Less-Wordy Wednesday: Travels with Reactive Rita

We are back from our road trip to Oregon with our reactive girl, Rita, and it was (mostly) a super fun trip!

Rita wasn't so sure about all the driving (she's fine with the down-time, but hates all the weird noises), so we tried to make sure she knew how fun road trips are...

Starting with a stop for an ice cream cone (which we split 3 ways):

"Okay, yeah. I could get used to this."

We spent 3 days driving up to Oregon so we could take our time. On day 2, we stopped at Horseshoe Lake near Mammoth and went for a lovely hike. We had the place to ourselves, so Rita had a great time romping and chasing sticks.

Rita romps at Horseshoe Lake

"...just not the driving part..."

When we got to Bend, she was VERY happy to be out of the car and in the yard of our rental house with GRASS! (We don't have grass at our house.)

"This place is pawesome!"

But then she was bummed when we left to go out....  (How cute is she in the window seat?)

"But... where are you going? We just got here!"

We snuck off to go to a "wood barrel-aged beer & whiskey" event, that we just stumbled upon. (Which was awesome since we love barrel-aged beers!) It was within walking distance of our rental and too much fun!

Yum. Barrel-aged beers.

There are miles of path/trails to walk along by the river in Bend, so we did that two days. Rita loved it cuz she could go for a dunk in the river. (And we also might have visited a brewery or two. Or nine. But who's counting?)

Hates to swim, but loves to go for a dunk in the water

Then it was off to Florence, by the coast, where we had a rental right on a lake.

So gorgeous!

Our first morning there, the hubs wanted to go for a swim, and Rita was a bit concerned about that.

"Uh, where are you going, Daddy? Swimming is scary!"

She ran along the edge of the lake, and I was worried she'd try to swim out after him!

Luckily she just waited and watched for him to come back. But then she freaked out when he did come back! (She's a nut.)

"What is that freaky thing coming out of the water???"

Happily, Daddy did eventually come back.

Have to share this one, cuz who doesn't love a shaking dog pic?

And sharing this one too cuz it's such a funny perspective.

 
After Daddy's swim, we went to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Rita was bummed cuz we couldn't hike out to the beach. (Snowy plovers were nesting!)

"Phhhhttttthhhh! Stupid Snowy Plovers!"

So we hiked to a creek instead, where she had a great time getting wet and romping in the dunes.

Rita at Tahkenitch Creek

"Whoohoooooo!"

"Ahhh, so refreshing. But I'm beat now."

Later that day we went to Heceta Beach - which we practically had to ourselves!

Rita romps, and meets a mussel

"I love it here!"

The next day we went for a hike to the Heceta Head Lighthouse, which was really cool since you come out even with the top of the lighthouse.


We saw this beach from our hike and it called to us!

The beach at Carl G.Washburne Memorial State Park

Again, we had big stretches of it to ourselves so we let Rita run off-leash and chase the seagulls.

"I'm freeeeeee!"

"Hello???"

...And I found the tiniest sand dollar I'd ever seen!

We tried a couple of dog-friendly pubs/restaurants. The one time went well, since we had the patio all to ourselves. But then we tried another spot, and she was NOT okay with the way the gravel would crunch every time the waiter approached so she barked at him a few times. So embarrassing.

She did really well at our rental houses (cuz they were nice and quiet), but not so great at the motels on the way up (too many folks coming and going at odd hours!). So, on the way home, we drove the whole route in one day!

We didn't want to have to do the motel thing again, so we just blew through all 15 hours of the drive in one go. (Yes, we're a little nutty. But we had a really good audio ebook that I borrowed from the library!)

If you've never driven 15 hours in one day before, Rita's face will show you exactly what it feels like:

"Why, for the love of dog, WHY???"

Yes, that's a pizzle in front of her. A 1000 mile trip and she never touched that thing...

...until we got within 2 miles of our house!

"I think I'll eat this now!"

Thanks to BlogPaws for hosting Wordless Wednesday!