Hamish the Corgi, Miss Tibbit the Useless Little Black Dog, and I piled into my parent’s old Chevy truck. I opened the passenger window just enough for Tibbit’s head and shoulders and so that Hamish could get his nose into the air. Any more than that and Miss Tibbit would shove her entire body out of the window and air surf her way to the beach. As it was her ears flapped in the rainy wind of Upper Township while we cruised through the marshes and neighborhoods on the way to the beach.

The WideEyedHousehold was on a mini-break to the shore – and while the WideEyedSpouse wasted his time inland, meeting with a friend and talking about cars, moto-cross, and computers, the dogs and I hit the beach.

We walked for a few miles but in the dense fog we couldn’t tell. Our feet were moving but the scenery didn’t change. Gulls flapped at Hamish when he ran in looping arcs around them. He was bound to be frustrated in his corgi heart, no one told the gulls that they were meant to be herded. Miss Tibbit sniffed a hermit crab carcass all over, she’ll know that carcass when she meets it again. I took deep breaths of the one hundred percent humid, salt air. It made the back of my neck tingle and I felt the positive energy to my toes. The Buffalo winter soot clogging my lungs eased a bit. My hair grew and grew into a witchy curling mass that reeked of ocean.

Hamish sampled a tide pool. “Hack,” he said and looked at me. “You can’t drink the ocean,” I told him. “Haaaack,” he said. Miss Tibbit tip-toed on hind legs to see the giant yellow claw truck hauling metal drain tubes around on the beach. She barked at it. “Monster!” she yelled and hopped up and down. “Monster!” Hamish didn’t see what the fuss was all about.

We clambered back into the truck and the dogs fought for prime positioning. Too bad they couldn’t decide which was prime position: window or shoved up against me. They aren’t used to riding up front on a bench seat – were we in a car or on the sofa? Time to rest or time to sniff? Confusing. Miss Tibbit ended up sitting next to me like a person without personal boundaries – pressed tight against my side and watching the road with me. I could feel her tilting her head left and right as I did to check for traffic at stop signs.

Starving and thirsty, and not sure if these were my problems or the dogs were using mind control on me, I hit a Wawa convenience store for hot dogs and something to drink. My hot dog had ketchup and mustard, Hamish and Miss Tibbit shared a plain one, minus the roll. I poured water into the empty container. Hamish appreciated getting that nasty ocean taste out of his mouth. Miss Tibbit liked drinking hot dog flavored water. “The best water ever,” I could tell she was thinking.

We drove home, ocean-blown, bellies full, content. Windshield wipers flapping against the pouring rain, dog eyes drooping heavily in the warmth of the truck.