Tommy Doyle’s Irish Pub, Cambridge, MA (Kendall Square)

After we had grabbed a bite to eat at Charlie’s Kitchen, we headed over to Tommy Doyle’s Irish Pub, located in Cambridge, MA in Kendall Square.  Read more about Tommy Doyle’s HERE.

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Tommy Doyle’s had a nice outdoor seating area, where we enjoyed a glass of wine with Cello and Hooch.  Although we didn’t eat here, they had a pretty good looking menu!

 Tommy Doyle’s is definitely a great place to get your Irish on if you are in the Cambridge/Kendall Square area!

 

Charlie’s Kitchen, Cambridge, MA (Harvard Square)

Each day after Cello was finished for the day at her Regional Event, we ventured over to Cambridge, MA (Harvard Square), and got a bite to eat and some cocktails at Charlie’s Kitchen.  We sat in the Beer Garden, and just LOVED it! Read more about Charlie’s Kitchen HERE!

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Before going to any dog-friendly establishment that I have found online, I always call ahead to verify that the place is in fact still dog friendly. When I had called Charlie’s to ask if it was true that dogs were allowed, the woman who answered the phone said “If you come, please don’t come withOUT your dog!!”  We were thrilled, and we were not disappointed with our visit!

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When we entered Charlies, most every employee stopped what they were doing to come over to greet Cello and Hooch as if they were celebrities!  We were welcomed at both the bar and the outdoor seating areas.  A Pabst Blue Ribbon water bowl was immediately brought out for Cello and Hooch.

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Charlie’s had some great choices on their menu – check it out HERE! On our first visit, we could not resist to try the Lobster Roll!  It was awesome!  Brian chose to get french fries as his side choice, and I got fried green beans as mine (DELICIOUS!!) Our wine was served in cute little pilsner glasses.

Brian and Cello checking out the menu:

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On our second visit, we chose to split two of their signature burgers.  We ordered one Double Crab Cheese Burger and one Lobster Burger, and again, were not disappointed!  Both burgers were AWESOME.  Brian tried the sweet potato fries as his side, and I, again, got the fried green beans.

The Lobster Roll and Fried Green Beans:

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Charlie’s Kitchen has a super-cool atmosphere, great food, tasty drinks, and is by far one of THE most dog friendly restaurant/bars we have been to!

…oh – and has my most favorite sign ever:

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Outback Steakhouse, Lowell, MA

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Hooch’s first restaurant experience!!

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We decided to try Outback Steakhouse for dinner while we were in MA.  Brian and I have not been there in years!

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We just HAD to order a Bloomin’ Onion for our appetizer.  In addition to enjoying some wine at the outdoor seating area, Brian ordered a steak – and I enjoyed an Ahi Tuna appetizer.  The staff were very friendly, and welcomed Cello and Hooch with a water bowl, and lots of attention!

LaQuinta Inn and Suites, Andover, MA

We stayed at the LaQuinta Inn and Suites in Andover, MA for Cello’s North Eastern Regionals Competition (Read more about this event HERE).

(This was Hooch’s first hotel stay!)

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We had stayed at a LaQuinta in Harrisburg, Pa for one of Cello’s dock diving events, and had a wonderful experience.  The hotel was clean, and the staff could not be more friendly.  Read more about it HERE.

This experience was QUITE different.  There were 2 Laquinta’s to choose from for Cello’s Regional Competition.  We chose the Andover location, even though it was 20 minutes away, because with the DockDogs discount, we saved $400 at this location.  The LaQuinta in Andover was a bit older than the one we stayed at in Harrisburg, PA, and had a very “dirty” feel to it.  When we went into our room, it smelled awful. When we told the hotel front desk staff, and instead of changing our room, they gave us the rug deodorizer they use to spray on the rug, and told us to spray the rug ourselves!  (SERIOUSLY!?!) We should have immediately checked out at that point!!  Our hotel keys did not work consistently, which made it difficult trying to get back into the room with two dogs, and I heard others complaining about this as well.  We decided to stick it out in this hotel – but were regretful that we didn’t change hotels after the sight of our room!

I was completely creeped-out in this smelly room!  To make matters worse, I had just recently received an email from a friend about a creepy hotel situation just minutes from our home (later found to be false news!)

The following story is from Empire News:

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Body Found Under Motel Bed, Police Say It Has Been There At Least 5 Years

MOUNT LAUREL, New Jersey – empire-news-body found under motel bed police say its been there 5 years

Stunning news this morning out of New Jersey, as reports of police discovering the body of a young woman under a motel bed have been confirmed. The owners of the motel asked that their name and location be omitted from news reports to protect their business.

