The Lucky Dog Inn

"...Maybe it's the past that creates what's now; and what's now creates the future..." One thousand yards away from the ocean, at the base of the foothills of the Koolau Range, The Lucky Dog Inn stands empty, decaying in the sun and salt-sea air. A legendary bar on the north shore of Oahu, it long ago was closed and abandoned. In his fifties, Jack Walker's life in Denver falls apart, and he is pulled into a place he's always hidden: his family's past and the island of Oahu. Moving to Hawaii he drifts until, in an odd and fateful way, he meets a woman, Billie Francis. Their search into the past brings them to The Lucky Dog where curious blends of fate and destiny begin to form.

When walking the French Quarter and watching a Lucky Dog salesman set up that colorful cart and call out to entice customers, don't you wonder how such a business works? As a knowing review in Rolling Stone stated, "People have always loved the cart and harbored a mysterious need to ride it. Revelers have been known to climb on top of the rolling wienies, screaming 'Yippee kaya!' as vendors stoically push them back to the barn at 4 a.m." Since 1947 the red and yellow carts have trumpeted good fortune and sustenance. Jerry E. Strahan recounts the wild adventures of the Bourbon Street wienie salesmen but also takes readers well beyond New Orleans. In fact, he takes them halfway around the world, where this unique pushcart business maneuvered its way through the bureaucratic red tape of a communist country to become a licensed corporation in the People's Republic of China. In China, two points quickly became apparent to Strahan. First, 99 percent of the Chinese population had no idea what a Lucky Dog cart represented. One elderly passerby declared it to be a missile. Second, the success or failure of any joint venture in the Asian nation is directly proportional to the political clout of that company's local partner. Lucky Dogs also recounts how the business and its vendors survived Hurricane Katrina. Miraculously, it reopened only six months after the storm in a city where more than 80 percent of the landmass had been flooded and where less than 40 percent of the population had returned. To reestablish itself in what many described as Third World conditions, the company had to transform its operation. This work mixes business history, autobiography, survival story, and an insider's look at the bizarre lives of some of Bourbon Street's most quirky characters--the dauntless Lucky Dog vendors. Both humorous and tragic, though it may read like fiction, it is, for better or worse, all fact.

The Dog Lover's Companion to California has the inside scoop on the best dog runs, parks, beaches, hiking trails, camping areas, pet-friendly businesses, and much more. Local author Maria Goodavage and her trusty companion Jake have dug up many surprising resources available to dogs in the Golden State, such as baseball games, summer camps, and pet parades. For the less outdoorsy dog, there are doggy spas, art openings, and even winery visits! Packed with helpful maps, up-to-date leash laws, and a useful "paw" ranking system for all locations in the book, The Dog Lover's Companion to California is a dog's best friend.

Listing more than 700 casinos in 36 states, this bestselling guide is jam-packed with detailed information and includes 150 coupons providing more than $1,000 in savings. Consumable.

Showcases two thousand new logos from designers worldwide and includes portraits of selected design firms.

In the desolate wilderness of the snowbound high country, Hagger, a fugitive haunted by his dark past, stumbles upon a forgotten mountain cabin. Within its walls, an unexpected encounter awaits him—a lone white bull terrier, abandoned and left to the whims of fate. As Hagger's hardened heart softens, a bond forms between man and dog, leading to a transformative journey of redemption and self-discovery. 'A Lucky Dog' is a gripping tale of unlikely companionship, where the power of compassion and loyalty becomes a beacon of hope, offering Hagger a chance at redemption he never thought possible.