Winston Wonders… Is This Like The Moon?

So Mom seemed ready for a new adventure. She packed all sorts of gear into the car and even brought some things to eat…sounds good to me! I helped her out to the car and thought it would be good to add my ball and on another trip, my squishy alligator, and on another, the play alone two handled ropey thing…Mom put them all in the car…that was really something and very notable, very unusual. Mom said “This cooler is for you Winnie!” and although it was small, I felt thankful for Mom and appreciated that she thought of me.

So then Mom got this big rolling thing out of the garage and put it in the back of the car…never saw it before but as all dogs know, people are very mysterious. After that, we got into the car and away we went.

It didn’t take us long at all to get where we were going. Mom did stop and read a sign that most definitely said dogs were allowed (should say, polite dogs with their polite people are allowed. Remember the dog pen, ummm, park!) but,  we had to be on leash and our people had to pick up if we used the bathroom. Weird sign about the bathroom, a shovel and broom with a dog in a compromising position…I guess it’s real clear!

So Mom drove in and parked the car…Yipeee! We’re here! So out of the car we went. Right then, as soon as the car door opened, even before I jumped out, I knew this was a place I have never, ever seen before. I did jump out of the car but then, I had to stop to take everything in…it smelled real different and I heard something really weird, not thunder, not rain, not banging, and not all the time…It went on and on but I really couldn’t place it and thought it was very unsettling, never stopped and really never changed. My first thought was not to move at all…just wait right there and see what happened…nothing at all changed…

”Ok Winnie, it’s time to unpack the car!”  Mom sounded very upbeat which in itself could be good but sometimes was really just faking me out…everything is fine, don’t worry, I’m OK, you’re OK! Oh yeah, I’m right all over that Mom…But she didn’t really seem to notice any difference in this place at all. So she got out the rolling thing first and started to fill it up…first the coolers, mine included, then hers, a chair but the weirdest chair I have ever seen, no legs! A plastic rug all rolled up, my beloved toys and a very big bag with stuff inside and a very big umbrella. Rain? Nope, doesn’t look like rain Mom, it’s really very, very sunny Mom, real sunny…but as every dog knows, people are very mysterious.

So, Mom picked up my leash and we started walking. As we did, the ground started to change. First, it was regular street ground and then, it started to feel like dirt but much more gritty, actually, sandy…and then, there was no ground at all…only sand…and it was nice and toasty warm…not so bad Mom. Then, we came to a spot that had something over our heads and it was really long, nope, hey Mom, not going there!! Don’t have ta, Don’t wanna! “Oh Come On Winnie! This is a tunnel and once we go through, we’ll be on the beach! You’ll have fun!” Ohhh noooo Mom, not going. So I employed the ultimate….stop, drop & roll…not going Mom.

So Mom came on over and gave me one of those sweet fun belly rubs…but I knew…trick…she picked me up and carried me over her shoulder and into the tunnel we went…The rolling thing sounded really loud all of a sudden…If I wasn’t on Mom’s shoulder this would have been a time I would have had to use the bathroom just a little…but I did control myself since I know she would have been very mad. “Wiiinnnnnnie!  Wiiiinnnnie!” Mom sounded super loud and long…”Woooooo Woooooooo Woooooo!  Yip Yipp Yip!” Now she pretended she was a wolf…not good Mom they are predators and don’t like unknown little dogs in their territory…the likelihood that I would bark or howl back is more than remote…not good but very loud. As we left the tunnel, Mom saw a guy standing there with his little guy…they were laughing…”hey, I was just playing with my dog!” Mom seemed a little embarrassed but she laughed too. Not me.

So, then she put me down on the sand…I took a few steps and then…ouch ouch ouch ouch , yikes! Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch….hot hot hot…I was jumping all around and Mom said “Hold on Winnie!! Stay right there, I’ll pick you up!! Sorry, never expected the sand would be that hot!” Oh yeah, me either, who knew – hot hot hot….So there I was on Mom’s shoulder again…and when I looked around, all I could see was sand…where the heck are we? Is this the Moon???

So Mom dragged the rolling thing along and we went over a little hill and then I saw it, some big, bubbling , moving, thing… really things, coming from the water…they came along and then just disappeared….Holy Moley, what the heck is this now???   We’re not going there????

