We arrive at my sister’s apartment late Tuesday night after an epic 10 hour drive of Subway, smoothies and roadside stops for the doggies.
My sister had several things planned for all of us to do while we were visiting. One of the things Corpus Christi is known for are it’s beaches, often as a Spring Break hotspot. Lucky for us, it’s June, and most people work during the day. One afternoon we packed up the car and headed for the beaches of Padres Island National Seashore. I was very curious to see how Ms. Meeko would do with the ocean.
Most Shelties do not have a natural love of swimming, and though I’d done my best to make Meeko comfortable with getting baths and having her feet wet back in Pittsburgh, she had not truly gone swimming in a large body of water. Entering the park, we turned down the first beach access road. There were sand dunes along the side of the road, and the wind was whipping up swirls of sand along the tops. Parking was directly on the beach, and on a Thursday afternoon there were only four other cars there.
As soon as I got out of the car, a bit of sand got past my sunglasses and went into my eye. Unfortunately I did not have any eye drops or (fresh)water to rinse it out. I tried not to scratch at it, determined to still have a good time. We headed out towards the waves and walked along the shore. My sister held Snickers leash while I got Meeko. Snickers was a little intimidated by the waves, though she wanted to go swim. I started gently leading Meeko towards the waves. At first she jumped back at the first wave spreading over the sand. Then I made her stop and wait for the wave to move across her feet. Her face seemed to say, “Oh! That wasn’t that bad!”
I waded into the ocean with Meeko still on her leash, getting her belly wet. She didn’t seem as scared, but I couldn’t tell if she was truly enjoying the water. After my sister and I walked far enough that there weren’t any other people around, we let the dogs off their leashes. Snickers took off sprinting with Meeko right behind her. They ran far down the beach chasing each other, but they both came back when I called them. Still playing, Snickers leaped into the waves and Meeko followed her! They snaked up and down the beach jumping through the water, getting their faces smacked by the huge waves. Meeko decided she liked hopping over the waves, and from a distance she looked like a little furry porpoise, arching out of the water and back into a wave.
Click here for a video of the doggies playing in the water!
I’m having a lot of fun in Corpus Christi, and will be staying here for a few more days before I start heading North. In other news, I got word from a short fiction contest that I entered about 6 months ago. I didn’t win, but they have chosen to publish me anyways! The magazine is called Paper Darts. More details soon!
Location: Corpus Christi, TX