August and September are my favorite months at the Del Mar beaches, especially in the early mornings and sunset evenings. Today, I woke up feeling heavy (been feeling that way lately)...Maybe it's some sense of loneliness, maybe its uncertainty for my future from a career and personal perspective..but my one constant, Ms. Coco Chanel, came and jumped up on my bed at her usual 730AM time to wake me up. Instead of drowning in this negativity, I decided to get my stuff and head to the beach. It was already getting hot outside at my parents home...an ocean splash sounded like it would be fun.
So off we went, a couple of towels, my laptop, Coco's gear, all packed in my car. As we approached 15th street, Del Mar, it was already feeling soothing as the mist from the marine layer smothered the area..it reminded me of the hill station called Shimla in North India.
We parked, and approached the Del Mar Bluffs, a long 2-3 mile stretch of clifftop, overlooking the ocean. This was our typical go-to-spot since that is an easy place to jog while letting Coco run around, off leash.
The run on the bluffs was amazing, refreshing and invigorating. As we approached the end of the bluffs area at Torrey Pines State beach, we noticed as a life guard was overlooking the beach area. After some internal debate, we turned around and backtracked - something I am not a huge fan of. We did not want to risk getting a fine, even though I had her ESD vest with us.
As we neared the end of the return path, we decided to hike down a steep path on the cliff that takes you down to beach side. Coco was in dog heaven as we were going to the water... the barking and wag tailing was on and in full force ;)
We reached the bottom. I wanted to take a dip in the warm ocean, around 70 degrees at this time of year. In I went, Coco following. As much as I tried to control her from exposing her entire body from drenching (to prevent giving her a full bath), it was very difficult as she just wanted to trot right in after me...
3-4 dips in, I was getting a full feeling of refresh as the salt ocean seems to regenerate the soul. And as I was doing my yoga stretches, Coco was roaming around, digging in the sand, playing on the rocks and feeling the water. It was blissful, me doing Yoga and Coco having fun...
Aside from the yoga and the ocean dips, we also met a lady who hiked down just to greet us and told me that she was admiring us from afar. She even told me she took some pictures of us as she reminisced her two Australian shepards as she watched us play. That comment choked me up a bit and reminded me to enjoy every moment I could with my young companion...
I had a nice conversation on a variety of topics. It's always a spiritual feeling when you have these random encounters with others.
Finally after about 30 minutes, a life guard spotted us and forced me to leash her. It was a sign that we had to leave. So we went walking/ jogging for about another 15 minute run beach side, splashing and having fun in the water along the way. Finally, we returned to the path, climbed back up to the bluffs and back to the car to clean up.
At the car, I bumped into an older lady..another spiritual encounter! She went on to tell me that dog books are in these days, and went on to tell me that I need to write a book on how to date a dog - that the idea has never been used and how it is mine now! We also talked about several other topics including asking about India and a guru she follows profusely called 'Amma.' Another nice conversation.
As I was walking toward Starbucks with a drenched dog, I thought about her idea. I know that I liked blogging so right then and there, I decided that I should blog about all my travel adventures with Ms Chanel..there are so many amazing things we have done, from trips to Mammoth, Tahoe, Mexico, Arizona, to further away lands like Italy and San Francisco, to simple beach and hiking outings. The more I thought about it and although it was somewhat of funny thought, I affirmed to myself that I truly have been dating my dog for 3 years now..or more like she has been dating her master!
So here I am at Starbucks, Del Mar. Blogging on my new ultra-light Macbook, which I love. I guess this is my first official blog post on How To Date A Dog...Hope whoever out there that is reading this, enjoys it, and perhaps finds inspiration in taking their pet companion on unforgettable adventures to create long lasting memories of their own.
Below are some pictures of my drenched dog from this morning. The first one I'm feeding her a bagel with cream cheese, but don't try that at home :)
Oh and if anyone enjoyed reading about this adventure, send me your comments .. Maybe it will motivate me to continue ;)
Signing off..
-Raj
So off we went, a couple of towels, my laptop, Coco's gear, all packed in my car. As we approached 15th street, Del Mar, it was already feeling soothing as the mist from the marine layer smothered the area..it reminded me of the hill station called Shimla in North India.
We parked, and approached the Del Mar Bluffs, a long 2-3 mile stretch of clifftop, overlooking the ocean. This was our typical go-to-spot since that is an easy place to jog while letting Coco run around, off leash.
The run on the bluffs was amazing, refreshing and invigorating. As we approached the end of the bluffs area at Torrey Pines State beach, we noticed as a life guard was overlooking the beach area. After some internal debate, we turned around and backtracked - something I am not a huge fan of. We did not want to risk getting a fine, even though I had her ESD vest with us.
As we neared the end of the return path, we decided to hike down a steep path on the cliff that takes you down to beach side. Coco was in dog heaven as we were going to the water... the barking and wag tailing was on and in full force ;)
We reached the bottom. I wanted to take a dip in the warm ocean, around 70 degrees at this time of year. In I went, Coco following. As much as I tried to control her from exposing her entire body from drenching (to prevent giving her a full bath), it was very difficult as she just wanted to trot right in after me...
3-4 dips in, I was getting a full feeling of refresh as the salt ocean seems to regenerate the soul. And as I was doing my yoga stretches, Coco was roaming around, digging in the sand, playing on the rocks and feeling the water. It was blissful, me doing Yoga and Coco having fun...
Aside from the yoga and the ocean dips, we also met a lady who hiked down just to greet us and told me that she was admiring us from afar. She even told me she took some pictures of us as she reminisced her two Australian shepards as she watched us play. That comment choked me up a bit and reminded me to enjoy every moment I could with my young companion...
I had a nice conversation on a variety of topics. It's always a spiritual feeling when you have these random encounters with others.
Finally after about 30 minutes, a life guard spotted us and forced me to leash her. It was a sign that we had to leave. So we went walking/ jogging for about another 15 minute run beach side, splashing and having fun in the water along the way. Finally, we returned to the path, climbed back up to the bluffs and back to the car to clean up.
At the car, I bumped into an older lady..another spiritual encounter! She went on to tell me that dog books are in these days, and went on to tell me that I need to write a book on how to date a dog - that the idea has never been used and how it is mine now! We also talked about several other topics including asking about India and a guru she follows profusely called 'Amma.' Another nice conversation.
As I was walking toward Starbucks with a drenched dog, I thought about her idea. I know that I liked blogging so right then and there, I decided that I should blog about all my travel adventures with Ms Chanel..there are so many amazing things we have done, from trips to Mammoth, Tahoe, Mexico, Arizona, to further away lands like Italy and San Francisco, to simple beach and hiking outings. The more I thought about it and although it was somewhat of funny thought, I affirmed to myself that I truly have been dating my dog for 3 years now..or more like she has been dating her master!
So here I am at Starbucks, Del Mar. Blogging on my new ultra-light Macbook, which I love. I guess this is my first official blog post on How To Date A Dog...Hope whoever out there that is reading this, enjoys it, and perhaps finds inspiration in taking their pet companion on unforgettable adventures to create long lasting memories of their own.
Below are some pictures of my drenched dog from this morning. The first one I'm feeding her a bagel with cream cheese, but don't try that at home :)
Oh and if anyone enjoyed reading about this adventure, send me your comments .. Maybe it will motivate me to continue ;)
Signing off..
-Raj
