that it was probably my diet. Mom thought it was a trap to get us to buy the expensive dog food sold at the vet’s office, and decided to research on her own.
After a few hours on the computer, she decided we were going to give the grain free diet a try and chose the food made by that TV lady that makes all that delicious human food, Rachael Ray! Mom was really excited about that, because not only she’s a huge fan of Rachael Ray, but she also told me that all of Rachael’s personal proceeds go to Rachael’s Rescue, a charity created to help shelter pets in need. The money goes toward food, medical supplies and treatments for these unfortunate animals. I’m all for helping peers in need, but before I give my OK for a permanent switch, I had to try and see if the food was worth it a full time commitment. No, I am not spoiled! Fine… Maybe a little. But why do mom and dad get to eat all that food blogging delicious food without judgment and you raise a brow at me being picky about my food? Anyways… the food was… fantastic! Even while it was still mixed with my old food, it tasted amazing and I licked my bowl clean every single time. No wonder it was so delicious. I read (Yes, I can read!) at the back of the bag that Rachael Ray™ Nutrish® Zero Grain™ Beef with Bison is made with simple, natural ingredients like real U.S. farm-raised beef, which is always the number one ingredient, combined with wholesome vegetables. No grains, glutens or fillers are included and there is no artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors. I’m glad to report that I’ve been eating this food for a while now and have officially told my parents that we are staying on this diet.
And now back to Woodstock. So me, my Mom, my Dad and a whole bag of my new delicious food were ready to conquer Woodstock, NY. The town was really cute and the cabin was lovely. I overheard Mom and Dad talking about how Woodstock is famous for a certain music concert that didn’t even happen there… I know nothing about music, so that didn’t matter to me. However, I was definitely intrigued by the weird people wearing colorful clothes. Mom said they are called hippies! She wanted to get a picture of me with a very old hippie guy that was hanging out at the town square, but Dad was against it, saying it was rude. That pretty much sums our family dynamics… Mom wanting to do cuckoo crazy stuff and Dad being all uptight. I like to think I’m somewhere in the middle…
The weekend ended up being Mom and Dad exploring all the city’s amazing restaurants while I stayed in the cabin. Ok, maybe not all true! We did get to go to a dog park. We also got to go and explore the Magic Meadow, but only because Mom chickened out about going the night before for the Blood Moon celebration. The night of the moon eclipse, my parents heard about this Magic Meadow and how all the hippies would gather there to celebrate, drink and play live music. They reflected on how they are pretty boring humans whose notion of fun is to stay home drinking wine and watching Netflix, and decided to join in the fun. Well, that didn’t go too well… They returned fairly quickly. Apparently, they didn’t quite know where the Magic Meadow was and Dad made mom brave through the woods – Blair Witch style – until she almost cried and begged to go back home. The next day, still feeling guilty about being boring and not letting Dad have fun with the hippies, she suggested we (myself included! Woohoo!) should go there and see what it was all about.
Now that I’ve been there, I can say I do not think my Mom would have had fun if they had made it there that night. To get to the Magic Meadow, we had to cross a small stream and climb a small hill. No big deal for me and Dad, but Mom is a bit clumsy and is not very used to the woods. I simply cannot picture her balancing herself on those rocks with only her iPhone light to guide her. Not to mention the bear sign… I mean, I think the chances of us seeing a bear are pretty slim, but I would bet that even if they found the right place that night, if she saw the “beware of bears” sign, she would have freaked out. I’m actually really glad they didn’t go, because 1) they came back and spent the night with me and 2) I got to go there the next day! Look at all that Fall foliage! Isn’t it beautiful?
We even found found the remnants of a few fire pits, as you can see above. It definitely looked like those people had a lot of fun! Maybe next time we are there we can convince Mom to try and go to a full moon gathering. I know Dad would love it!
Aaaaand, that’s it for today, human friends! I’m sorry if this post is too long. I have a feeling I got carried away… Can’t wait til we meet again! Love, Lola P.S. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram at @lolalolitamesquita! P.S.2 You can also follow Rachael Ray Nutrish on Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook! P.S. 3 And, finally, don’t miss out on this $3 off coupon for Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain pet food! Your pet will thank you, believe me!
