I LOVE Carmel (by: Carlo)

It's a good thing my pal is so dog-like when it comes to forgiving! She quickly forgave me for the lipstick incident. She told me she was just thankful I was ok. But, between you and me... I think the lipstick artwork (which is still on the white rug) is kinda growing on her! My pal and her guy showed their appreciation for my artistic side by taking me, Lucky, and Gerrit to a place called Carmel this weekend!

None of us dogs had ever been to Carmel before. And, it was the best place EVER! It was the most dog-friendly place I have ever been to in my whole life. Almost every shop in the town had a dog bowl of water to quench your doggie thirst. And, some shops even allowed dogs to come inside... and that's ALL dogs... not just assistance dogs in training and service dogs!

The best part of Carmel though was the beach. Dogs are not only allowed at the Carmel City Beach, they are welcomed... and able to play off leash! When my pal took us all off our leashes, and we felt the squishiness of sand between our paws, and smelled the salty ocean air, and saw all the other dogs romping on the strand and swimming in the water... well, it was exuberance overload! I stood still and soaked it all in for a minute... and then I was off... and I ran, and ran, and ran. I vaguely thought I heard my pal's voice calling, "Carlo, get back here!". But, then again, what I heard may have just been the crashing of the ocean waves. I could hear Gerrit running right behind me... and a little bit behind him, I could hear Lucky. And, again, I thought I heard, "Carlo, Gerrit, and Lucky... come back here right now!". But, then again, what I heard may just have been the wind rushing past my flapping ears. I ran up to some other dogs and started playing with them. And, then Gerrit and Lucky caught up and joined our play fest. It was absolute... bliss!

But, then he came. My pal's guy. He came running up and said under his breath, "Boy, are you guys in trouble!" He grabbed hold of my collar and Gerrit's collar, as Lucky trotted happily behind us, and just shook his head. "She's REALLY mad at you guys"...

And, he was right! My pal was pretty mad that we took off and didn't listen to her. But, we explained that we thought we were hearing the ocean waves and wind. She just said, "Uh huh... " and gave us all a time out while she and her guy ate their picnic lunch. But, like I said before, my pal is very dog-like when it comes to forgiving! Thank goodness for that! She let us all off leash again, reminded us that we better not run off, and then played with us all by the water. It was soooooo much fun! We played, and played, and played! After we played, we took a break back on our claimed slab of rock, where we basked in the sun. And, then we played again. And, this pattern of activities continued for the whole day.

As the day started waning, we packed up all of our stuff, threw it all in the car, and then went for a walk around town. We found this REALLY cool place called The Cypress Inn. Dogs were totally welcome there! My pal and her guy ate dinner, while us dogs all took a nap. Gerrit was sleeping close to another table where there were some people from Canada. They LOVED Gerrit and gave him lots of attention. But, I was too tired to even care that he was getting all the attention... and I just snoozed.

After dinner, we walked to a place called Diggidy Dog. It was a dog boutique that had the BEST treats. My pal got a bunch for us. Here's a photo of us waiting in front of Diggidy Dog for our treats!

The drive home was long, and we slept the WHOLE way home. And, for the rest of the weekend, we were all still super tired. We've been napping and dreaming of that glorious dog-friendly placed called Carmel...