How Do The Bugs Know All The Cool Spots?

We moved onto the boat with a bug-repelling bandana and sunscreen/insecticide for Honey. We knew we’d be visiting some interesting places. And of course, they’d be buggy.

How do the bugs know all the cool spots?

Visit The Adirondacks In The Rain

Have you ever visited the Adirondacks Park in upstate New York? It’s gorgeous.

The largest protected wilderness area east of the Mississippi River, the Adirondacks Park is larger than Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Canyon, and the Great Smokies National Parks combined.

Let that sink in a while. That’s a huge area.

And who lives there? Billions and billions of biting flies.

When we visited it over a decade ago, we were lucky that it rained nearly every day. It was the only sure protection against bugs.

My husband and I had netting to cover our faces and gloves for our hands. But our poor pup Agatha had only her fur.

If it hadn’t rained so much, I would have worried about taking her outside and subjecting her to the biting fly menace.

We’re facing another bug menace in our current location. But lucky for Honey, her fur protects her pretty well.

I Can’t See Them; But I Feel Them

Right now, we’re enjoying lovely warm temperatures in the Low Country of South Carolina—Beaufort to be specific.

Well, enjoying might be a little strong. To cope with the bugs, I’m wearing long pants, shoes, and a sweater on an 80+F (27 C) degree day.

To visit the marina bathroom this morning, I covered all but a few inches of exposed skin and sprayed poison on myself.

Arriving at the dock last week, I was unprotected for a brief moment with still winds and vulnerable to the dreaded no-see-ums. I counted thirty-four bite marks on my left ankle alone.

Luckily for Honey, fur keeps the biting midges from gaining access to her vulnerable skin. And there’s not any part of her body besides her eyes and nose that isn’t protected by fur.

I just hope the wind picks up a bit so I can enjoy exploring lovely Beaufort (the entire town is on the National Historic Register).

It’s gotta be a fabulous place. Because bugs always congregate in the cool spots.

Which reminds me…

Talking Trash For The Best City For Pet Travelers

I’m supporting lovely Charleston, South Carolina in the Best City for Pet Travelers brackets over at Go Pet Friendly.

We just spent a month there. Charleston is lovely, cultured, and yes, very pet friendly.

Charleston is competing against Nashville, Tennessee in round two.

How do I know Charleston is superior to Nashville in every way? When you do an internet search on bugs in Nashville, you see an occasional article on bed bugs. But Charleston is swarming with no-see-ums right now.

Bugs know all the cool spots. And Charleston is one of the coolest.

Let me tell you a few other reasons I know Charleston is a much more fun place for you to travel with your pets.

Trash Talking To Nashville

1. Nashville is the capital of Tennessee. And we all know how cool capital cities are—Harrisburg, Albany, Bismarck. Charleston didn’t need to be the capital to convince people to live there.
2. Nashville has a hockey team. Hockey! In freaking Tennessee. How weird can you get? Charleston has roller derby.
3. Nashville is famous for hot chicken. And hot fish. Charleston is famous for she-crab soup, Low Country boil, shrimp and grits, and gumbo. Which sounds more delicious to you?
4. Nashville has a variety of religious thought, sort of. It’s home to the national conventions of the Southern Baptists, National Baptists, and Free Will Baptists. Charleston, however, wrote religious tolerance into its founding documents and was, in 1800, the largest settlement of Jewish people in the country.
5. Nashville does not allow dogs on their public transit system. Charleston also does not allow dogs on their buses. But they have a cool water taxi which is pet friendly. And dogs ride for free!

Pet Friendly Charleston

We loved exploring Charleston with Honey.

It’s a very walkable city so we took her with us most of the time.

In fact, Free Walking Tours of Charleston allows dogs to join the fun. We left Honey at home when we did our tour. But she would have loved getting lovies from the tourists as we checked out all the magnificent architecture.

Charleston has many excellent restaurants of all types. Many have pet friendly patios.

Since we live on a boat, we didn’t investigate pet friendly hotels. But even some of the elegant mansions have pet friendly accommodations, as we learned when our friends from Groovy Goldendoodles visited Wentworth Mansion.

So what are you waiting for? Hop over to the Best City For Pet Friendly Travelers and click on Charleston (second from the bottom). And all your other favorite pet friendly cities in the brackets.

And don’t worry about the bugs. They’re just the easiest way to know you’ve found a really cool spot.

Your turn: Would bugs keep you and your pets from visiting a really cool vacation spot?

photo credit: Lone Maple via photopin (license). Click on the image to learn more about the photographer.