The body, which has yet to be identified, was found by a person staying in the room.

“I dropped the television remote, and when I went to check under the bed I found her. It was like something out of a scary movie,” said Aaron Silver, the man staying in the room.

According to initial reports by the medical examiner on-scene, it appears as though the body lay undisturbed in the room for about 5 years. There was a normal amount of rot and decay on the body to suggest that it had not been moved or touched over the course of that time.

The motel has not made a comment about the issue but have told police that they are constantly cleaning their rooms and have no idea how this could have slipped beneath the cracks.

“I clean that room every day. I noticed a smell several times, and told my manager,” said Anita Rodriguez, a housekeeper at the motel. “He told me to just use extra Febreeze in the room and it would go away eventually. I always hated cleaning that room.”

Motel representatives say that all their rooms are cleaned daily, but that it is not the policy of the company to make their housekeeper check under the beds.

“They do a heavy clean of the rooms to sanitize for guests, but when it comes to under the beds, they just run the vacuum around the edges. Who really looks under the bed, anyway? No reason to waste anyone’s time,” said Charles Dyson, a representative of the motel chain.

“It’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen,” said police chief Joe Goldsmith. “I’ve seen a lot of strange things in my time on the force, but to think about all the people who’ve stayed in this room, with a dead body beneath them, and they didn’t know about it? It gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

Police have seized room and occupant records for the last several years, and are trying to trace the person or persons who may have stayed in the room around the time of death.

“Funny thing is, the records also show literally almost 1,000 complaints from people who stayed in the room over the years. Everything from a bad smell to an ‘eerie feeling.’ Several people even asked to switch rooms in the middle of the night,” said Goldsmith. “The motel really should have checked out that room a little more closely.”

(see the original link HERE)…again  – found to be false.

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Even though the above story was false news, the bad smell we were experiencing creeped me out.

…So… I still insisted that Brian look under the bed! 🙂

(Cello “helped,” of course!) 😉

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PHEW! No dead body here!  In fact, the bottom of the bed was solid, so there was no “under-the-bed!” (I was still creeped-out by the way!)

 

After all of the above, to top it all off, we had REALLY noisy neighbors (not from DockDogs). SO…we finally had it with this hotel, and actually checked out of this La Quinta a day early.  We booked a room at the Somerville location for our last night in Massachusetts after other DockDogs members had given us great feedback on the hotel. (BEST move ever!!) We would NOT stay at the Andover La Quinta again!!

Hooch and Cello didn’t seem to mind too much:

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Detour Vineyard and Winery

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Hooch now has his first winery visit under his belt!  Cello’s dock diving practice was held at Detour Vineyard and Winery in Keymar, MD.  Cello had already been to this winery when she participated in the PuppyPalooza dock diving event earlier this season.

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Detour Winery has some really unique-tasting wines!  They also stock many local stores with their wines.

 

Crossing the Mason-Dixon Line

Hooch’s first “Been There/Done That” post! 🙂

On the first of many-to-come traveling adventures for this little GSP, Hooch crossed back and forth over the Mason-Dixon line while traveling to and from Round Top Campground (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) and Cello’s dock diving practice at Detour Winery (Keymar, MD).  Cello already had this “Been There/Done That” post under her belt when she participated in the PuppyPalooza dock diving event earlier this season.

 

This was the sign in the median to show travelers where the actual Mason-Dixon Line is:mason dixon

Don’t know what the Mason-Dixon Line is?  Encylcopedia Britannica gives a great description:

“Mason and Dixon Line,  also called Mason-Dixon Line,  originally the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania in the United Sates. In the pre-Civil War period it was regarded, together with the Ohio River, as the dividing line between slave states south of it and free-soil states north of it. Between 1763 and 1767 the 233-mile (375-kilometer) line was surveyed along the parallel 39°43′ by two Englishmen, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, to define the long-disputed boundaries of the overlapping land grants of the Penns, proprietors of Pennsylvania, and the Calverts, proprietors of Maryland. Mason and Dixon also surveyed much of the disputed boundary between Maryland and the territory of Delaware, which had been acquired by William Penn.  The term “Mason and Dixon Line” was first used in congressional debates leading to the Missouri Compromise (1820). Today the Mason and Dixon Line still serves figuratively as the political and social dividing line between the North and the South.”

 Map of the Mason-Dixon Line

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