Join Basil, Our Influencer Pooch, for a Dog’s-Eye Tour of the Pier
Hi, there. I’m Basil, and that’s my sister Mozzarella. We do everything together. Sometimes I get tired of walking my human Jami around on this thing called a leash. (I swear she would get totally lost without me.) Still, I’m willing to put up with it if I can cruise around The Pier. It’s me and Ella’s favorite spot for a stroll. They call the place “pet-friendly,” and I’ll be the first one to tell you that that’s absolutely true.
There’s so much to see and hear and smell at the Pier. Oh man, the smells. A lot of times I run into my furry friends at The Pier, give ’em a nod, maybe a quick sniff if Jami and the other humans stop to chat. I let the humans pet me — if they’re cool.
In fact, me and Mozzarella are about to take Jami out for a walk at the Pier. Wanna come along?
Let’s start at the Pier entrance and head down the promenade, so I can really strut my stuff and the humans can admire me and my sis. I hear what they say — “they’re so cuuuute,” stuff like that — and I can’t lie: I eat it up. I don’t care if I get jealous looks from the other pets. Hey, I can’t help it if we’re adorbs.
Nice day, isn’t it? I love feeling the sun on my nose, but it’s nice to find some shade, too. There’s plenty of it at the Pier. Speaking of — I think we’ll cut left over to the Family Park, where I can get some grass under my feet and hang out under a tree for a minute. Ah, here come the kids. They love us. I tell Jami to let them pet me and Ella for a little while — ‘cause kids are cool.
I don’t know what to make out of that huge net thingie hanging up over there. Jami tells me it’s called the Bending Arc by a famous sculptor, and it’s one of the things that makes the Pier so hip. You’d think it was a bone or something, the way humans never stop staring at it.
Oooh, there’s Spa Beach Park, a big stretch of grass, a couple of football-fields big with some trees. Man, it would be great to run free around here, but rules are rules. C’mon, Jami, let’s get a quick jog in, then take a breather in one of the wooden chairs. Down there is Spa Beach. Humans are laying around on blankets. The rules say us dogs aren’t allowed there, but I’m OK with that. You ever get sand in your paws? Yuck.
Let’s make a quick stop at the Glazer Family Playground. More kids — yessss. I love the bright colors here. Yellows, blues, reds. First time I came, I saw these two big turtles sunbathing. When I went up to say hi, it took a minute before I found out they weren’t real. That was embarrassing.
Here’s the Splash Pad. Water shoots up from the ground. I could do for a little spritz, but no pets allowed. Me and Ella will just watch the kids rompin’ around and try not to be jealous.
Hold on a sec. Here’s a doggie water fountain. We gotta stop for a few slurps. There are several of these on the Pier, and man, are they a godsend on hot Florida days.
C’mon, let’s keep going.
Got time for lunch? There’s a great place across the way called Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grill. It’s pet-friendly and looks out over the water. You can see the St. Pete skyline, too. When Jami and friends eat here, me and Mozzarella sit on the floor patiently — well, not too patiently — and almost always get some tasty tidbits. My favorite is the crab cakes. Mozzarella is partial to the Deep Water Mahi Mahi, ‘cause she’s fancy like that.
While we’re in this neck of the woods, let’s check out the big sculpture of an old-timey plane with two sets of wings. It’s called the Benoist Exhibit (humans like to point out that it’s pronounced ben-WAH), and apparently it honors St. Pete as the place where commercial aviation got started. The story goes that in 1914 some pilot named Tony Jannus charged the mayor $400 to fly him over to Tampa and back. A lot of people came and watched the takeoff and the landing. Still, four hundred bucks? Jami, Mozzarella and me flew to Atlanta and back for less than four hundred bucks! Four hundred bucks in 1914 is worth ten grand in today’s money. I know because Poodled it. (That’s what we dogs do instead of Googling.)
I never bring Jami to the Pier without going to the Coastal Thicket up ahead. Mozzarella looks like she could use some shade right about now, and this place has shade in spades. I like cruising the boardwalk, where us three girls can go in and out of shade and sun. The place is awesome!
Oh look, there’s the Pier Point. That’s what they call it where the Pier comes to an end. You can see way out into Tampa Bay, then turn around and see the St. Pete skyline. I love coming here after dark. There’s a cool building out here that has a few restaurants. Upstairs is a one called Teak and on top of that is a rooftop bar called Pier Teaki. Those places are pretty fancy, so no pooches allowed up there. Hey, I get it.
Down on the second level, there’s the Driftwood Cafe. Sometimes I bring Jami here to buy a pastry or a sandwich, go and sit on the deck, and look out over the water. Then me and Mozzarella can turn on the cuteness and get Jami to give us something to chow down.
Well, that about does it for our tour. Thanks for tagging along. We just scratched the surface. There’s a whole lot more to do and see and hear and smell at the Pier, which is one of the reasons I keep bringing Jami back here.
Oh, I almost forgot. The Pier has pet bag dispensers all over the place, just in case, well… you know.
Thanks for spending some time with me and Jami and Mozzarella today! Basil, out.