Bummer. Such incredible weather and I am illin'. I am feeling better than I did Saturday and yesterday, but I decided I needed to keep it mellow another day and I am at home today, having slept until noon. Yesterday, it dawned on me that I couldn't let the dog go 2 days with no walk or exercise, so I decided to wash up and go up north where the sun was and do a quick walk, and perhaps also sit outside and soak up some sun (which does miracles for me and my disposition.) We did catch some awesome warm weather, and on any other occasion, I think we would have hiked and plodded around for hours on end, but being wiped out as I was, we were limited to about 20 minutes on the hoof and a quick hit to a dog park coming and going.
I admit to being a weather wimp, and add to that a birthday, and I decided to be totally self-indulgent. I looked up where the temps would be at least 80, and then cross-referenced off-leash dog parks and walks, and then looked if trains were nearby as well. Davis CA meets that criteria, but it is too far. Benecia and Napa made the grade and were close enough for me to deal with, at least for the short few hours we'd be out, so we made our way to coastal Benecia for a little walkin'.
Indeed, it was plenty warm, I got to see a little train action, but the super-bonus was catching a big group of White Pelicans sunning themselves just offshore from the leash-optional beach. Unfortunately, anyplace near water that is easy to walk also is easy to fish from, and where people fish, they also break beer bottles and leave old hooks lying around. It is no place to let a dog walk around, so as nice as the scenery was, the filthy and dangerous conditions sent us up to JFK Park in southern Napa city.
For a perfect Father's day, I thought the park and path would be jammed with people out and about with their pooches. We ran into a few people, but not many.
We met only one other small dog on the paved path, and as is Boomie's usual wont, when he runs into someone who also likes growling and humping, he wants to either be picked up or run away.
Eventually, we left the Napa city park and headed onto Army Corps of Engineers' land along the Napa River. There was some nasty fisherman detritus there too, but not so much that we couldn't avoid it. After being stuck inside with his sick pappy for most of the last 48 hours, the kid was super happy to be able to get out and blow some stink off.
Boom Boom doesn't love to walk, and he is pretty good at communicating whether he is happy with his setup or not. When he is happy to be walking, he walks in front of me and picks where we are going. When he is tired of it or being grumpy, he walks behind, preferring to stay in my shadow and out of the sun. He pretty much rode point the whole time we were out on the river path. Napa was almost an hour's drive for us, and I would have preferred to keep it closer, but this is where the sun and off-leash livin' was, and the kid's pleasure made it worth the grief.
The grief wasn't so much in getting out to the path or doing a little hoofin' with the kid. No, the grief came when I figured out that I went out that way right around the time that the NASCAR race in Sonoma was letting out. The traffic sucked, and it took us long enough to get home that I decided to pull over and sit out the delay at the Concord dog park. The kid didn't seem to feel particularly bothered by any of it.
The good news is that there is warm weather in Oakland today, and so I am able to lay in bed with the door to the deck open. This means I get to watch the Goldfinch Parade (Lesser Finch & Rosy Finches too), as well as let the kitties and the chihuahua out to soak up the sun as I sleep off the last of this nasty cold. I moved to this apartment so that I might have days like today where I can enjoy the bird parade, and the pets can put in some quality sleep time in the sun. I am likely heading for another nap, and then hoping to get back to work tomorrow. I am really worried that if I don't sleep and rest that I will catch pneumonia again and that prospect scares the crap out of me. If I wake up tomorrow no better, I will force myself to go to the doctor since (and I HATE to have to say this) I worry I might have Ye Olde Swine Flue given that I know I got this cold by traveling via plane, including plane changes in San Diego and Los Angeles. That would be very not cool. I am hoping it doesn't come to that. I am hoping that laying here with the sounds of the finches feedin', the kitty sighin', and the doggie snorin' acts as more than just soul tonic and gets thee cold done.