Freddy's Beach Adventure!

Hi there! I know it's been a while, but we are very much still here. I am working on a little recap of sorts that I will post at a later time, but for now I wanted to share a little trip Fred and I took last Wednesday.

I woke up on Wednesday, and saw that the temperature was going to creep up into the 90's, I also saw that at the beach the temps were going to be in the high 70's to low 80's perfect! I looked at Fred and said "We're going to the beach!" Of course he was all for it. So I gathered a few things, not knowing if we would stay the night or not, I packed accordingly, dog food, change of clothes, not much really. Normally, I'm not much of a spontaneous person, usually a trip to the beach entails lots of planning, and list writing to make sure I don't forget anything, so this was quite a departure for me. So off we went. The beach is about 100 miles away, and it's a pretty easy drive up over the coast range and back down to sea level. It takes about 2 hours, not bad really. Fred could not settle down while we were driving, usually as soon as I hit the highway, he settles down and sleeps, but this trip he was very interested in the drive. I think he looked out the window almost the whole time, he wasn't nervous or obnoxious, I think he knew this trip would be something special. It was a fun drive!
We got to our destination which was Rockaway, Oregon, I had made the decision to stay, so the first thing we needed to do was find a place. Apparently, I wasn't the only one that decided the beach was the place to be and we got really lucky and found a cheap little room. It was only a block, actually less than a block from the sandy beach, but no view. That was perfect, I didn't plan to spend too much time there anyway. This was my view out of the window...

 

Not much to look at, but at least I could keep an eye on my car...

They were in the process of re-siding that building, it was very noisy, but I didn't care, the price was right, and I knew they would quit before bedtime and they did.  I quickly dropped my belongings into the room, and we took off for the beach. (Finally!) As soon as we stepped onto the sandy beach, I took Fred off the leash and ZOOM! Off he went.

 

"Oh boy!"

As soon as I took the leash off, I grabbed my camera, and he was almost out of view. I didn't take my regular camera, these are all taken from my phone, and to tell you the truth, I am pretty pleased with the outcome.

And back...

 Gone again...

 

And back...I am pretty sure that's a smile.

 Yep! it is

 

 "See ya!"

Running, running, running! Weee Hooo!

"Look Mom! I can fly!"

Catching his breath...Admiring the view

 More running/flying... 

Nothing but air! So fun!

This went on for quite some time, he just ran and ran and ran. It always amazes me how fast he is. His feet barely touch the ground. He was very good though, he would take off at warp speed, stop turn around, look for me, and usually run back to me or run in the direction I was walking. Always aware of where I was. Good boy! He would also run up to everyone he saw, say a quick hello, and off he'd go, small children were especially vulnerable, he sought them out, I think... He would go up to them, and as soon as they would reach to pet him, he would take off, hoping with all hope that they would chase him, a few did and that was really great in Fred's world. No one could catch him of course, but it was very fun! He was a big hit. 

I took a quick video, this was after he'd already been running for a long time and he was running out of gas. His attention was also very much on the children making sand castles, and I cut it off a little abruptly. I was worried he might destroy the fort that they had been diligently working on. Luckily he didn't, just another quick hello, and he ran right back to me. As you can obviously tell in the video, it was a little breezy too (sorry about that), but it really was a great day to be at the beach.

 

The shadows were getting pretty long, it was getting close to sunset, and another photo opportunity...

Ahhhh! I can never get enough sunsets at the beach.

"Thanks Mom, I'm really having a great time!"

It was getting chilly really fast, actually, in the above photo, Fred was shivering a little, I forgot to bring his coat, mine too (that's why I need lists...) So we headed back to the room to eat and watch a little tv.

Fred was more concerned about what the workers were doing outside.

Dinner...

Fred was a little restless all night, I'm sure being in a different place with different sounds and smells had him on edge a bit, and I don't think he slept much. To tell you the truth, I really didn't either. I got up pretty early (before the worker's anyway) and made some coffee and began to get the day started. As for Fred, well, he wasn't quite ready to be up and about.

 "Just a few more minutes? I'm pretty cozy in here".

I got everything packed up, schlepped down some coffee, (it wasn't very good) and got ready to leave, he stayed in the bed the whole time I was getting ready. 

Of course, we had to go to the beach one more time before we hit the road, and just like the day before, as soon as we got to the sand, I took the leash off, and Fred took off like a shot. Only this time he went about 100 feet and pulled up. Poor guy, it seems he was a bit stiff from the day before. He sniffed around a bit, waited for me to catch up and we had a nice quiet walk before heading back to the car. He slept hard all the way home. 

It was a quick trip, but it sure was nice to get away, if even for a short time. :)

Thanks for reading!