Off to the beach again

Summer finally feels like it's started for me... I know I got out of school over a week ago, but I had 24 hours before I was in Denver at the Writing Project conference, and then, I didn't get my classroom clean until just a couple days ago. Mom's birthday took quite a bit of time and well...phew.

Katrina and I, and our dogs Jelly and Charlie went on a honking long walk yesterday. Walked on the beach from Montecito to Summerland, where we went to the wonderful Summerland Beach Cafe, which lets people bring their dogs and sit outside. They even have a sneaky outdoor gate so we doggie folk don't break any regulations by walking through the actual restuarant with our canines.

The walk takes about an hour and a half, but we hadn't planned on the tide being as far in as it was (yes folks, I do check the tide tables, but there are other factors, like the lack of sand that seems to be on the beaches this year). We had less than 1/4 mile to go, and we hit a point. Frag's point, or some such name the locals have given it.

The waves were breaking on top of the sandy part, and what was left for us to walk on were slimy, kelp covered rocks. Both Katrina and I tried to just walk through the knee to thigh high water, but there were also rocks there. Not only a little scary when I couldn't see what I was putting my foot down on, but also, around the rocks were deeper places. Take a step there, and the knee high water becomes almost underpant high.

Argh. Jelly had no problem, bounding back and forth in the waves and water; he loves to swim. Charlie? Not so much.

The water was over his head, so he got frightened, took refuge on a rock, and wouldn't budge. I had to pick him up. My soaking, dripping wet dog was hoisted over my shoulder as I forged the rapids.

Not really rapids. But they might've been if someone had seen me afterwards. I might as well have gone swimming in my clothes. Only thing dry I had was my pair of shoes, that Katrina so nicely held for me as I saved my bedraggled dog.

And Katrina? She kept her shoes on, to protect her feet, so the two of us were quite a pair as we sloshed up our way to the eatery.

Oh, but the biscuits and gravy sure tasted good.