Day 30
Wow, what a day! This was one of the best days of the trip so far, in my dogged opinion! We all got up pretty early, and Don took me for a walk around the KOA. Again, no chasing the ducks. I got a little wet, because it was drizzling. We all got dressed (well, I was already dressed) and got into the truck. We drove into St. Augustine and went to a place called The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. The great thing was that I got to go everywhere in the Park that they did! First we went to a building where water was bubbling up out of the ground, and everyone there was given a little cup of the water to drink; Geri gave me some of hers. They say that if you keep drinking this water every day, you’ll never get any white in your muzzle; too late for me, unfortunately. The best part, though, was that all the people there liked me; they really liked me! Everyone wanted to pet me and talk to me, and I had to keep moving around to make sure that all the people who wanted to pet me got a chance to do it! This kept happening everywhere we went in the Park, and I was almost delirious with pleasure from it. And the birds! They had a really big bird called a Rhea in a pen, and I had to do Pop-Up Dog to see it properly; I didn’t want to get in the pen, though, it was too big to mess with. There were lots of peacocks, really pretty birds; for some reason, I’ve never had a real desire to chase them, I just like to look at them. When we got way out near the water, I was let off leash, and did some really good running before I found a proper PoopenPlatz. When I was properly pooped out (from running, ha ha), Don put me back on the leash and we went back toward the Park. We were just meandering along, when suddenly I found myself face to face with a squirrel! He had been eating something with his back to me, and I hadn’t noticed him until I was just a few feet away. When he saw me, he absolutely levitated, I mean straight up! Because I was on leash, I knew I couldn’t chase him, so I just watched him as he clawed the air, trying to get traction to get away from me. It was really funny! When he hit the ground, he was off like a shot, and up the closest tree. I smiled. And I got more pets and compliments from people. This is the way it’s supposed to be. When we finally left the park, we got into the truck and went for a ride up the beach road north of St. Augustine. I was tired from all the excitement, so I took a nap. When I woke up, we were back in town, and we went to a place near the Fountain of Youth where the early settlers had built a church. We went for another walk in a beautiful park, and I got to go for another run. I did make one mistake; there was a squirrel just a few feet away when I saw him, and I forgot that I was on leash. I almost pulled Don off his feet before I recognized my error, and I was really sorry (that I hadn’t caught the squirrel). We drove around the town a little while, then went back to the coach. Dinner was fend-for-yourself tonight, and the plates were a little sparse. Oh, well, it was a great day anyway. Hear we’re on the road tomorrow; I’ll let you know how it goes.

Day 29
Good grief! I didn’t think anyone was ever going to get up this morning! Don finally arose about 7:30, while Geri was whining about it being too early to get up. Anyway, I finally got breakfast, which is the important thing, and Don headed for the showers. He came back complaining about a pain in his foot, which meant that he couldn’t take me for my morning outing. Geri had been hacking and coughing since she got up, and things were looking a little bleak. She got her act together, though, and we headed out into KOA land. It’s a pretty nice place here, with a little lake and good walking areas. While we were out, Don went off to Petco to find me some more food, which I sincerely appreciated. They got me situated with some good sounds on the radio, and left me to nap.
Geri and Don got back well before dinner time, and talked about the things they had seen in Saint Augustine. They had first visited a miniature Moorish Castle that had been built by a man who had visited a castle in Spain, and had designed and furnished his home to look like it. They said it was very colorful and exotic, with many beautiful furnishings. Then they went to a museum that had a collection of all kinds of things, from dolls and shaving mugs to old musical machines and very fine furniture. There was a lot of very odd stuff, like a stuffed lion that had been presented to a Prime Minister of enjoyed it. Geri took me for a walk around the RV Park, and I saw a lot of ducks, though I didn’t get to chase any. Don made some pasta with sun-dried tomato sauce, one of my favorites; great plates. Then he had to do some big maintenance work on the computer that took a long time, so we didn’t get to work on the blog. We all went to bed early.