MACINTOSH MONDAY

On Memorial Day Andrew and I took Macintosh down to Huntington Dog Beach. We had been meaning to take him there all of last year, but we never made it down there for some reason, so we figured it was high time we did. Let me say straight off the beach was amazing. There were so many dogs roaming around on it that Macintosh had such a good time. 

Initially we were pretty apprehensive about taking him off the lead as he can be pretty unreliable, but the beach area was pretty enclosed and there were so many dogs that we figured he should stay fairly close by. Well we were amazed at how well he behaved! He came back to us every time we called him! Sometimes it took a little while for him to get to us but he did eventually come. He never really strayed too far from us and kept checking to see where we were. It was utterly amazing.

He also found an Irish Wolfhound to play with which made us laugh (see above for a picture). He looked so tiny compared to her, but he managed to give her a good run about. I think other owner was pleased as it suggested that she'd get some peace and quiet if her dog was tired. I know it definitely tired Macintosh out because a couple of hours later he was like this...

It was so lovely to see him having fun and it was nice walking around afterwards with a nice sedate dog! Before I end the post I have to tell you the funniest thing though. Whilst Andrew was fetching lunch from the car I was busy people/dog watching with Macintosh. During that time a dad, young boy and their dog walked past. As they did the dog stopped to do a wee, as they began to walk away I heard the little boy say, "I wish I was a dog because then I could pee wherever I want!" And on that lovely note I'll leave you!
H

#TIMONTOUR - SANTA MONICA EDITION

Santa Monica is such a lovely place to visit for the day. We took Tim down there mid-week so it was slightly less crowded. It was a coldish start to the day but warmed up by the end of the day. It was hilarious taking Tim round it though because Santa Monica is very typical California, with its white sand beaches, tall palm trees and very beachy look to it. To be fair though Andrew was quite giddy too! See below!

We did a little bit of shopping but spent most of the day along the beach front. For the first time we hired bikes so that we could cycle along the famous broad walk. We'd never done this before as we always seemed to have Macintosh with us, but we'd left him at a friends for the day so that we could do that. It was pretty fun. We managed to see a lot of the other famous beaches by cycling along the path.

Here are some photos of the day...

That last photo cracks me up so much! Now are we making you want to come visit yet?!

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SANTA BARBARA

As Andrew has been given a few days off before Christmas so we decided to we should make the most of the free time. We have a whole list of small day trips that we want to do around Christmas that will allow us to see more of beautiful California without all the faff of packing up for bit. 

So on Monday we went off to Santa Barbara for the day. It was really weird playing Christmas music as we drove down and yet looking out the car window at bright blue skies. It felt even more strange being on the beach with the sun beating down on us. The temperatures during the day reached 24 degrees so it was really warm! Not at all what a Brit is used to at Christmas!

We spent the morning on the beach allowing Macintosh to have some time exploring, meeting other dogs and jumping around in the water. It really is so strange how much Mac loves the beach. For a beagle who won't allow his belly to get wet normally he just abandons all reason at the beach and piles into the waves! Granted he doesn't enjoy being wet afterwards as he spends a lot of time shaking out every single droplet of water he can!

The afternoon and evening was spent wandering around the town of Santa Barbara, seeing the old Mission and wandering on the pier. We really enjoyed it and managed to see more of the town this time than last time.

I loved the old Mission. It was really beautiful. They had a nativity outside it with live animals that Macintosh was obsessed with wandering up too. There were some amazing plants growing too and some great architecture to enjoy. I think Andrew loved the pier best, just watching the sun go down and enjoying the time together. It really was wonderful. 
H

MACINTOSH MONDAY

This weekend Andrew, Macintosh and I went down to San Diego for the weekend. We went down for a specific reason (more on that later in the week) but we were able to visit a dog beach at Del Mar, just north of the city.

Here Macintosh had the time of his life! The beach was covered in dogs of all shapes and sizes and they were all as sandy and wet as him. He frolicked in the waves, sniffed all the dogs and just ran around with Andrew like a mad man. It was all so wonderful. Except that he was stuck on the lead and they weren't...

One particularly young and boisterous dog came bounding up and looked like he wanted to play with Mac but was put off slightly by the lead trailing from Mac. Andrew gave me one look which said "Oh please! Please can we let him off?" and then just did it! Macintosh was off lead, on an unknown beach, with other dogs and thousands of smells stretching for miles. My heart was in my mouth! 

