We started out the day at Kahwa, a dog-friendly coffee shop. Not so exciting for Atlas, but I was pretty happy. I love coffee. The Kahwa (coffee in Arabic) was delicious. I also got a French baguette sandwich with tomato, mozzarella, and basil. The baguette was not your ordinary grocery-store baguette, this was a real French baguette, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Yum. I suggest checking this place out...it also had an abundance of decadent-looking French pastries. Atlas liked the mozzarella. Shh...
Then it was on to the dog beach at Fort de Soto Park. I don't know if I was more excited or if Atlas was. It was about a 15-minute drive from downtown St. Petersburg. There are tollways on the way so be prepared to have change, but the park has free admission. The park is very easy to navigate and there is a lot of parking for the dog beach side. Other than just the dog beach there are all kinds of activities available. There is a campground, canoe and kayak trails with rentals available, boat ramps and many nature trails available for hiking. They also offer a free guided nature walk.
There is a fenced dog park at the beginning of the path to the beach. Like any standard park there are big dog and small dog areas. The park has some shady spots and the best thing is the shower sprays! They're mounted high so you just have to pull down the nozzle...much easier than a standard hose because this way you can also hold onto your dog. I sprayed Atlas down just to keep him cool. There is a little refreshment stand before you get to the beach with every little necessity a pooch may need. We got an umbrella there later once I realized it was kind of ridiculous not to have brought one---whoops.
Atlas was in sensory overload once we got to the beach. Small dogs, big dogs, waves, people, frisbees flying everywhere--so many fun options--where to start? We found a spot, parked our beach blanket and Atlas was off to play. It didn't take him long to get a game of chase started (his favorite).
The beach itself is pretty and relaxing...it feels somewhat private since it is a county park. There is lush vegetation behind you instead of a parking lot like many beaches. The beach does have a lot of seaweed but it didn't bother me. There was plenty of room to spread out but there were still people and dogs at a close distance, making it feel like a little doggy community. It was fantastic. There were people and their dogs playing fetch, frisbee, and swimming in the water. I brought a book but didn't touch it---this beach is highly entertaining.
Once Atlas looked like he had his fill of fun-dog-in-the-sun we went back to the park for a quick doggy-shower. I think he had even more fun rolling around in the dirt after his shower. I didn't mind though because....we were both on our way to some spa time!
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