I did try to get away but Mom yelled at me to stop or she would have to put me down on the sand… Holy Moley…

So on we went and finally, Mom stopped and said “This looks like a good spot!” Really, for what Mom??? Then she tried to put me down on the sand….oh no, hot hot hot…” Gee Winston, re-lax! It’s not hot here” and she tried to pry me off her shoulder…no way Mom! Pop, she pulled me free and put me down…she was right, it was hard and cool and woooaaahhhh!!!

The bubbly things are coming!!! Run Mom Run!!!! Yikes, no where to go!!! The leash the leash!

“Winnie, calm down…come here...” when she reached down it was like I was magnetized…I didn’t know I could jump that quick…”ok ok” she said and took out the plastic rug and unrolled it on the sand…then the ridiculous chair with no legs and then, the hugest umbrella I have ever seen…she didn’t hold it but she had a thing that twisted into the ground and stuck it inside that… Hummm, not bad, now there was shade over the plastic rug. I just sat way back by the inside of the umbrella…”Ok Win…here are your toys and some water from home and a little snack.” Not hungry Mom…never thought I’d say that!

So Mom just sat down on her nota chair and leaned back with a big, almost asleep breathing sound…and then…”oops I forgot, how about that sunscreen Winnie, some for your nose?” What on earth are you talking about?? So she put some smelly stuff on herself, smelled a little like oranges with outside flowers…weird but not bad…then, she swiped a little on my nose, that was all I could smell. No thanks Mom. She put on her big black eye things and leaned back in the nota chair…I waited for the next thing and really there wasn’t a next thing…she stayed there for quite some time doing nothing…It gave me lots of time to be nervous about the bubbling things that were coming quite close. In all honesty it seems that they were moving slowly away from us…they also got smaller and then bigger again and seemed to come in waves…Also, I was getting kind of hot…not like the sand but hot from the air.  Finally, Mom said “Hey Winnie, I’m getting kind of hot” (me too) “how about a dip?” What are you talking about?

So Mom got up from her chair and came over to scoop me up…”come on, lets go!” So she just leaned over and before I could object she just carried me to the water…So, I magnetized myself to her and I guess she wasn’t so ready…”ow  ow  ow! Winnie your full of sand…don’t grip me!” and she held me from under my belly on her arm…”Sheesh Win, this should be fun!”

So in the water she walked and then she put me down…I AM SHORT! And I could barely feel the sand under me…the water was moving and the bubbly stuff was behind me but you could see them coming in front…I just started swimming and really had no idea where to go…”Hey Good Dog Winnie! You’re swimming!” Great Mom…”Come on, lets go this way!” and Mom walked away…Well of course, I got real worried and swam right after her…then a really weird thing happened…one of the bubbly things just came up and kind of carried me right over to where she was…who knew, certainly way not what I expected.  “Woo Hoo Winnie!! Body Surfing! Pretty good buddy!”  Well, so glad you are glad…but what the heck is that??

So Mom reached for my collar and kind of guided me around and kept me right there with her moving around. Really, not bad at all…So we spent some time out there and then Mom turned around and said “OK, how about a snack…lets go back to our spot.” So as we started to head back, I took just a little slurp…Yak, Yak, cough, blah, blah, yak!!!! Super Super salty…what the heck…Mom said “Hey don’t drink the water. It’s not like the pool - you will get real sick Winnie. This is for swimming, not drinking.” No Kidding!!

When we got back to our spot, Mom took two towels out, one for her and one for me - Very thoughtful. We dried off and then Mom reminded me of the snacks she brought along…Sounds pretty good right about now and she gave me some of the right water to drink…So we sat together and looked at the bubbly things….”Hey Winnie that was pretty good about you body surfing! The waves are pretty fun as long as you use the buddy system and stick together…Wait until everyone hears what you can do!” So I took a long look at, I guess you call them the waves. They didn’t seem so bad anymore. As a matter of fact, the whole thing isn’t so bad as long as you are prepared…now the ginormous umbrella makes sense, so does the plastic rug but I’m not sure about the nota chair.

In thinking about it, I’m really glad Mom decided to bring me along today. All the sand, water and waves are really a lot to get used to. I think the next time we should do pretty well… I wonder if Mom would give me a ride in the rolling thing?