We got home from the beach a few hours ago. After spending the day in the car, it feels great to be able to stretch our legs and walk around back here at the house. We had a great time at the beach, and as you can see from the few pictures we posted a couple days ago, Mr. Wilson had a blast. He was on constant boat- and bird-watch the entire time we were there. Whenever we were up in our room, he always wanted to go right out on the balcony and look for both.
Will got a real kick out of chasing each and every seagull that was brave enough to land near our spot. Every time he got really close to one, he'd get really excited and start to make his little excited squeaking noise, which of course cued the birds that it was time to take flight, or else fall prey to our mighty (little) hunter. Speaking of that, I'm not sure exactly what Will would do if he ever had the chance to pick one up. But based on how he is with Willie and Gus, he'd probably just try and give them a hug. Not sure these birds (or any bird, for that matter) would be up for that.
Will also loved playing in the sand. At least until he'd get carried away and accidentally sling some into his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc. This happened quite a bit, but we'd do our best to rinse him off really quick before he became really frustrated.
We didn't get way out into the ocean on this trip. We pretty much just got about knee-deep, which translates to neck-deep for Will. He loved standing there and watching the waves coming in right at him, then Julie and I would take turns lifting him up at the last second, to keep them from going over his head. I must admit I slacked a couple times on accident, and he did get a mouth- and eye-full of salt water. He recovered surprisingly fast and was ready for more wave jumping.
The weather turned out really nice, well, until yesterday. Wednesday and Thursday, it was breezy, sunny, and in the mid-80's. Yesterday it was cloudy and cool, constant breeze, and by nightfall, I'd swear the temp dropped to 50. Needless to say, we didn't spend a lot of time on the beach. We did venture out to the beach this morning for one last walk before we left. It was extremely cold, so cold that the sand felt like snow. My feet (and I'm sure Julie's and Will's) were numb within a couple minutes of being out there. Will of course took this opportunity to give the seagulls one last run for their money.
We also ate at a few really great restaurants. I think my favorite was the Original Oyster House. Their crab cakes were incredible. Will did okay at the restaurants the first couple days, but yesterday (at both lunch and dinner), he just wasn't having it. Once he finished eating, he wanted down immediately, and when he couldn't get down immediately, he let us, and everyone in the vicinity hear all about it. And while he cannot yet verbalize, he definitely can vocalize. And that's putting it mildly! This is something we definitely need to work on, and I'll be the first to admit it.
As for the car ride to and from the beach, Will did much better than we expected. We only had to make two (or three) extra stops, so he could get out and walk around for a few minutes to burn off the energy he gained from sleeping in his car seat. And I'm not ashamed to say that we invested in a portable dvd player prior to our trip. This really entertained Will while we were driving and couldn't entertain him ourselves.
So now that I've rambled on and on, I'm going to go relax and probably fall asleep soon after. Exhaustion has begun to set in. Looking forward to our next beach trip!!!
Also looking forward to picking up Gus tomorrow from boarding. We take him to a really great place to stay whenever we go out of town. It's like a mini-vacation for him, as he gets to play with several dogs all day long, and then gets his own little room to sleep in at night.
One of these days we'll find a beach (and condo/house) that is dog-friendly, as bringing Gus to the beach is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Hmmm, I can almost picture Will and Gus coming up with the perfect surprise attack on the seagulls. ..
I'm sure Julie will be posting soon, and with more pictures of our trip. Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts on the trip. Here's a picture I took this morning on our last walk on the beach...
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