Montecito shores

This past weekend, Hazel experienced the ocean for the first time. She's been on the beach before and smelly the salty air, she's even walked on a pier and been to a lake, but she's never actually put her paws in the Pacific Ocean.

The boy is house- and dog-sitting for an old friend who has an apartment just blocks from the beach in Montecito-- a small town on the outskirts of Santa Barbara-- so Hazel and I decided to take advantage. On Saturday afternoon we piled into the car and made the hour or so drive to Montecito.

Once we got there, the boy and I had a quick late lunch of turkey sandwiches and Cheetos-- so bad but I just had to have some!-- before hitting the beach. Hazel was a flurry of excitement the moment she saw the waves. I didn't necessarily intend for my freshly-groomed pup to dive into the water but I abandoned all hope of keeping her clean and said what the heck. Go for it! Have fun! And she did.

Hazel was fascinated by the water but a bit hesitant, too. When the foamy waves first hit her paws she looked at it, puzzled, and sniffed. But soon enough she took charge of that beach, running in circles, making friends with other beach-goers-- both people and dogs alike-- and playing games with the waves, even biting at the sand!

Her games went something like this:
Go get 'em! Run run run. 
Oh, no! It's coming! Run back, fast fast fast.

By the end of our time at the beach, Hazel was decidedly dirty, drenched in sea water and covered in sand. These pictures say it all:

Don't worry, today she is back to her cute, fluffy and surprisingly clean self. Like with a kid, we took a hose to her, soaking her from head to toe, and then told her to give a good shake. A quick rub with a towel later and she was good as new.

Here's a few more shots from our day at the beach: (warning, gratuitous picture post ahead!)

This shot is my favorite. Look at her little paw prints in the sand!

It was so nice to put on some shorts and get out into the sunshine. Summer is definitely here! What did you do this weekend? Did you spend some quality time with dear ol' dad? (Father's Day around here was celebrated with a home-cooked breakfast of Belgian waffles and sausage. Yum!)

Oh, and, happy Monday!