Continuing from Part 1, we had just hit the road and were off to visit Florida's Vero Beach on the East coast, and it was a few hours car ride so I got in a pretty good snooze on the way with my little paws all bunched together.
We were definitely excited, as we haven't been on a (southern) beach in years! And if you've been a longtime follower, you'll know that my first and most exciting adventure was visiting the Bahamas when I was just two years old - which christened my love for wide open, sandy beaches!
This is me back in 2012 on a remote beach in Eleuthera, Bahamas!
So, we were looking forward to giving Daphne a similar experience - as the beaches we were going to, were actually pretty quiet!
But, we did make one stop on the way. Since my Uncle Jack is a big-time birder, we stopped at Savannas Preserve State Park to see a special bird!
...Which is the rare Florida Scrub Jay, only found in Florida but related to the Blue Jays we have back home.
We walked quietly and carefully so as not to spook them.. but turns out, they aren't too easily spooked.
In fact, they will happily swoop over onto your head.
As usual, Daphne takes a keen interest in anything birdie-related!
I tested her by asking what this bird was called and she replied, "scrubberdubber-jay".
Hm, close enough.
It was through one of the park's nature drives, that we also stopped for a closer look at a huge gator.
Actually, TWO huge gators.
Just so you know, I did later tackle and wrestle the lower alligator back into the car.
Back onto the road, we soon arrived at our Airbnb on Vero Beach. It had an enchanting, private little path to the beach.
We were pleased to see that Vero Beach is huge, sandy, and surprisingly quiet. And also filled with seashells.
Maybe it's just our lack of experience here, but we were not expecting a popular Florida beach to be so quiet. (I imagine it's busier in summer, though?)
But with virtually no one around, Mum decided it ok to let us off leash!
I gotta say, the beach is one of the best places to bust out a soul-quenching burst of energy on what is essentially a wide open, unfettered runway!
Can you even see us in this pic?
Mum and Dad are pretty confident with us off leash in the right environment, but even they got borderline-concerned when Daphne went off chasing the beach birdies, going further and further down the beach almost out of sight, and with the sound of the waves, voice doesn't carry very far at all!
But eventually, she always turns around...
Admittedly, it's been quite a few years since I've chased a squeaky ball along the beach, so it was a nice throwback for me to do that again!
As usual, my fun is to fetch the ball that Dad throws, bring it back, then proceed to bury it.
Daphne is also a fiend for digging, and despite her just running about three marathons chasing the beach birdies, she jumped in beside me to start mechanically digging away!
It was here that Dad also snapped one of our new favorite photos of her!
Easy breezy, beachie girl!
Oh, and by the way, we also got a chance to model our new beach towel which has me, Oakley, and Daphne in our swimming gear (like from our Wienerlympics episode).
Cute, huh? And speaking of, we wish Oakley was here! But we should at least be seeing him around the holidays..
At the end of the day, I still had my sand-covered, favorite-squeaky ball in my mouth!
You know I've had a happy day when I'm still carrying my ball!
And once back at the beach house, Daphne was absolutely exhausted.
She could couldn't even open her eyes evenly by 6:00 pm! I can't often say that about her!
I love when Daphne is tired because it means peace and quiet - and I'm not always looking over my shoulder for a fluffball that's about to pounce on me!
The best part about going somewhere on the road, is that we get to bring along our dog ramps, which just makes things a little more convenient when at an Airbnb.
Our place was nice and light and airy, and beachy!
So, the rest of trip was pretty much the same thing; the beach, squeaky balls, birdies, digging, eat, SLEEP.
And then, it was time to head back home - to our real home, in Canada.
I made sure to soak up every last drop of sunshine before we left...
Don't I look like a puppy here?..
Anyway, it wasn't long (actually, it was a long tedious trip through customs and random covid testing and a flat tire) before we were officially back home and into that cold, wet stuff again...
AKA, snow.
Now if you ask me which I prefer during the winter; sunny Florida or cold and snowy Canada, I like a bit of both but with an emphasis on the Florida.
There's just something especially cozy about snow outside, a warm fireplace, and Christmas lights in the background...
And.. in a few days, we'll be seeing Oakley again!
Yay!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone. I'm sure we'll do a live video for our gift opening and more holiday content, so stay tuned!
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