Happy, happy summer Everyone!!!! I hope you all have had a great start to your summer season so far! I have certainly had a very fun start to mine and I am really excited to see what the rest of the summer will bring! I got to visit the New Jersey shore a few weeks ago and it was so much fun. My Mom, Dad and I really had a really great time! The weather was pretty nice already for the beginning of June and even though the water was super cold, the sunshine made it plenty warm enough for me that I didn't mind getting into the water at all. It's a little bit of a drive (it usually takes us about 2.5 hours with ligher to medium shore traffic) but we always go to Island Beach State Park near Seaside Heights. Although dogs are not allowed on the bathing beaches, leashed dogs are allowed on all of the fishing beaches further out onto the peninsula. It's a very popular place for people with dogs as I was able to meet and great with quite a few other dogs throughout the day. Mom and Dad played a lot of frisbee with me too which was so much fun in the sand, although I will admit running around in all that sand made me tired a whole lot faster than I usually get when I'm playing frisbee! Mom and Dad made sure to bring me plenty of water too because all of that running around sure made me thirsty!
The other exciting place I got to go is Pulaski, NY which is a village in Oswego County. The village sits right between the eastern shore of Lake Ontario and the Tug Hill region, which are both beautiful to see. It took us a little over four hours to get there but the drive was not so bad given that the trip took us through such a pretty area with lots of rolling fields on both sides of the highway. Lake Ontario was quite impressive and I was very excited that Mom and Dad let me swim out into the water a lot further than they will when I'm at the Jersey shore. Mom especially is such a worry wart and she thinks the ocean water is just a bit too rough for me so I'm mostly only allowed to play in the surf that rolls up onto the beach. I was able to swim out to where I couldn't touch when I was at Lake Ontario. It was so very cool to swim in such a huge lake and I would trek out into the waves to retrieve my ball and my other water toys that Dad would throw out into the lake for me again and again. Mom said I looked super tiny out there in the water all by myself (Dad went out into the water some but both he and Mom were not tough enough to brace the cold like I was!).
This area on Lake Ontario is very nice for any of you who are looking for a new place to explore but don't want to travel too far. We weren't there long enough to explore too much but Watertown, NY was very close to where we stayed and is a great little town with shops and places to eat. The sun sets on the lake and we got to see one of the most spectacular sunsets ever while we were up there!
Another very exciting thing going on in our house, especially for Mom as it's one of her very favorite things about living in Sussex County, is that the strawberries have been in season at Sussex County Strawberry Farm. The farm is right on Route 206 in Andover and they just have the best berries ever. They also have a really great selection of flowers and outdoor furniture. We've been making many, many trips to the farm the past few weeks so that Mom and Dad stay stocked up on fresh strawberries and Mom can get all of her planters filled up with all sorts of pretty flowers.
Well that's all I have to report for June and I can't wait to report my July adventures to all of you! Until then, Everyone stay safe and continue to have the very happiest summer ever!!!
With lots of love and puppy kisses,
Piper the Rescue Mutt
