I got out to enjoy a beautiful day after a week of heavy rain at the Cascades. It wasn’t too crowded, so the dogs could do the hike off-leash, which they fully enjoyed. Cody would run ahead and we’d catch up to him when he found the next access to water (although it was freezing, so I don’t know how he liked going in it so much!) and Ellie would stand and watch Cody thinking he was crazy. After all the rain, the water level was very high and so there were extra water falls and streams of water over the path that aren’t usually there. When we got to the big waterfall at the end, it was much more powerful than normal and the rocks that you can normally stand on were under water (to compare, look at our Cascades pictures from last September). When we got home, the dogs got a bath to get the mud out and then they slept for the rest of the day. Later, we found Ellie curled up in a basket of clean towels, completely passed out!
I thought I’d upload a few new pictures of the pets.
We went on a cruise on board the Allure of the Seas in January with Gary and Pat. We had a great time! We went to three ports- Labadee, Haiti; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Cozumel, Mexico. We also had four days at sea to enjoy all that the boat had to offer- a zip line, a flow rider, a rock wall, a boardwalk, and many shows- including a water show, stand up comedy, and musicals. In Labadee, we had a beach day with beautiful weather. In Costa Maya we explored Mayan Ruins on a guided tour- it’s amazing what people were able to do without any modern equipment! In Cozumel we went scuba diving in beautiful, clear water. It was a great way to escape the cold winter and relax before Shannon began her last semester in the classroom.
We got our first snowfall of the year this weekend. We were pet-sitting Luke (he’s the one in the blue coat) and all 3 dogs had a lot of fun running around. Ellie’s coat came in time to try it out- she definitely wanted to stay out and play longer when we put it on her.
We took a weekend trip to Philadelphia since Wes hadn’t been in a long time and Shannon hadn’t ever gone. On Friday, we toured City Hall, which was very cool to see. We got to go up into the tower, right below a giant statue of William Penn, to get a great view of the city. We also toured the exhibit for the Liberty Bell. On Saturday, we saw more of the historic sites related to the founding of our country, including Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was drafted. We also took a Benjamin Franklin walking tour, which was very neat. On Saturday night, we took a ghost tour of the city. Our tour guide was great- the stories she shared were very historical and had a few ghost elements, but it was much more interesting than we expected. We ate at some great restaurants and had a relaxing long weekend overall.
Our third annual trip to the dog swim to benefit the humane society was a success. They have this swim on the last weekend of the year that the Frog Pond Pool is open and it’s fun for all. We weren’t sure how Ellie would do after her dislike of swimming when we went camping and her refusal to get near the edge of the water when we went hiking last weekend. To our surprise, she liked the pool! She got right in and started swimming around. After about a half hour of swimming around and following Cody as he fetched the ball, she figured out that it would be easier to hitch a ride on his back. She climbed on his back when he was swimming and while he was standing still (she got cold so this was her way to be a little out of the water). Cody really didn’t mind, although when she tried to climb on other dogs they took offense. After a while, we went over to an island where the dogs could climb up the stairs and then jump off the side to swim after the ball. Ellie mostly sat this activity out, but Cody enjoyed jumping off the side (along with his friend Luke). All in all the day was a success, the dogs were exhausted, and Ellie put a life vest on her Christmas list.
Today we took advantage of the beautiful weather and took the dogs hiking to the Cascades. The hike is about 4 miles round trip. The dogs did very well- this was Cody’s second trip and Ellie’s first. We took the hard trail getting to the falls and the easier trail getting back. Cody, of course, headed directly towards the water every time he had the opportunity. Ellie was content to stay dry (she was very cautious around the water after we pushed her into the lake when we went camping). Cody went swimming when we got to the falls, but the rest of us decided it was far too cold to do more than stick our feet in the water.
After the hike, we all went to Ben and Jerry’s for ice cream. The dogs enjoyed some ice cream as well and are now napping for the rest of the day.
Joe and Kathy came for a visit this weekend. We took a trip tubing on the New River so that Cody could come along this time. Everybody had a great time. Cody stayed in his tube for the most part, but occasionally got out to sit in Joe’s lap. Wes, Shannon, and Kathy did the rapids at the end of the lazy river while Joe and Cody got out. Ellie stayed home for this trip since she didn’t enjoy the lake when we went camping.
We decided to take a camping trip and ended up at Morris Hill Campground in Covington, VA. It’s located on Lake Moomaw, and was the only lake we could find that let both dogs and people swim together. We went up for one night for our first attempt at camping. Although the drive up there was quite winding and caused much doggie car-sickness, it was worth the trip.
We went swimming in the lake both days. Ellie wasn’t so sure about it, but Cody loved swimming, as usual. He enjoyed his new life vest- definitely increased his stamina. After going in a couple times, Ellie decided that perching on the log would be a better plan.
Our friend, Julianna, came too, along with her dog Luke. This was the second time Luke’s gone swimming but the first time he enjoyed it. We could hardly keep him out! He figured out that the easiest way for him to get in the water was for him to leap in and belly flop! Very funny to watch.
We enjoyed steaks and then s’mores cooked over the camp fire. The weekend was overall quite relaxing. We look forward to camping again, although we probably won’t be visiting this campground again due to the mile hike down to the lake (and worse, the mile hike back uphill). We’ll definitely be trying out another campground on Lake Moomaw, though.
Ellie, a dog we have been fostering for a few months, is going to be a permanent member of our family now. She has won us over and we decided we’d be too sad to see her go- she fits in with our lifestyle, being friendly, mellow, and playful. We decided to make her birthday the day we took her in and saved her from euthanasia that was scheduled for 16 hours later, April 26. We’ll assume she turned 1 on the day we got her.
