Wed, Oct 13, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 01:08AM Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Ok, take yesterday and just say ditto, ditto, and ditto… only it was a few degrees warmer and the wind was calmer. So the entire day was spent on the Oregon coast and it was perfect!
The day of the dog. Dogs are a common sight in Oregon. Almost everyone has one walking with them or riding in their vehicle. The weather is conducive to taking them everywhere and it is apparent there are a lot of dog lovers. It’s not uncommon for service station attendants to offer milk bones to pups or to hear someone remark “pretty pups” as we drive by. It’s a dog-friendly state for sure.
Even the pups are getting into this sleeping later. At home they usually get up and Dodger or Paris shakes his/her head which makes their collars jingle and that’s their sign that they are ready to get up and go outside. This happens at 5:00 am every day. It does not happen at 5:15 or 4:45. It pretty much happens with a minute either way of 5:00 am. As soon as they have been out they are content to go back to bed if we request it. When we travel the same thing happens which makes sense when we are still in the Central Time Zone but when we change time zones their inner clock adjusts as well. For a day or two they might be off a little more than at home but after just a few days they are back to almost perfect timing. When we changed to the Pacific Time Zone just a few days and they were back on track! Just another thing about dogs that is amazing to us.
They have been getting Charles up right on time each morning but the funny thing is they have been more and more willing to crawl into our bed and go back to sleep with very little encouragement. So that’s what we all did this morning… relaxed and dozed before making that pot of coffee.
The motel where we stayed in Bandon sits right on the ocean and there is a wonderful winding paved path that meanders along the cliffs. From this perspective you have a good view of the huge rocks out in the ocean and beach below. We have had some pretty good weather on previous visits and we have had some wicked weather as well but almost always the wind is blowing. Today was the exception. The temperatures climbed quickly to the sixties and there was just the slightest breeze. So we knew we had to take a walk before breakfast. We strolled along the cliffs watching other dog lovers out strolling with their pups. On the beach below us almost everyone on the beach has a dog with them. The dog and owner that got our thumbs up today was an elderly gentleman who passed us on the cliff path. I wouldn’t say he was feeble but he moved slowly and carefully. With him was a standard poodle, on a leash who walked along right by his side. They were a striking couple and we turned and watched them as they took the long winding steps that led down to the beach level. The poodle stayed by his side straying only a few feet in any direction occasionally and not one time did he even pull the leash taunt! He never reacted to other folks or dogs they met but was totally focused on his human companion. He did not appear to be an old dog and did not walk with any difficulty but looked very athletic. It just seemed to be out of love that he was so cooperative and as we watched them walk it was clear that he was taking good care of his elderly companion. Just another way that dogs are so good for us… taking us out for exercise!
After another hearty breakfast downtown we began our day of oceanside vistas, overlooks, waysides, beach walks, more good seafood, a much needed car wash, a walk in the redwoods, crystal clear creeks, puppy play at almost every stop, a beautiful sunset and then we concluded our day in Brookings, OR.
We are well tonight and hope y’all are too.
Peace, Hope & Love,
Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger
Reader Comments (1)
I'm lovin' this trip...
Donna, I know you said you were wrtiting this mainly for your family but I love reading it, too. Sometimes I feel as if I am right there wih all four of you...Take care...Hug each other for me....love ya