Fort-unate Visit

My mom and sister visited us over Christmas. Cabana loved having extra people in the house, and she was great with both of them. She gave my dog-averse sister enough space, never jumping up or being solicitous of her. My mom hadn't been to our house since we got Cabana. She was impressed with Cabana's calm behavior and even said she didn't smell bad! (That was a huge concern of mine--that my mom would say the house smelled too dog-like. I cleaned every inch of my house before she came, scrubbing, vacuuming, doing laundry, using my Pet Hair Magnet relentlessly, worrying that her sensitive olfactories would still be offended. I was thrilled that we passed her nose inspection!)

After dropping my mom off at San Francisco Airport yesterday, Cabana and I seized the opportunity to stop at Fort Funston in Daly City. We had only been there once before, with only 40 minutes to explore--not nearly enough time! This time, we enjoyed ourselves for 3 glorious hours. There were lots of dogs there, but because Fort Funston is such a huge spread-out expanse, the photos make it look like we were almost alone.

I wasn't quite sure where the paths were taking us, but my goal was to get down to the beach. Here, we're on a stretch that overlooks Skyline Boulevard and Lake Merced.

Fort Funston is very popular with dog walkers. It amazes me to watch these professionals, their bodies usually criss-crossed by dozens of leashes, keeping their packs close by, calling out the names of the wanderers. Cabana does NOT like being approached by a whole pack of dogs; it makes her quite nervous. You can almost see the relief on her face (far left) after this pack sniffs her and moves along past.

There is SO much for a dog to do at Fort Funston. Sniff, explore, dig, run, play, romp, pee. Which to do first! It's a sensory overload. Cabana stops to rummage around in a eucalyptus grove.

We found the path that leads down to the ocean, and boom, Cabana was off like a shot!

Running on the beach, in and out of the waves--pure joy.

Climbing rocks, BIG rocks!

The parking lot lays at the top of this rocky ridge that flanks the beach.

Here are the stairs that lead back up to the parking lot. Whew, it's a steep climb! I had to stop a few times to catch my breath. Cabana would stop and look back at me with nary a pant whenever I gave her the command to "wait". Yes, I am a two-legged slowpoke.

I don't normally make New Years resolutions--but I resolve to go to Fort Funston more regularly in 2011.