Thankfully Macintosh was amazing. He just ran around with the young and boisterous dog and had a quick sniff around at others around him before coming back to us when called. Andrew quickly clipped him back onto the lead as its always better to end in a positive way and I finally breathed out!!!

He loved every minute of it and was totally shattered for the rest of the day. He was a sandy, soggy mess but he was happy. Just look at him...

Not sure we'll be letting him off again. I guess we'll wait and see. 
H

MACINTOSH MONDAY

Macintosh is a beagle. Beagles typically do not enjoy water and do not like things such as beaches. However Macintosh defies this beagle norm (as he does many others!). He absolutely loves the beach. This past week we went to Ventura and went to Habor Cove beach. Yes I spelt it the American way, its shocking I know. Whilst on the beach Macintosh had so much fun. He spent a lot of time in the water with his buddy, my Dad. He loved running from the waves as they came crashing in, but then would go straight back out to smell their surf before having to run in from the next wave. It was hilarious to watch! He would then chill out on the beach after his water capers. He seemed to get covered in sand, including in and around his mouth but that didn't appear to bother him. 

Here's a few pictures showing him enjoying life at the beach. 
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MACINTOSH MONDAY

This weekend Andrew and I took Macintosh down to Arroyo Burro beach just outside Santa Barbara for his first taste of the beach. Well I say first taste, he's been to a cold and wet beach in England once but that's not quite the same thing! The beach was a special dog beach so if you wanted you could let your dog roam wild but knowing Mac's ability to disappear and not come back we opted to keep him on the lead. The first thing we did was allow him to explore the sea. 

Usually Mac isn't a fan of water. He doesn't mind paddling in it but if it gets up to his stomach he begins to panic and backs out. This was the reaction we expected here, especially with the waves, we assumed he wouldn't be too keen. Well we were right about the waves, he wasn't overly keen of them and tried to run away from them a lot but within a short while he was pretty much fully covered in salt water. He wasn't swimming but he was certainly enjoying running about in it. Here are a few photos and a video from early on in the sea experience.

After being in the sea the funniest part Macintosh would stroll back up the beach to where we were sitting and after a few shakes to get rid of most of the salt water he would then proceed to rub himself along the sand covering himself from head to toe in wet sand! He absolutely loved it though and wasn't bothered about getting a sand moustache either. 

Here are a few more pictures of Macintosh enjoying the beach. 

With the success of the first beach trip I'm now looking forward to visiting a few more dog beaches and spending some more time soaking up the sun. Andrew typically doesn't enjoy beach life as he can't sit still for extended periods, so having Mac there he's more entertained leaving me able to just chill! 
H

For a few more beachy pictures just click on our Instagram accounts on the right hand side of the page. You'll even see our dinner that we ate on the beach! Very American!

TO SEE THE SEA

After a very long week of work and driving around house hunting we just needed some time to let the dust settle for a day and mull over the decisions to be made in the coming week. So we decided to head to the coast. This begun with amazing views over the our valley as we headed west into the hills.

We drove down the incredible Bouquet Canyon Road through the Angeles National Forest, a small winding road that cuts right through the mountains and hills north of LA. Emerging from the forest road we drove through vast orange groves nestled between the hills. From a single lane the Canyon Road widens to seven lanes as we pass through Santa Clarita.

We headed out towards the state beach at Ventura and parked up only to discover we were near to a minor bomb threat cordon, our first one in the USA. No one seem too worried though and it was all gone by the time we got back.

We then walked, yes walked down the beach, we had been driving everywhere during the week we just needed to stretch our legs for a good stroll. It was a lil cooler than the climate we are slowly getting used to. The water was freezing so we had a quick paddle before heading further down the beach. We were more in the residential part so I enjoyed the different designs of houses along the beach, pointing out the positives and negatives of each one to Hannah (much to her dismay)

We then headed back to the Social Tap, a restaurant bar half way along the beach frequented by cyclists with some very cool bikes. We enjoyed a burger and a BLT sandwich whilst listening to the Americans get very excited about the Kentucky Derby. Two mins of craziness. We then strolled back along the warm sand to the car to head back through the hills and finish the day with a Ben and Jerry's Ice-cream and a beer.

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