Day 37
Don took me on a little different route for our walk this morning, we went first to a big grassy area which was entirely suitable for running and rolling. Which I did, repeatedly. By the time we reached our usual woodsy walking route, I was almost worn out. But squirrel activity kept me alert and chasing, and there were some things to sniff that I had overlooked previously. A very good walk. Don stopped at the office and arranged for us to stay another night, which was definitely not a problem because the park was almost empty. A little while later, Les and his friend Robert showed up; I got my lunch early, and laid down to nap, while Geri and Don took off with them. I had a really good nap, and they came back before my dinner time. They told me about the beach at Hunting Island, which was covered with shells and very fine sand. They said it didn’t really have any surf, and I might have liked it. I dunno. I’ve never been a very gung-ho water dog, and the ocean makes me really nervous. I remember my old mentor Buddy, and how crazy he got when we got near the ocean. He’d be so excited that he would bark at Don until he threw something into the ocean for Buddy to retrieve. The further Don would throw it, the better Buddy liked it. If Don threw it out beyond the surf line, Buddy would battle his way through the breakers, grab the dummy in his mouth, then catch a wave and ride it back to the shore, paddling furiously. When he reached the beach, he’d shake himself off, drop the dummy at Don’s feet, and start barking wildly until Don threw it again. I can’t say that I understood this behavior. From my experience, the water was cold, the waves were rough and I might breathe or swallow some water, and it just plain looked dangerous. So, I can easily pass on beach activity. They also went to some other places that I might have enjoyed walking, like a pier that went quite a ways out into a bay and the ruins of a massive old church that had burned down just at the beginning of the Civil War. Yeah, that I would have liked, except it would have interfered with my nap.
So, Geri made me dinner and then took me for a walk in the woods, and then over to the grassy area. We all got into the truck then, and we went into Beaufort so that Geri and Don could have dinner with Les and Robert. They must have had a lot of food, because they were there for a long time. When they got back to the truck, they were talking about how great the dinner was and what a good time they had with Les and Robert. Funny, I’ve never seen mealtime as a social activity; it’s something that you have to do in order to live, and it’s enjoyable because it tastes good and gives you sustenance. It’s never an occasion for good fellowship; really, if another dog shows up while you’re eating, your first reaction is to growl at him. But that’s the way dogs think. Anyway, I don’t need to understand them, I just need to enjoy their care and companionship, as they do mine. So, we went back to the rig, worked on the blog, and went to bed. Tomorrow’s a travel day, always interesting. See ya then!