Sunday, October 09, 2005

Speedy Goes to the Beach

I took Speedy along with me on my trip down to New Jersey this past week. Aside from the fact that I just wanted his company on the trip, new experiences where he is out of his comfort zone are always good for him.

On Thursday, Speedy went to the boardwalk! Part of the fun of having him at the beach and boardwalk was watching his reaction to the new and different surroundings. Whenever something caught his attention, his eyes lit up with interest. Sometimes he moved to explore things and sometimes he held himself back, but he was definitely intrigued with the smell of the salt air and the sights and sounds on the boardwalk.

Of course, on a Thursday during off-season very little was open, but the place wasn't deserted or anything. Still, no waffles and ice cream of funnel cakes on this trip!



After some time on the boardwalk, we headed down to the beach. The beach down there is HUGE and it takes a while to walk from the main boardwalk down to the beach. Here we were passing the pier.



I was very surprised when we got down to the water that Speedy actually went into the ocean! We have taken him to the beach in North Carolina and he is always afraid of the crashing of the waves. I guess the waves in New Jersey don't crash nearly as loudly and he was willing to go right up to the water - and even into it after a bit! That was the best part of sharing this trip with him. We didn't swim-swim. Even though the water was really warm, swimming in the ocean in New Jersey in October just doesn't seem like the thing to do! But we waded and splashed in the waves a bit. Speedy didn't like the waves, but after they broke, he would walk into the surf a little.



No, Spee - you can't stop the waves with your eyes!

Some more sights on the boardwalk . . . Who's afraid of the big ole SHARK??!!



Speedy enjoyed almost the whole trip and I was constantly surprised to realize that Speedy is such a polite and fun companion. I wish I could take him everywhere!