Luna’s First Trip to Dog Beach
June 16, 2024
We left home about 7:50 this morning. My first trip to Dog Beach since I lost Squirt in 2017. I REALLY miss that sweet boy! But Luna did soooo well! She totally rocked the Beach! She played with other dogs… I took her off leash about 5 minutes after we hit the beach and she did great checking in with me and making sure to stay close! She had no fear of walking in the shallow water and at one point was running from another dog and ran straight out into the water! Right away she was over her head! She swam like a trooper back to shore! She shook herself off and looked at me like “What the hell just happened?”
We got here about 2:00 pm and check-in wasn’t until 4:00, so we went to the beach first and then walked a little bit thru town to kill time! (Yep… I’m at 15,875 steps! And that’s WITH 5.5 hours of driving!) After we got settled in the room and we crashed for about 45 minutes, we went back to the beach and walked it again!
As I was sitting there in the sand after we had walked, I was reflecting on all that had changed since I was last here… Since 2017 I’ve lost CD, Squirt, Mom, Mocha, Cali, Joe and Merlin… in that order. YIKES! I still believe happiness is a choice and I’m trying to not hold on too tightly to what I think life should be like! I can’t change the past. I’m working to enjoy each and every day. Life really IS what you make it, and I know this beach…and sweet Luna, make me really happy!
June 17, 2024
Took a walk down the beach and back first thing in the morning then went down to the Ocean Beach Pier (which was closed!) and went and got coffee at Bella Cafe. Squirt and I used to go there… It’s a fun, quaint little place. From there Luna and I walked up and down Voltaire Street and checked out the little tourist shops! I finally found a “Lifeguard” hoodie that I’ve been looking for! (I got 10,000 steps in before 11:00 am!!!)
Came back to the room and grabbed towels and a beach chair and went to the beach for the afternoon. It finally got warm when the cloud cover broke! We walked the beach… Luna actually chased a dog into the water and ended up over her head and swam out! She is a little Beach Rat! She’s having such a good time! And once we got back to our chair/towel, she snuggled on my lap for the rest of the afternoon until we walked again!
Tonight after she ate we did a walk around town. She’s having a field day with all the new smells…and the scent of a million dogs!!
June 18, 2024
Did a morning walk down the beach and then went to get coffee! (The Keurig I brought doesn’t work!). Hung out in the room for a little while till it got a tad warmer and then back to the beach!
On one of our walks down the beach a Dane started chasing Luna and a couple more dogs joined in and she went into the water to try to escape! They followed her into the water and I was aftaid they’d push her under so I went in after her. I didn’t want her to end up being afraid of the water! Spent the afternoon watching the ocean! One of my all-time favorite things to do!! Luna is sooo amazing! She either curled up in my lap on the beach chair or snuggled up next to me when I was laying on the beach towel!
Four our event walk we, of course, went back down toward the beach but just hung out by the rock jetty and watched the surfers! The waves really pick up in the evening!
Checkout isn’t until 11:00 am, so we’ll have time to do another beach walk in the morning, pack, and thenI’m going to hit the Dog Wash in the morning before heading for Seaport Village so at least Luna is clean when we get to Bob and Cheryls!
June 19, 2024
Got things packed up, grabbed coffee and then went to the beach until it was time to check-out. A totally relaxing way to end our stay here in San Diego!
Headed to Seaport Village for the week as it had been years since I’d been there! It was really fun! Walked the entire length of the Embarcado Marina from the docked Navy Ships all the way to the far other end past the hotels and over to the Rady Shell where the San Diego Symphony performs.
It was a beautiful day and we walked for a few hours and then headed for Bob and Cheryl’s. This was only supposed to be about a 2.5 hour trip to their house, but the GPS did something weird and it ended up taking almost an extra hour!!
June 20, 2024
Hung out with Bob and Cheryl today at the house. Later in the afternoon we went to a Shopping Center to walk around. Luna’s first time walking in a mall and she did really well! It really wasn’t crowded at all, so that made it easier! She seems to be totally up for new adventures!
Headed for Phoenix in the morning… It’s been an AWESOME week!
