"Do you want to go bye-bye in the car?" The question Zuzu and Tootie absolutely love to hear to which they respond with frantic tail wags, butt wiggles, and smiles. "Yes, yes we do!" And yes, Zuzu does actually smile while she dances with excitement. They just love going for rides in the car.
Zuzu is definitely a princess riding on her bed on the back seat.
The princess Vizsla gives the camera a quick pose.
During the summer months, our rides were just that, rides with no destination. But with the recent arrival of our second cold front ushering in a brisk cold north wind, our rides have a purpose. Searching for new trails up and down the lower keys. With a temperature in the mid 70s and a constant wind to keep the insects away, walking the various trails in the mangroves is much more pleasant. This particular afternoon we decided to explore an old road on the bayside of Summerland Key.
As you can see, there's not much to the trail. Encroaching and invasive non-native Brazilian Peppers (a.k.a. Florida Holly because of the red berries that appear this time of year) line the path along with some mangrove, poison wood, and other various native and non-native plants. As for the fauna, there's not much to track and chase save the occasional iguana or lizard.
So past the barricades we went and marched along the old road seeking what awaits ahead...
...Trash. Tootie found a piece of plastic fencing, and it was not the last piece of trash she'd find. There were piles of trash and debris along the road including a camper shell and the hull of a large boat, which had an inappropriate name scribbled in spray paint on its side. Not sure if the surge from Wilma pushed the debris back here or if people were avoiding the dumping fee at the Transfer Station on Cudjoe.
Near the trash pile, Zuzu and Tootie decided to hop up on some concrete blocks to better survey the area for critters. No luck, none were spotted.
The following day, we took Zuzu and Tootie with us to the Hurricane Hole, a waterfront restaurant on Stock Island near the Cow Key Channel, for happy hour with our good friends, Gary and Rosanne, who just arrived for the winter season. We thought it was time to expose Zuzu and Tootie to a different kind of adventure, one with more people and distractions, and Hurricane Hole was the perfect place. It's very dog friendly. Gary and Rosanne grabbed a table off to the side near the dock and the server had already brought out a bowl of ice water before we arrived for Zuzu and Tootie.
I asked the server if we could get a plain hamburger for the dogs while we noshed on our apps, conch fritters and fish dip, and drank our beers. She said, "We have a doggie menu. I'll bring you one." Wow, this place does know how to take care of its four legged customers! We ordered some Hurricane Nibbles and Mailman Morsels for them. Once their food arrived Zuzu and Tootie quickly forgot about the loud boat engines and the other distractions .
We had a great time with Gary and Rosanne relaxing on the dock drinking our "happy beers." And we were very happy with how well Zuzu and Tootie quickly adapted to this new experience.
They hung out behind and under the table safely near Wayne and didn't feel comfortable enough to lay down. But, we're sure they will be more confident the next time we go.
Just another new experience for Zuzu and Tootie. Hard to believe that it will be a year this Thanksgiving since they were rescued from the mill.
They have come a long, long way and continue to grow with each passing day.
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