Hike and Dine near Dog-friendly Dahlonega, Ga.: Hiking Woody Gap with Dogs!

One of the great things about Atlanta is it's an easy drive to the North Georgia mountains, where you'll find plenty of hiking trails and the start of the Appalachian Trail.

Last Sunday, we headed up to Woody Gap for a nice hike with Rocco and his pal Nicky.

There's nothing like two Havanese hiking the Appalachian trail! The boys had a blast, and the portion of the trail we hiked was relatively easy with just a few rocks to scramble over and trees to climb over or under... your choice, if you're a short pup.

Woody Gap is located off of GA 60 near Suches, Ga. Take a look at our adventure!...

Starting down the trails with Rocco and Nicky.

Which way to go? Over or under?

Rocco vaults over (in a blur!) while Nicky chooses the low road.

Mountain dog!

Rocco says we need to run this trail! And we did for a little bit.

And then stopped to enjoy the view... and smells.

The view from Woody Gap

After a brisk hike, we took a scenic drive past Mountain Crossings, a nifty hiking store and full-service outfitter with another terrific view.

The Appalachian Trail passes through the building at Mountain Crossings, marking the only covered portion of the trail's 2,100-plus miles.

We met this kitty pal outside the outfitter.

The view from the deck at Mountain Crossings

 And took in another great view.

Enter the Oar House from this charming front porch

After working up an appetite, it was time to find a spot for lunch. We used BringFido.com to find a selection of dog-friendly restaurants in the area. We chose the Oar House, with a large riverfront deck, just outside of Dahlonega.

The Oar House provided a beautiful dog-friendly setting, and the food was delicious too.

Rocco and Nicky were happy hanging out under the table with a view of the river.

If that wasn't enough activity for one day, we decided to head to the town of historic Dahlonega for a walk about town.

All the shops allowed us to bring the dogs in and then we finished off the day with a carriage ride! Wow! What a great day!

The fun and games continue every Friday with FitDog Friday, the weekly Blog Hop brought to you by To Dog With Love, SlimDoggy and Peggy's Pet Place to promote a healthy active lifestyle for pets (and their people, too!) and to help combat pet obesity. Join in every Friday by linking up your FitDog story or visiting the blogs in the Hop.

Rocco Gets His Pet Diving Certification!

We love finding fun activities to do with dogs, so we were super excited to be one of the first teams to experience the new PADI (Pet Association of Diving Instructors) Pet Diver certification this past weekend.

Rocco gets ready for our latest adventure!

What's really cool about it is that this scuba dive training program is designed exclusively for dogs and cats (yes, cats too!) and chances are you can start the certification even if you don't live anywhere near the ocean.

First, Rocco and I enrolled in the PADI eLearning certification where we learned all about pet scuba theory in the comfort of our own living room.

Rocco learns some stretching techniques before making his first dive

Next, we headed out to our local PADI certified diving school right here in Atlanta,  where we got hands- and paws-on experience with subsurface fetching and power dog paddling techniques. 

And finally, we got the chance to experience our first open water dive at Vortex Spring, an easy drive from Atlanta, just over the Florida state line.

Dexter Goldendoodle is suited up for his dive

We also got to meet Dexter, the first dog to complete the diving certification!

Turns out there are 6,200 dive centers and resorts worldwide and you can check here to see if there's one near you!  We had a blast with our dive experience. What adventures did you have this weekend?