036_04 - A Dog's Life is Also a Beach
One of the pleasures of having kids is watching them have fun. For four-legged kids, one of the best kinds of fun is a place they can run free.

In the spirit of Walt Disney's Disneyland, where parents and children could originally have fun together, (before modern management began creating rides that had height and age requirements), leash free beaches are one of the best locations for family fun, any family.

One such beach is in the San Diego area of California. Dog Beach, as it is called, is a wide expanse on a beach of beach adjoining the San Diego River and the Pacific Ocean. On any day, one can see dozens of canines and their families running, jumping, splashing, and generally having a great day. This photo shows two of our kids, Bronx and Jordi, making a mad dash across the sand.

As I said, this is a place for the whole family, four and two-legged. We've run, sat, dug holes and generally had fun with them. The beach is the nice "kid friendly" kind that has long, gradually increasing depth allowing for one to walk out into the ocean. However it is also home to the inevitable pot holes and in some areas near the river, sheer drop off. These allow the ever-available opportunity of a laugh as one of the kids is trotting along happily, only to totally disappear, momentarily, under the waterline. After one such surprise dip, Jordi forever remained on dry land.

Rachel even attempted to teach a few of the kids to swim. While some were a bit nervous and eventually picked up the habit, we always remember Bronx's lesson. Bronx, a loud, in-your-face fellow who prided himself in never showing fear, became terrified in the water. As it got deeper and deeper, he hung on tightly to Rachel, panicked that the ground beneath him was disappearing. His only major swim was back to the shore.

After a day in the sand and surf, one is usually in need of a quick clean-up. One can't do better than a quick stop at Dog Wash. This user-friendly dog wash will let you do it yourself, or, if you need help, do all the work. The staff is super canine-friendly and joy to chat with. They also often have nice selection of toys, videos and treats for the beach weary kids.

Sadly, we haven't been to the beach in a while. Whenever I come across a photo of the kids there, it makes me want to go again. After all, with our name on one of the special tiles (sold to raise funds for improvements), we have a duty to keep up our support.