The concept that became Pour Richard’s always included dogs. Initially, I thought that Callie, my elderly Westie, would be at the store with me, but we lost her to a brain tumor before the store opened. So we welcomed other people’s dogs…at the cost of forgoing sales of chips and candy bars. In a contest between a Snickers bar and beautiful dogs, there IS no contest. I’ll always pick the dogs.
So it is perhaps unsurprising that I like to vacation on Block Island, our dogs Donald and Emily in tow. BI is almost ridiculously dog friendly.
First of all, there are a number of hotels and/or vacation rentals that allow dogs. But it doesn’t stop there…many shops and casual restaurants allow well-behaved leashed pups. Several nicer restaurants have patio areas that accept furry friends. The beaches allow dogs. And not just after Labor Day; dogs are welcome on the beaches all year. Even the movie theatre is dog-friendly. Lastly, the BI ferry-which charges extra for everything (surfboard, bike, etc), does not charge for dogs.
We don’t actually ‘do’ much on BI. A typical day includes walking the dogs to our favorite coffee shop, then biking or paddleboarding, and time on the beach. We nap, read, and swim. Donald occasionally barks at seagulls. Emily luxuriates in the sun, which probably feels nice on her old bones.
Late afternoons are spent on the porch, facing the water while meditating on a cocktail. This year, we did a lot of palomas, but with our own twist: an ounce of tequila paired with equal parts ruby red grapefruit juice and Ting grapefruit soda. If you can’t find Ting, Polar’s Grapefruit Dry is a reasonable substitute. Add a a good book, good tunes on the speaker, and some good dogs by your feet…heaven. Dinner happens when it happens.
This year, we even made it to the circa 1886 Empire Theatre. The movie- Twisters- was impressively dreadful, but Donald and Emily both seemed to enjoy it. Donald occupied himself with befriending the dog behind us; Emily took a quality nap. Both of them consumed an epic amount of popcorn, leading to a somewhat gassy night.
And then our week was over, as is summer. Sigh. But we brought that paloma recipe home with us. Plus the books. And the dogs. Definitely the dogs.
To summer’s end. Paloma in hand, dog or dogs at your feet.