The Dog Days of Summer *People Notes*

The summer winds down - here is the past few weeks in review:

* We were told that Venice Beach was a fun place to check out. Yes indeed - it was! And I plan on going back and checking it out some more! Truly a California experience.




* Hollywood is only a couple of miles from our apartment. Apparently it is someplace that we are supposed to check out so we did a quick 'drive by' one afternoon. Then Paul jogged to Hollywood Blvd and the 'walk of fame' on one of his morning runs. What a strange thing to do - run all over those stars.



*There were fires. Big fires. You probably heard about them because it was all over the news for days and days and days. They are still burning, but thankfully heading away from the city. This is what the fires looked like from our apartment on days 2 and 4:




* Labor Day weekend provided a great opportunity for a road trip out of the city. It took a really long time to get 'out of the city', and even longer to get to another city. LA to Sacramento is looked as as a 'weekend trip' in California - anywhere else it would be a multi-state adventure. Thankfully we have the nicest, most accommodating, welcoming and gracious people to visit - thanks Bill & Tricia! So much fun - worth every mile and then some



* We took the scenic route back to LA including both Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, as well as San Andreas (we were hoping for an earthquake!) and Selma - the raisin capital of the world (I guess that is important?). It was fun, and at times disturbingly quiet after being in the city for a while. The air smelled good and the open spaces were much appreciated.




* The new Jay Leno Show began this week and we were in the audience for the taping of the second show. Hilarious. Loved it.


* Erik (the son who lives in Manhattan) was in California on business and was able to swing a stop in LA! Interesting that two of our four boys have had business dealings in LA since we have been here. We had an awesome evening and feasted on the world's best tamales and some tasty mojitos. Booyah - can't get that in New York!


That is our California update. The weather is still spectacular, the So Cal Taco Tour '09 is still on, there is so much more to explore and we will keep you posted. Happy Trails!

The Dog Days of Summer

Some days it's hard being a dog. I have patiently been waiting for casting calls for short, blonde, brown-eyed, cuddly, adorable, 4-legged, tail-wagging actors but so far there hasn't been a single one. It can get depressing. I walk past studios and talent agencies and casting calls frequently and I have been ignored every time - even though I look in the door and give my cutest 'tilted-head-pathetically-irresistable-pet-me' look. So I decided that networking would be a good idea and I joined a dog playgroup at Canine Cabana. I hear that Paris Hilton recently had a birthday party there for her little purse puppy, or chihuahua, or whatever those little yappy things are. Honestly, I don't really care if I meet any famous people, or directors, or film-makers there or not because as it turns out it is a lot of fun and many of my neighborhood friends hang out there also. We run and play and play and run and wrestle and run. Whew - after my first day I came home so tired that I couldn't even make it to the bed and I collapsed in the hallway and slept for 14 hours!

I went on another road trip with my people to Sacramento and spent a few days with some relatives I had never met before. Great news...there were little people there!!! I LOVE little people! Danny and Morgan threw the ball, petted me and took me for walks. I even took a dip in their swimming pool. I'm not exactly sure how or why I ended up in the playpen with James - not funny - but he tasted pretty good and dropped a lot of food when he was in his highchair. I had a lot of fun there and really wanted to stay, but my people scooped me up and put me back in the car again.

We continued our road trip into Yosemite National Park. It smelled good. I went rock-hopping in the streams and wandered around the mountain trails.

I was wading in a particularly nice stream when a few ducks entered the picture. Now, I know I wasn't bred for swimming or duck hunting, but let me tell you - I went after those ducks! They were quite persistent in claiming what they believed to be their territory, and after a few chases from me, those ducks turned back and flew after me. And I ran away. How humiliating.

A short time later we came upon this crow and I wasn't about to give chase. Worried that he might have seen the failed duck hunt, I just dropped my tail and slunk past him.

Off we went to Sequioa National Park, and I gotta' say that it smelled really, really, really good!

There were no streams for swimming, but that place had the BIGGEST trees I have ever seen in my whole life. If there had been a stream I would have tried to drink as much water as I could and then see if I could possibly pee all the way around one of those tree trunks!! Geez, they were big!

That's what I have been up to recently. Oh and there is big news...I have a new girlfriend (sorry Ginny). Her name is Vivien, she is a terrier mix who lives one street over and oh, she is so much fun! But I think she has been flirting with the poodle, Charlie - seriously - who flirts with poodles?! Damn.