I’ll start with the most time-critical link: Inspired by the legendary Burning Man event, held every year in Nevada, a Santa Cruz resident known for planning dog events is holding the first-ever Burning Dog Festival near Big Sur, CA. The event will include dog-friendly hikes and agility classes, sightseeing trips, numerous outdoor eating opportunities (including a luau!), and live music. It will take place June 11-14 at a campground just south of Big Sur, and space is limited.

While you’re thinking California, think Napa Valley: Dogs are welcome at Napa’s Westin Verasa, as Nicole Hockin reports in an interview posted on Travel Smart.

Don’t miss an inspiring article from Dogs in Canada, which sketches out a variety of fun dog-friendly vacations all over North America, including a beach weekend in Kennebunkport, Maine, a visit to Montreal, and canoe excursions in the Ontario wilderness. And check out these blogs I’ve just discovered: Keep Austin Dog Friendly has lots of useful info about dog-friendly businesses and events in Austin, TX, and Outbound Hound focuses on dog-friendly outdoor adventures in the Washington, D.C. area.

If you too are driving between Brighton, on England’s southern coast, to Hull, in the northeast, you’ll want to read Yak & Natter‘s posts this week and last fall about places to stop and walk with your dog en route. If you’re driving anywhere with your dog and you know (or suspect) that she’s prone to carsickness, take a look at Will My Dog Hate Me‘s excellent post about diagnosing and treating carsickness in dogs.

I’ll leave you with another article you should bookmark, about exercises you can get your dog to do in your hotel room while you’re traveling. Nothing can replace a good morning walk, but what if your dog needs to get rid of some excess energy later in the day? A second walk would do it, but I’m sometimes reluctant to leave the hotel again, especially in the winter when it gets dark early. I hurl a ball around the room for Chloe to chase, and we work on her clicker training exercises, but Fido Friendly‘s exercise ideas are excellent.