Last week, Mom and I took a road trip for the first time in forever. It was difficult deciding what to pack -- one wants to look fabulous, but not too dressy, when going to a beach town, so you can see the problem. Anyway, I eventually sorted it all out and off we went. It was a lovely day without any traffic and we were able to fly down to Del Mar in no time.
Here I am arriving at the Hotel Indigo, which turned out to be a puppy's dream.
Barbara was working at the front desk and I liked her right away. She came out from behind the desk and gave me a big hug! And let me lick her! It was great!!!
Our room was wonderful. It was huge, with a comfy bed. I settled right in.
We went down by the pool to sunbath for awhile, then went for a walk looking at the shops. And I must say Del Mar is a wonderful place -- water bowls, treats, friendly people. Loved it.
We'd had a big day and were both pretty tired, so we had room service and went to bed early.
Unfortunately, things took a darker turn in the morning. It started out okay. We walked over the the very dog friendly Stratford Court Cafe for breakfast. We liked it so much, we had breakfast there every morning.
Then Mom suggested we walk to the beach. I'd never been to a beach before, but it sounded okay. So, off we went. We walked and we walked and we walked some more, until I was too tired to take another step. I sat down and put on my most pathetic face. Fortunately, it worked -- Mom picked me up. I could see much better from up there and it wasn't the least bit tiring. However, for some reason Mom didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I did. Not sure why, it was her idea to go.
When we got to the beach, I knew it wasn't going to be fun -- the ground gave way, wet dogs came bounding up to shake water all over me, and there were rocks and broken shells. It was awful. Then it got worse. The water came charging at me from out of nowhere. I tried to escape, but my leash was too short! I got soaked. And sandy. Ugh. I was a mess. I made Mom take me back to the hotel, where I took to my bed.
When I felt a little better, I went down to the lobby to talk to Barbara, as I could tell she was the sympathetic sort. She suggested I go relax on the patio, which I did. And she was right, I felt pretty good after awhile. Of course, the dog biscuits she gave me helped a lot.
Later, when Mom came out with my leash, I made her promise she would never, never, never take me back to the beach. Once that was settled, we went to a Mexican restaurant, where I took a nice long nap in the sun, while Mom had dinner.
We had an early night, as I was still feeling a wee bit traumatized by the ocean, not to mention the wet dogs.
Our last day in Del Mar was lovely. We had breakfast, then went to the park, where we sat on a bench watching the surfers. The ocean was just about the right distance away in my opinion.
Afterward, we went back to the hotel, where Mom read and I watched the people playing in the pool from the safety of the second floor balcony. We had a relaxing lunch at the Cafe Americana.
Then back to the hotel for a little more rest in the sun. Had a nice dinner at Zeke's, where I met several lovely new friends, one of whom was so fascinated with me, that he almost sat in the fire pit. Then home to bed.
We got up bright and early, both of us ready to go home. Shared one last love fest with Barbara, then hit the road.
I should explain that the reason I have this costume is because I got a job as Santa's Little Helper at Urth Cafe over the holidays. I can't begin to tell you what a wonderful time I had! Hugging and kissing everyone who passed. I especially enjoyed the children and they all seemed to like me, too. As an added bonus, I now having an entry for my resume -- surely my elf impersonation will show any director that I have wide ranging acting abilities.
As if my December wasn't already overflowing with wonders, my dear friend, Helen, invited me over for a play date with Bella and Toby. She has a HUGE yard, and we ran up and down the stairs for hours. Do you know about stairs? I'd never actually seen a whole flight before, but after a couple of tries I got the hang of it. Just remember, if the step is as tall as you are, get all your feet on the first step before you try to climb up to the next one.
