Preparing for Our Trip to B.C., Canada


Welcome to “Travels with Luca!” If you love to travel with – or without – a dog, this is the blog for you! I’m planning to drive up the coast on Highway 101 with my boy Luca all the way from Southern California to British Columbia, Canada within the next couple weeks or so. And I want to share my story with you.

This will be part travelogue, part advice on traveling with a dog, part discovery of what’s on the minds of Americans, Canadians and other nationalities, part commentary, and other musings.


I’ve already done some research in preparation for the trip, which will include a combination of camping and hotel stays. I have handy California-Oregon-Washington campground books. I’ve checked out websites that give advice on pet friendly hotels, restaurants and more, such as Go Pet Friendly. I’ve downloaded the Rover.com pet-sitting app on my phone. I’ll carry with me the book “1,000 Places to See in the United States & Canada Before You Die” that I recently purchased. I’ve lined up a few friends and family members to see as I make my way north (or south). I know what I need so that Luca and I can gain entry into Canada (a rabies vaccination record for me and a passport for him. Or is it the other way around?). I read the Wikipedia entry on John Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charley, In Search of America,” a travelogue of his 1960 journey across the U.S. in a camper with his poodle Charley. (Steinbeck wrote that he was moved by a desire to see his country on a personal level, since he made his living writing about it.)

I have clear destinations for the first part of my trip: Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Mendocino and the spectacular Humboldt redwoods. My final destination is Vancouver Island, Canada.  Beyond that, I’ll play it by ear, though I’ve made a list of possible stops on my way both northbound and southbound.

I hope you take the journey with me!

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