Author Archives: Donna Black-Sword

Hi Mom:

I juz wan let you no that I think im gonna like it here at camp Wagner.  There are lotz of cool things to smell an taste.  The other kidz here r pretty cool too.  There is this 1 gurl named Rosie that sort of looks like me but she has red hair.  There is another gurl that I think is chineez cuz they said she was a chow.

Your boy,

Micron

Hi Mom:

Ooops my paw hit the rong button cuz I waznt done yet.  I waned 2 also let you no that I went swimmin within the first fu minuts of bein here.  I didn meen 2 cuz I thot I wuz steppin on a blue rug or sumpin, but ya no wat? There wuz a swimming hole under neeth.  The camp director, mr wagner got me out reel quik tho.  I don think I gonna do that agin.

Well, you guys have a good trip and also happee birf day Mom.

Your boy

Micron

Now things feel normal and that, my friends, is the true peace of mind.

You know, it’s not often that I don’t have a four legged companion at my side. Most days two dogs, or even three, are riding off to another adventure in the backseat of my car. But earlier this month the Husband and I decided to take a week off to do some traveling.

And this time, we couldn’t take the dogs with us.

Before we catch our flight out to the fine state of California, I’ve got to find caregivers for everything in this house with an alimentary tract.

So the mighty Micron is off to West Chester to stay with a good friend. Yaxley will be enjoying his week with another CCI puppy raiser.  Jager requires a little extra care with his tendency towards freakiness, so is being taken in by a friend and professional pet sitter. Whew, that takes care of the dogs. Lucky for me the pet sitter will also stop by to feed the cats and Bob the Fish.

All are in good hands and comfy in home environments. I know we don’t need to give the pets’ welfare a second thought. But[sniffle] how am I going to go an entire week without their wet nosed company? It’s gonna be a weird few days.

There’s a lot of stuff in the middle that keeps Ohio pretty far away from California, so Saturday was simply lost to the inglorious nature of air travel.

Saturday was just a day to endure so we could make it to Sunday when we would find ourselves in lovely Santa Rosa.  What do you want to do today?, asks the Husband on Sunday morning.  Ah, I say, I want to see stuff we don’t see in Ohio. We’re all supplied up with a map, a decent rental car, satellite radio, a full tank of $5 petrol, my fancy camera and dang I left my sunglasses back home. ‘Salright, we hit the road to see what treasures the goldmine state has to offer.

And . . . we are not off to a good start.

What the heck, coastal living people?  A NO DOGS sign?  On our way to the Sonoma State Beach, I made a whimsical decision to stop at a roadside flea market.  On the Good Idea scale, this knee jerk choice rates a three. We muck through a quarter mile of mud and return to the car with the scent of cheap sun-warmed plastic still stuck in our nostrils. And of course, no dog sightings.

Ok, movin’ on. Let’s hit the coast to see what’s happening there. We’re in sunny California so surely we’ll come across something to wondersmack our day.  Blue skies and puffy clouds abound above us. A trip to the Pacific is now topping the list.  Let’s catch some sunshine at Sonoma’s Goat Rock.

Hold your horses there, pardner. Not so fast. 

This is not a black & white photo, folks.

Is that fog? I ask, or did we just drive into a cloud?  Huh. Well, will you look at that? Honey, I say in my best Captain Obvious voice, this sure ain’t like Myrtle Beach.
 

But this one is.  Black & white, that is.

But still.  This is some fabulous scenery and I’m loving it. The weather is on the cool side, so I’ve opted for my best jeans to keep warm. A good idea, that.  Until I started with the kneeling down to take photos.  Speaking of Myrtle Beach, it’s been my experience that once salt water touches anything cotton, it doesn’t dry. Ever. Instead it just wicks into a larger area of uncomfortableness until you feel like your clothes have joined DNA with your skin. And just because I’m me, a wave comes from behind and socks me good.  Wet, cold and sandy up to the knees, I am.

Not black & white, but I geeked around with the contrast.

 
But I plod on.  Because there’s wonders here to discover.

Ok, this one is black & white, with a blue filter.

Not black & white, but taken at an angle to be all artsy and everything

Ugh. Nature why you so weird?

Ah, but things get even better. We got us a dog sighting!  Three dogs romping along another area of the beach.  Just one bit of a problem.  I pretty much goobered up my shoes in that last surfside attack of nature and there’s no getting them back on anytime soon.  My poor feet are still winterized and are delicate little size sevens. I won’t be sporting leathery hobbit feet until mid-summer or so.

I would have to cross this rocky nightmare to get to the beach. 

Barefoot.

You’re pretty savvy, right?  You noticed the photo is taken from the beach side?  Yeah, it wasn’t pretty, but I scaled over those babies. Just let loose a couple of eeps of momentarily painful missteps.

And just so I could ruffle the fur on someone else’s fishy smelling dogs.  Hi! Are your dogs friendly? Would you mind if I petted them? After my klutzy performance on the rocks, the hapless dog owner is giving me just one degree short of the hairy eyeball.  Yeah, ok sure, he says. He gives me a quick once over, probably figuring he could easily take me down if I get any weirder about his dogs.

I try to contain my happiness and act like a normal person as a happy pair bounce up to me for a greeting.  Hi, Hi, Hi! they say in dog talk. Hi right back atcha! says me, aren’t you a couple of pretty fellas?

Then they shake. Oh no, not shake paws. The other shake. Massive seawater removal by doing the doggie twist. Gah!, I cry, protecting the camera with my body. Ah, lovely. Now we all smell like dead seafood, boys.

But really, you ask, once you stopped whining about every little thing, was it worth it?

Oh yeah.  It was worth it.

Dog sightings on Sunday:  2 friendly, but stinky dogs. 1 non-friendly dog, but likely stinky.

Next blog post:  We’re back in Santa Rosa for dog sightings of the puppy kind.