I’m on vacation this week. Not the long planned Grand Teton getaway. Nope, I’m on the plan B vacation. My son and I are playing disc golf at each of the top Southern California courses each morning. Each afternoon we hit a museum, except for today. Today we improvised and hit a dog park in Huntington Beach instead. I was only able to take one picture – the little cutie pictured above. She is not my dog. I have a godlike Minpin named Thor.
Today was Thor’s first visit to a dog park. He behaved admirably with only one small fight against a much larger but aggressive German Shepard. After an hour or so, Thor calmly walked to the exit to with me. It was completely out of character. I think a social hour was good for him. It was not as good for me.
Apparently, the dog park is a very social place. There was a group of middle-aged housewives gathered under a tree, a few younger women with young children, and an older professional dog sitter. The social structure was firmly established. I was the only adult male present for the first half of an hour. Nobody made eye contact with me. There were no smiles. They looked my dog over and dismissed him (he is somewhat fat, like his owner). I tried to join the conversation. I fail utterly. What do I know about chick small talk? It was awkward as hell. However, I enjoyed myself. I listened and watched the dog owners and their dogs. They were entertaining. It would have been more fun with a working camera. Many of the owners looked a lot like their dogs. It would have made for some interesting pictures.
Vacation should always be like this - fun, new, and very relaxing. Tomorrow promises to be more of the same.
Technorati Tags: Dogs, Pets, Photography, Huntington Beach
