Well, after many trips to the beach, Luce was starting to smell like a sea lion which is not a good thing. After a quick search online we found TJ Paws which is both a self service dog wash and regular dog groomer. The owner gave us several good tips which were great. You would think by now, we know how to wash a dog but no, not exactly. I think Luce even felt better after as you can see he was just fine.
Here is Luce waiting patiently for Stacey to come out of the cottage for the daily trip to the beach. The funny thing is that he always wants the pack to be together, even when he knows he is going somewhere fun. That’s probably a by-product of COVID since we have been together day in and day out for more than a year. I guess we all grew on each other.
After the beach comes the rinse off with the hose. While pretty much impossible to get all of the sand out of his fur, the daily hose down ant least took off the outer layer. Then we were left with a very wet Luce and he was not all that happy about it. After a towel down, he needed to air dry for a while outside the cottage.
Luce’s favorite time of day at the beach is in the morning here on the west coast since the sun can be blocked. At Henrdry’s Beach in Santa Barbara, there are cliffs which provide ample shade in the morning. Here, Luce is providing moral support for Stacey who is stretching during the multiple mile walk.
After that it was time for a little play.
We took a little side trip to San Ysidro Ranch just to walk around and go on a little self guided tour. When we arrived at the security check point we asked if it would be OK to take a look around and if it was OK for Luce to be there. The attendant was clearly a dog person and took to Luce right away. I don’t think he was supposed to let us pass but he was so friendly and told us where we could park and some things to see. Here we were taking a little rest in one of the many gardens and Luce really appreciated the padded bench.
While on a daily hike at Hendry’s Beack in Santa Barbara, we came across a group of Leonbergers. Ww actually ran into them quite a few times while we were there and they pretty much lept to themselves. There was a poodle with way too much energy and could run circles around all the BIG Dogs.
After a several mile hike on the beach, it time for some much deserved rest, in the nice cool shower. The funny thing is that he can’t really stay too long since he heats up the shower floor.
Luce gets around and we had several late lunch / early dinners at the Miramar Beach Bar at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort in Montecito. On this occasion the weather was perfect and we got a table with an umbrella so Luce did not get too hot.
We spend some time in Montecito and Luce got to go to the beach almost every day. In the morning it was not too sunny and he quickly learned to go in the ocean if he was getting too hot.
