Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
46
TRAVELING WITH PETS
If you're thinking of taking y our pet along
with y ou to r omp on a California beach,
make sure you do a little r esearch. For one
thing, dogs are restricted from most public
beaches in the L.A. area. To find out where
you can bring man 's best friend, check out
the online
Pets W elcome
ser vice (www .
petswelcome.com), which lists accommo-
dations that allo w pets. The site also lists
pet-related publications, medical travel tips,
and links to other pet-related websites.
A good book to carr y along is
The
California Dog Lover's Companion: The
Insider's Scoop on Wher e to T ake Your
Dog
(A valon Travel P ublishing), a 900-
page source for complete statewide listings
of fenced dog parks, dog-friendly beaches,
and other indispensable information.
Los Angeles has strict leash laws (includ-
ing stiff penalties for failing to pick up
waste), prompting the formation of a dog
owner/supporter gr oup called
Freeplay
(
&
310/301-1550;
www .freeplay.org).
Contact them for the latest dev elopments
on dog-r elated issues, including informa-
tion on off-leash parks around town.
In the ev ent that y our pet r equires
medical car e while y ou're visiting, call or
visit the
California Animal H ospital,
1736 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Ste. D (south of
Santa Monica Blvd.), Los Angeles (
&
310/
478-0248
). The
Facility
(
&
310/473-1561
), located in
adjoining Suite A, is open 24 hours a day .
The
www.petplace.org
website is another
good source for emergency animal clinics.
SENIOR TRAVEL
Nearly ev ery attraction in Los Angeles
offers a senior discount; age r equirements
vary, and specific prices are listed in chap-
ter 7. P ublic transpor tation and mo vie
theaters also hav e reduced rates. D on't be
shy about asking for discounts, but always
carry some kind of identification, such as
a driver's license, that sho ws your date of
birth.
Members of
AARP,
601 E S t. NW ,
Washington, DC 20049 (
&
888/687-
2277;
www .aarp.org), get discounts on
hotels, air fares, and car r entals. AARP
offers members a wide range of benefits,
including
AARP The Magazine
and a
monthly ne wsletter. Any one 50 and o ver
can join.
Recommended publications offering
3
travel r esources and discounts for seniors
include the quar terly magazine
Travel 50
& Beyond
(www.travel50andbeyond.com)
and the bestselling paperback
Unbeliev-
ably Good Deals and G reat Adventures
That Y ou A bsolutely C an't G et U nless
You're Ov er 50 2009-
2010
(McGraw-
Hill), by Joann Rattner Heilman.
Animal E mergency
8
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Sustainable tourism
is conscientious
people. TIES suggests that ecotourists fol-
low these principles:
• Minimize environmental impact.
• Build envir onmental and cultural
travel. I t means being car eful with the
environments y ou explor e and r especting
the communities y ou visit. Two o verlap-
ping components of sustainable trav el are
ecotourism
and
ethical tourism.
The
International Ecotourism Society
(TIES)
defines ecotourism as responsible travel to
natural ar eas that conser ves the envir on-
ment and improves the well-being of local
awareness and respect.
• Provide positiv e experiences for both
visitors and hosts.
• Provide dir ect financial benefits for
conservation and for local people.
