For reasons I don't know, but am quite glad of, I actually have a 4-day weekend for the 4th, with both Friday and Monday off. I debated long and hard about what to do with the weekend, mainly trying to decide on whether I should take on one big trip or a series of small ones. For many reasons, I decided to keep it small, and as it stands, my Monday will be spent around the house trying to get some work done. While there was no big knockout event for los perros & I, we put in much work to get maximum inter-species pleasure out of our free time, including 2 new-to-us off-leash nature spots and 2 new-to-us doggie parks. There was no single knockout moments, but rather many little joys. Rather than put a full narrative together, this will mostly be photos and captions. There are simply too many shots to work up full stories on. I am guessing you will have no trouble filling in the details; after all, my quests are mostly for the simple pleasures.
After last weekend, I learned my lesson, and decided to look for a place to take the pooches where the temps would not go above the (very) low 80s. The pooches simply don't take to heat very well, and I feel sorry for them. For the most part, finding spots that aren't hot is EASY here in the Bay area, but I hate the cold, so I want it to be as warm as possible without being hot. As things turned out, the best mix of warm without hot were the shaded paths of the Las Pulgas open space area on the peninsula, the first off-leash park I took the kid too months back.
The park is basically set on SF Water Dept. land on what I think was an old homestead or ranch or something. The city of San Fran uses it to collect water and not much else, so it is no sweat to let people hike around, and for the part of the park that is basically a big hill, they also allow dogs to run free of leash. It is a pretty awesome little spot in that the walk up the hill is a narrow, but well-shaded trail, and the peak is a gravel road loop with a big stand of eucalyptus trees at the top and some nice views of the coastal range and exurban San Mateo county.
The kiddies seemed quite happy to be out and about, and with the holiday weekend in effect, we actually saw some other doggies coming and going. While it was not hot, and there was a good breeze, the kiddies hit the water bottle twice going up, and after hitting the paved road, we had to stop a few times for the kiddies to get into the shade and rest. No worries.
The trail up is well-shaded, but near the crown, things open up, and soon enough they were just flat out dragging. I made sure they had plenty of water, but I also get my jollies in working the little schmucks hard! I like being a doughy gimp who can out hoof the hounds if for no other reason that they are much better listeners, and there's much less yappin', when they are exhausted. Las Pulgas is awesome for this purpose.
The Spanish word "Las Pulgas", if I am not mistaken, is "The Fleas". This is actually not because the place is infested, but just in case, I used our frequent stops to give each of them a good going over for ticks and fleas. They are small enough that it is actually quick and easy work. Viva small dogs.
We eventually made a longer pit stop at the top under the crown of eucalyptus trees. I had packed some Pupperoni as a reward for them making it to the top. They would chew through the bark of those trees to get treats, so needless to say, they were pleased.
I don't know how much time Pocky spends off-leash, but she is much more in tune with what wildlife is out and around us when we have been out. Boomie couldn't care less about the little critters that dash around us when we hoof it in the wild, but Pocket definitely catches scents and follows them down, even when she is otherwise tired and would theoretically prefer to rest. At her size, there aren't many creatures who have a ton to worry about, but there was at least one bunny sent to a brisk hop at her inquiring snout.
I have become used to hill walking, and truth be told, I actually have reached the point where I find the walk down more annoying than the walk up. Not so the pups. They seemed much relieved that the back half of our visit was literally entirely downhill walking. They were well-rested from our stop, but clearly had a nice workout on the way up. The walk down was just as nice as the Andy Griffith scenery implies.
We made our way to the car and prepared for the next stop on our off-leash odyssey. On a low-traffic day, Las Pulgas is barely 45 minutes away, but it really feels quite remote in the way that the Interstate 280 corridor south of SF can. I wish they would open the whole area to off-leash, but I can't complain. With the way the weather is out there, I expect us to visit more often in the winter than summer. It pays out much in nature for relatively little driving. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Santa Cruz, which pays out much in nature, but can be ugly on the driving tip.
I took a calculated risk that Friday would not be a full traffic day on CA17 over to Santa Cruz because many would have had the day off. As it turns out, traffic was relatively ugly. For reasons I can't grasp, the off-leash beaches in Santa Cruz are actually off-leash only during selected hours, in the morning and after 4pm, so there was no real way for me to leave "early" since there would have been nowhere to arrive at until 4. While there was congestion the whole way, we ended up hitting the Lighthouse Beach area right around 4:30, and found the doggie action on the beaches to be in full swing.
Pocket still has a few sources of skittishness which, in context, would seem to make these trips difficult - she doesn't like the car, she is shy still at some of the dog parks, and as I learned in Santa Cruz definitively, she does not like waves! True, none of these make things easier, she is not so terrified that she refuses to participate or anything; instead, she tries avoidance when she sees one of these things coming, but usually comes around if you give her some space or try to make things easier for her.
When we got onto the beach, she was fine because there were plenty of dry sand up above the waterline for her to run around in, but for us to move down to where the most doggies were set up and playing, we had to walk across a spot that seemed to get a wave a few time an hour. She took one look at the wet sand we had to cross, and she took off to go back towards the stairs. She literally stood there and would not come when called (she stopped for me though as I approached.) She wasn't thrilled with me picking her up because she knows that means she is going to go somewhere she wouldn't go on her own, but she is sweet, so she never fights or growls or anything, she just suffers through it until the moment passes - in this case, a walk on wet sand - and then, once recomfortable, she goes back to being happy-go-lucky Pocky.
I am not sure what is up along the Pacific this year, but in Santa Cruz - like Carmel last weekend - we saw a dead seal on the beach. I suppose that is normal along a big ocean, but I can't recall seeing as many as I have this summer so far. That this one ended up on a dog beach is likely big fun for the pooches, but keeping the doggies from coming home without getting up close and stinky with the body requires some work. Thankfully, my little devils took my shouts seriously.
Eventually, we found a nice spot where we could hang out and visit with other happy doggies and peoples. Neither of my crew wanted to go near the water themselves, but they both love the sand and love being where there are doings doin'.
Poor Pocket would be going along having fun and losing herself in the moment and then would have a big wave get noisy near here and she would make a dash for the cove. Booms was more interested in humpin' than playing - which is pretty standard fare for him - whereas there was lots of fetching, digging, and swimming going on all around us. I wish the off-leash hours were better, and I wish Santa Cruz's weather was better, because the beach there is hoppin' for a canine owner looking to keep the kids active. Santa Cruz is close enough that visiting isn't a major undertaking, but with the only dog-approved time early morning or after 4, there is almost no time where I will be able to go. I never spend the night there, which would put me there for the morning hours, and I usually try to be heading back to Oaktown by 4. Perhaps I will just have to try harder, after all, I really like Santa Cruz, and Pocket-wave-fear aside, so did the pooches.
Between the beach and Las Pulgas, the kids had a pretty awesome Friday; but indeed, that was just our first outing for the holiday weekend. The 4th ended up being mostly low-key and focused on our regular local circuit, we had another wing-ding on Sunday, which is up next.