To the seagulls, I am not considered a threat
Kurtis and I had to get the dogs out of the house for a few hours yesterday so we decided that we'd go on a Great Adventure With Puppies. I took a personal day from work, we all piled in the car and headed West. Saffy rode in the back seat and Pancho sat/sprawled in my lap the entire way. I had to calm Pancho down at first but once he was settled, he was a good dog. I even got him to sit on the floor for a few minutes before he needed to be close to Mom again.
First (non-potty) stop was Seaside - as soon as we were close to the beach, the pups got all excited and wanted to GET THERE NOW ... until they realized how windy it was and decided that drafting behind Mom & Dad was a far better plan. The weather was typical Oregon coast spring - rainy/sunny and rainy/sunny/repeat. We walked around the beach and got the dogs to run around a bit before heading back to the car. I looked in vain for shells or sand dollars but finding whole ones is almost impossible.
We stopped for lunch at McDonalds - we bought a cheeseburger for the pups to split as well as our leftover food and fed them in the parking lot. They loved the burgers but refused the fries so Kurtis left those for the seagulls. Once he walked away to toss our trash, the gulls swarmed in as I stood there. Small redheads = no threat while tall blond men = FLY AWAY FLY AWAY, I guess.
Then we headed off to Long Beach in Washington (now I can cross off 'never been to Washington' off my list) by crossing the four mile bridge that spans the Columbia:
Yes, it starts out high and swoops down where you are just above the water, then swoops up again. I spotted a cruise ship coming in and Kurtis spotted a tanker on the river. We drove the backroads of Washington, the only car around for miles for most of it and let's just say Kurtis has vastly improved the gas mileage on the car, as well as blew some of the cobwebs off. *snerk*
We ended up at Long Beach, where the weather was nicer but the seas were rougher and the tide had come in quite a bit. More running around and playtime was had ... and we both saw something spout along the horizon. Since it is whale migration season, we think it was most likely that or possibly a porpoise. I am getting more interested in the idea of pulling off a wedding ceremony on the beach, ninja style - just us, two witnesses and an officiant.
Last stop was Marsh's Free Museum to see the world's biggest cast iron skillet, a shitoad of vintage coin-op machines, a veritable zoo of taxidermy and shells for sale and Jake the Alligator Man. Yes, I have a Jake shirt now. We followed the Columbia home and Pancho ended up falling asleep in my lap about two miles from the house.
We all slept very well last night. :)