MaggieMoose: Carmel Tails of Come To Me

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

Sweet and clear as can be:

"Come to me, here am I, come to me."

If you try, you'll find me

Where the sky meets the sea.

"Here am I your special island

Come to me, Come to me."

Rodgers & Hammerstein

  When I went back to the Carmel beach I was transported back to memories of songs from South Pacific. Carmel's beaches have a beckoning feeling to them. The sand whispered Come to me.... like in the song Bali Hai. Dogs are welcome. The same magnificent tree that use to shelter my brother & I as kids was still there. We devoured many slices of salami with fresh deli cheese on french bread here. On this day it sheltered another family from the sun's bright rays while they picnicked. It'd be a good shade tree for Maggie where she could slurp up all the fresh water she wanted. 

Parts of the Carmel beach have more foot traffic then other parts. Everyone I witnessed was having a great time at the beach. Dogs wanting to befriend other dogs...

There are parts of the Carmel beach that are for the ones wanting a little less humanity or four pawed traffic. Either way, the sands of the beaches here have a special feeling to them you remember after you're gone. It's a special island of magic where the sky meets the sea. Maggie is going to love the Carmel beaches. She has her ball packed. The only question Maggie had was does driftwood taste like salty twigs?

CLICK YOUTUBE: South Pacific 1958 Bali Hai

MaggieMoose: Carmel Tails & A Slice Of Heaven

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is really a friend."

Plautus

  In Carmel, we entered the Church of the Wayfarer through their meditation garden. This is really called The Master's Garden. My friend wanted to come here to spend some quite time with her mom. Her mom's commemorative brick is laid in their garden court area. Everyone is welcome here, including people's best friend the dog. I told Maggie I'd bring her here next Carmel visit. 

Outside the church building was a copy of the original Thomas Kincade painting. He was the artist who was well known for his cozy cottage paintings. There is also a Thomas Kincade gallery in Carmel. 

After spending some reflective time in the garden we ventured inside the church. Unknown to us, heaven awaited. Beautiful music was played in rehearsal time. We felt like we had a private concert just for us. Maggie would've loved the soothing & ethereal music we heard.

CLICK YOUTUBE: MaggieMooseTracks: Music for the Soul to hear a slice of heaven.

My friend, like me, spent many earlier years in Carmel with loved ones. Her mother's brick laid in the sunshine on our beautiful Carmel day. I dedicate this Carmel tail to my friend and her mom.

My dad's favorite plant; hens & chickens also flourished in the meditation garden. I know he'd like these prize sized beauties in our garden of yesteryear. So with that I dedicate this Carmel tail to him too. 

It's a dog's life in Carmel. Dogs can share in your day no matter where you go, even to walk down memory lane. Maggie, my best friend is better than heaven itself while I'm on earth. Off to the beach.....

MaggieMoose: Carmel Tails of A Dog's World

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."

Henry David Thoreau

  We were at Carmel by the Sea checking out this quaint community for its 'dog friendly' nature. For me personally, it brought back a ton of childhood memories of playing on these beaches with family and friends. But, back to my current mission of 'would I take Maggie here'.... I could make a quilt of all the dog photos I took that day. Like Monterey, the shops in town have bowls of water outside their doors for dogs walking by needing a drink. Boy, Maggie likes to drink a lot of water. We might need to carry some extra water to refill their bowls. We saw a wonderful sign in the window of a dog and a frisbee. The beaches of Carmel are the perfect frisbee throwing turf.

We walked in the Carmel Forecast shop where there are a plethora of souvenirs. It is the perfect tourist store. I contributed to the economy of Carmel. I bought beautiful coffee cups, a refrigerator magnet and a hot pink fleece jacket that says 'Carmel'. I love being a tourist. I know Maggie's going to love the hot pink fleece. In this shop we met Skippy and his owners.

Skippy is a 14 year old dog cruising in style with his stroller. He had everything he needed in this RV on wheels. GO SENIORS! Skippy is proof there's no reason to keep your Senior dog at home. Maggie liked that Skippy represented the more mature group of dogs. One look in Skippy's eyes and Maggie rolled over on the ground-in love. Skippy's a role model for the younger set, because he's going confidently in the direction of his dreams. Skippy's living the life he imagined; a life of forever going out and about with his faithful human family.

MaggieMoose: Monterey Tails-On The Water

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Being on a boat that's moving through the water, it's so clear. Everything falls into place in terms of what's important and what's not."

James Taylor

  I went with a friend to Monterey and Carmel last Saturday. I wanted to see how dog friendly these communities were for pet owners. I told Maggie if things work out then we'll go back together. Boy, did I have some tails to tell Maggie when I came home. Maggie was all ears.

It started with  dogs on the water. There were plenty of dogs on the land too, but the dogs on the water really had a bird's eye view of living the life. A fun Saturday for all critters with tails. I told Maggie about the Border Collie who led the women on their kayak sojourn as they kept circling around the inlet. 

Then there was a captain of his own sea craft zipping along with his two first mates guiding him through the harbor. These two mates were also sneaking looks at the harbor seals barking. I think one of Maggie would've fit in this vessel.

The day's dog tails on the water were topped off with the fishing boat the Chubasco coming in to dock after its trip to sea. The dog on the Chubasco boat from Randy's Fishing Trips barked incessantly at all the harbor seals while coming into port. 

From afar the dog looked like Maggie's friend Roxy, The Traveling Dog. The dog got his reward, because every time he barked the harbor seals jumped off their crowded landing into the water. Maggie and I think these dogs have their priorities in order. Everything is crystal clear and falls into place as these dogs travel across the water on the Monterey Bay with their humans beside them.