September 9, 2014

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!

26 comments:

  1. Well, you visited a lot of my favorite Oregon places... especially the Bend breweries! Gorgeous photos; glad you had fun!

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  2. What a great getaway! Love all your photos and how fabulous that you pretty much had all those beaches to yourselves. You've reminded me how much Tucker hated to travel. He ignored all treats and, as much as possible, never even looked out the windows. No barking though. He just managed to look totally offended and betrayed.

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  3. It's fantastic when you can go somewhere like that and have it all to yourselves. I think she actually enjoyed the trip!!

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  4. Well, not exactly wordless, but it sounds like a lot of fun! I'd love a trip like that!

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  5. How FUN! and so glad you brought Rita. We might see you next year as we plan to travel west :-) Golden Thanks for sharing your lovely vacay photos. Golden Woofs

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  6. What a lovely adventure! I would've loved to have been at some of those places...though I would've barked at stuff too. BOL! So glad Rita enjoyed herself and that you and hubby had a fantastic time as well. I hope it was relaxing!

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  7. What a great adventure, lovely pictures and looks like Rita had a wonderful time. I love the little sand dollar you found. Thanks for sharing your trip.

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  8. Your pictures are beautiful...we felt like we were there with you.
    stella rose

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  9. Looks like a great trip. How fun to have all those places to yourself.

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  10. Looks like you all had so much fun and Rita looks so happy swimming and playing!

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  11. Wow! What a great trip (and photos)!

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  12. That looked like a great vacation with lots of sun and blue water. Fond memories and we think mostly Rita sounded like she enjoyed it. Barking in the motel is probably something that would happen to us but alas because of he car sickness problem we never go anywhere now. Ho hum but epic that you had a great time. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  13. Rita is so cute!! I love Oregon. I lived in the Portland area for two years and I'm hoping to go back! Your pictures are gorgeous!! :D

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  14. wow that really looks like a dream vacation Ive always wanted to visit Oregon

    retro rover

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  15. What a great vacation in some beautiful spots. Be glad you don't live with us Rita. Vacation means 18-20 hr car days usually. Mom hates driving, so we go as far as we possibly can in a day to get that part over with. We just snooze in the back and go for potty breaks every couple hours. We are quite happy when we get to where we are going. I also can see the hotel problem. It is hard to adjust to all the noises in the night.

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  16. That looks like such a fun trip! We had the dogs at my in-laws lake house a few weeks ago. We went out on the boat and the dogs stayed behind on the dock with my mother-in-law. Next thing you know, we heard screaming and looked back to see that Atka had jumped off the dock to swim after us! Thankfully, he's a good swimmer and we were able to get him back to shore before he tired himself out. I'm pretty sure my mother-in-law is never going to let him out of her sight again.

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  17. What a great trip Rita! You looked like you were having so much fun. Mom says she would have loved the barrel whiskey part (hehe). I don't chew on my toy either in the car so mom stopped giving me one. Love Dolly

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  18. What a great time! Beautiful pictures!

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  19. Looks like a great time - that lake looks gorgeous - so placid. It's fun to see Rita romping around, she usually so serious...

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  20. That looked like such an awesome vacation! Great photos, and of course your captions were perfect. Rita did so well....who can blame her for hating the traveling, I hate that part too! I'm glad you all had such a great time, and I'm totally jealous!

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  21. It looks like a fabulous vacation! Lucas is jealous of that stick! I know traveling with a reactive dog can be such a big challenge, but it sounds like you all sailed right through it!

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  22. hello rita its dennis the vizsla dog hay wow it wuz verry nice of yoo to let yore mama and dada come along with yoo on vaykayshun!!! it luks like yoo had a verry relaksing time altho hmm their seems to hav ben a lot of water arownd and as yoo no i am not a fan!!! gud job mayking the wun pizzle last for the entire trip im shoor us vizsla dogs cud not hav manadjd that espeshly wen tucker wuz stil with us!!! ha ha ok bye

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  23. Looks like a great vacation and Rita looks like she is having a fabulous time! Your pictures are beautiful!

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  24. What a wonderful vacations, with lots of interesting critters!

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  25. Beautiful pictures and beautiful country. Sounds like you had a great time despite the long ride home.

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