Chapter Two: Pawprints and Memories

We parked the car, got all of our stuff together, and headed to the beach.  I was really excited.  I hadn't been to a real beach since our trip to North Carolina two years ago. 

My mom said that Assateague Island has 37 miles of pristine beaches.

As we were walking towards the beach...

Ew.  Really?  Those horses have no etiquette.

Hello???  Horses?  Are you coming back to clean that up?  If a puppy left a pile like that in Baltimore City, we would be fined a ka-jillion dollars.

My mom wasn't lying about the beach, though...

 It was big, and wide, and beautiful, and wonderful!

And it was teeming with all sorts of wildlife,

Like this little froggy that I rolled on,

and birdies.

Here, birdie, birdie, birdie...

Hunting birdies is hard when you're still attached to a walking leash.

So... dad, when are you going to let me off this leash?  What?  What do you mean "not a chance"?!?  I know it is against the rules for me to be off-leash here, but don't you always break the rules?  Why do I have to stay on a leash when the horses get to roam free?  Can anyone say "species discrimination"?  So unfair!

According to my mom, she said that I had to stay on the leash for my own safety.  The wild horses might hurt me if I ran up to them, so it was best to keep me under lock and key.  Besides, we can still have fun even if I'm tethered.

I had lots of fun racing through the waves with my mom, and then my dad had an idea.

My dad suggested that we should go swimming.  I love swimming -- anywhere, anytime.  You want to swim?  I'm your girl!  But that morning, I just wasn't so sure.  It had been a few years since I swam in the ocean, so the waves were kind-of scary.  Plus, the water was really cold.  So, I decided that no, I most decidedly was not going in the water.  But, as soon as my dad ran into the water, I immediately changed my mind.  I started screaming, flailing, and spinning.  And, before my mom knew it, I flew so fast that I ripped the leash out of my mom's hands (it was looped around her arm), spun her around, and leaped "frog-like" through the waves until I got to my dad.

Then, almost as suddenly as I jumped in, I realized that I had left my mom on the shore (plus it was really, really cold), so I raced back out of the ocean and ran smack into my mom.

"cold, cold, cold"

 My mom was a little freaked out about my off-leash tryst because about a half-football field away from us were:

Five wild horses chilling out on the beach!

Sorry, Mom, I didn't mean to scare you, but I promise that they wouldn't eat me.  Once my mom calmed down and realized that, no, the horses are not interested in eating me, I took advantage of the opportunity and took some pictures with the ponies.

 Dad, make sure to get my good side!

See, Mom, the horses aren't scary at all!

All in all, it was a great day.

Making pawprints in the sand, making memories...

Isn't that what life is all about?


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"Some believe that the horses arrived on Assateague's shores when a Spanish galleon ship (with a cargo of horses) sank offshore.  Others believe the horses arrived by early colonial settlers that allowed them to graze there." - Assateague Island National Seashore

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