This beach was located right next to the Navy air base. It was a very nice beach but was it ever loud when the planes went over. Most of the planes that went over were cargo planes. I guess the Navy doesn't care about noise as much as commercial airlines do. Or maybe I've just never stood close enough to the airport to have the planes fly less than 100 yards over my head.
But if I thought that was loud I was very mistaken! If you want to hear loud try standing less than 100 yards below a fighter jet. Now that is loud!
I was surprised that the loud planes didn't bother any of our dogs one bit. I thought it might startle Boogie a bit but he never even looked around. He was way too focused on playing. In fact, it took quite a photographic effort to get a picture of him sitting still.
All four dogs were very excited to see the beach and were ready for the family game of chase the toy into the ocean.
And after getting a couple balls from the water they loved having big chases up on the shore.
And then it was right back into the water...both as a group, (I included this picture mainly so you could see the pretty scenery)
...and individually. This is definitely a happy Sparkie.
Even Boogie chased the ball into the water and he seemed quite pleased with himself.
It wasn't a minute or so before Boogie left the family to go make some new friends.
The three big dogs really don't care about any other dogs unless those dogs come and try to join in our family game - which they don't much care for. So they stuck together and chased the ball into the ocean over and over.
In the meantime, Boogie was having a grand time playing chase with his newest best friend.
Just out from where we were playing was a large aircraft carrier. I don't know anything about ships so I can't tell you anything about it. I used to play a game called Battleship - but obviously I didn't really learn about ships.
Boogie didn't notice the ship as he was way too busy running around and around every which way with his friend.
The big dogs didn't seem to care that Boogie was away from the family. They were having way too much fun with their tennis balls.
I was having a lot of trouble trying to watch the big dogs as I had to keep track of Boogie who seemed to go from one end of the beach to another in the blink of an eye.
And he seemed to be with a different dog many of the times. This particular dog was definitely a herding dog. He played with Boogie very nicely, never knocking him down, but always nipping at Boogie's back legs. The dog never once actually nipped Boogie's legs but just ran in a style which looked as though that's what he was doing. Here they are in the water playing with a ball that didn't belong to either of them.
But Slugger especially didn't have time to watch for Boogie. Slugger gets off leash so infrequently that he was totally focused on getting his tennis ball out of the water.
Wazzu had a happy face today too. I really think our dogs have more fun at the beach than anywhere else.
The last couple times we've been at the beach though, Wazzu has had a bit of a rough time. She goes running full speed into the water after a ball....
and darn it all if she doesn't fall into a hole and go head over heels. She did a perfect headstand but I didn't capture it. Poor Wazzu - what bad luck to always hit the holes.
Finally, with my encouragement, Boogie finally decided it was time to play ball with the family again. He'd carry his ball and growl and growl.
Every once in a while he'd drop the ball in the water...
...and then for some reason he'd cry as he punched at the ball.
That didn't last very long before he was back playing with one of his MANY friends.
The one thing that really pleased me today was that even though he was making many friends he did come to me almost every time I called him.
While all the dogs had a great time, Boogie by far got the most exercise.
It wasn't until he was on leash and we were leaving that he finally laid down...
...(and rolled around) in the sand.
As much fun as we all had, it was time to leave the beach.
From there we drove to nearby Seaport Village where there were a lot of little restaurants overlooking the water. We sat outside and all had lunch together - which was a big hit with the dogs.
Sparkie of course did her nice little "please" hoping to earn extra bites.
On top of the umbrella over the table next to us was a seagull. It almost looked like a statue except that it kept hoping for one of Mike's french fries - just like the seagulls at the waterfront in Seattle.
We then took a nice walk along the pier where we saw a battleship and a Carnival cruise ship side by side. Hmmm, which ship would you rather be on?
The view from the end of the pier was really pretty.
In fact, the entire waterfront is very nicely done. There was one place where people were flying some very interesting kites.
Then came the best part - ice cream! There was a Ben & Jerry's on the pier and they had really good flavors. I had a hard time choosing...guess we'll just have to go back again another day!
Before heading back home we went to Cabrillo National Monument. We pretty much just drove through as dogs weren't even allowed out of the car. Mike and I did get out at the Visitors Center. Mike went inside while I went out onto the overlook and took some pictures.
On the overlook there was a statue. I have no idea what the statue signifies...just some old guy I guess. As you can tell, I'm not into history stuff too much.
But from the overlook you could see the Navy base I told you about. You can even see a plane taking off.
Shortly after the planes take off they are over the water. It's really very pretty.
We could also see the San Diego shoreline.
In this shot you can see the dog beach we played at. If you look on the other side of the long white line in the water you can see a faint line on the beach. The dog beach goes from there down to about where you see a small number of trees set back a little ways from the water.
Just outside the park was a huge military cemetery. It was truly beautiful. And it went on and on and on for as far as you could see on both sides of the road. It is definitely by far the largest cemetery I have ever seen.
In addition to being huge, it was truly beautiful.
As far as I know, none of my family members have served in the armed forces. But I will say that while I was walking through this cemetery I felt a huge sense of both sadness and gratitude for the men and women who are laid to rest here. The sacrifices they and their family members have made so that we can have freedom are more than anyone should have to make. My prayers and thanks go out to all those who have served us and who are serving us today and their families as well. "Thank You" seems like not nearly enough.
A very grateful -
Debbie
1/31/08
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