Cheyenne Visits Home

Cheyenne is one happy dog! It has been just about two weeks since Conchscooter dropped her off at Camp Sugarloaf for a three week stay while he and his wife visit family and friends in his home region of central Italy, and Cheyenne has settled comfortably into our routine. Much different from her regular rituals, Cheyenne lounges and naps most of the day, enjoying occasional snack breaks between meals and before settling in for the night. Walking has all but ceased due to the heat during the day and the swarms of mosquitoes at dawn and dusk, so we manage to get several potty and exercise breaks in the yard around the house.


Occasionally, we'll schedule an excursion, a field-trip of sorts. This particular afternoon, the dogs hopped into the camp bus with us to make the ten mile journey up US-1 to Ramrod Key to visit Cheyenne's home. Zuzu and Tootie settled into their spots, Zuzu on the seat and Tootie on the bed. Cheyenne was happy to get a car ride.

When we arrived, the girls were anxious to get off the bus and have a look around. Cheyenne sniffed around downstairs, checking out the car left behind, seemingly not to notice the absence of her car or the two-wheelers. 

Back in familiar territory, she looked and stumped around, perhaps bewildered by the absence of Conchscooter and Layne yet comforted by our presence.

The gang inspected the lonely dock lacking the skiff, the ladder raised and secured.

A gentle stroll on the deck, past the garden and the covered grill towards the front of the house.

Pausing next to the empty lounge chair to look out over the salt marsh. Perhaps this is where Cheyenne would listen for Conchscooter's motorcycle coming down the lane early in the morning, or where they would sit and enjoy another glorious Keys sunset.

Once inside the quite and empty house, Cheyenne plopped down on the floor where her bed usually lies. The dogs would relax here with Wayne while I made a grocery run to Winn-Dixie on Big Pine Key.

Once back from the store with treats in hand, it was time to close up the house, get back on the bus, and head back to Camp Sugarloaf. Cheyenne was eager to go, wanting to climb in first, but she politely let Zuzu and Tootie pass in front. Her ruse, of course, was to be closer to Wayne with the treats once in the car, and it worked!

Cheyenne is all heart never tiring of her company. She is a lovable labrador, tail always in motion, most content being by your side. It's true, she is one happy dog, but Cheyenne will be overjoyed in a week when her faithful explorer and companion returns by her side.

A Day at the Beach

Marvin Key was the desired destination on the Friday morning, the last day of vacation for my sister Judy, niece Katie, and her fiancé Kyle, but the tides had covered the sand bar washing away any possibility of relaxing in our beach chairs under the blue sky filled with summer clouds. "Snipe Point?" I suggested and it was agreed. The high tide made it easy to boat in close to the beach, unload the chairs, umbrella, coolers, snorkels, masks, towels, and dogs. Below, you can see Wayne (the white spot in the water) guiding Zuzu and Tootie towards the beach as I backed out anchored the boat in deeper water.

The boat appears to be further out than it actually was, but it still was a slow walk through waist to knee deep water back to the beach.

Wayne had Tootie's attention as he scanned the beach for shells, or maybe a tasty tidbit for her.

Like anxious children eager to play on the beach, they looked to Wayne, the master of ceremonies and dispenser of treats. We think the girls see a gleaming Roach Coach when they look at Wayne who is seemingly always ready to hand out copious amounts of boiled gizzards and chicken bits to his devoted vizslas.

There wasn't too much activity, simply a quiet morning at Snipe Point. There was another dog, Chrissy, just down the beach from us, and a few more dogs even further down and around the bend. Zuzu and Tootie set off to greet them and to see if they had any delectable handouts. No luck, so they returned to our "camp"knowing lunch would soon be served.

Tootie loves the boat, loves running through the water, and loves exploring these mangrove islands in the back country. She doesn't love, however, lying on wet sand. She has her standards. The incoming tide made it even more difficult to find a comfortable dry spot for as soon as she lay down, the waves crept closer and eventually surrounded her.

Wayne decided to move his beach chair into the water near a piece of driftwood. The perfect spot to prop his feet up and take a nap.

Tootie eyed an opportunity to lie on something high, soft, and dry. Wayne's stomach.

Now, Tootie is not a petite girl. We are trying to help her shed some pounds. She's no longer 60lbs, but she's still north of 50.

Around and around she went trying to find the most comfortable spot atop Wayne. Zuzu looked on thinking either Tootie had lost her mind or she was very resourceful.

Ah...that's it...she found her own private island.

She just had to be sure this perch was stable before curling up for a nap.

The swells were still coming in. The only dry spot is further up on Wayne's chest.

That's were she wanted to lie down. Zuzu, however, was quite happy standing in the water.

There, the princess has found her spot. Too bad Wayne didn't bring any treats with him. I'm sure Tootie would have liked a gizzard or two while resting on top of Wayne.

I remained on dry land, and eventually Zuzu and Tootie joined me under the tree.

They enjoyed their relaxing afternoon on the beach at Snipe Point.

Visit from Aunt Judy, Katie and Kyle

Zuzu and Tootie's aunt Judy, Katie, and Kyle came down for a visit. It was Kyle's first visit to the Keys, and deep sea fishing was on the top of his to do list. Katie's adventures involved dry land. Shopping along Duval Street. The soon to be newlyweds spent time exploring Key West and it's neighboring islands, while Judy relaxed on the lanai with her iced tea and Kindle, happy to be back in Florida.

One afternoon, we sent Katie and Kyle off in the kayak and we took Judy into Key West for some sightseeing. It was the last day of June, the last day some attractions are free for locals. Having already done the Conch Tour Train, Aquarium, and Ship Wreck Museum, it was time to round out the list with Truman's Little White House.

It was a fantastic and very informative tour. Photos of the interior are prohibited, but the house feels like you stepped back into the Truman era. A must see if you haven't been.

After the tour, we walked lower Duval and ended up at Amigos, a fairly new mexican restaurant on Green St. across from Captain Tony's Saloon. The motto of Amigos, "Once you've ruined your reputation you can live quite freely," a fitting motto for this town. Their claim to fame are their square tacos on tortillas handmade daily. 

You can check out their website at http://www.amigoskeywest.com/amigos/

Judy quenched her thirst with a well made margarita on the rocks with a salted rim. Wayne and I were more conservative with our ice waters. We enjoyed our perch at the counter watching the tourists pass by while we nosed on our taco chips, very yummy salsa, guacamole, a chicken taco, and a shrimp taco.

On their last day, we planned a trip to Marvin Key for some swimming and relaxing on the sand flat. Tides were higher than anticipated, completely inundating the sand flat, so we set a course for neighboring Snipe Point.

 We dropped off the passengers, dogs, and gear before pulling the boat to deeper waters for anchorage.

Wayne and Tootie enjoying a stroll in the warm water along the beach.

Chairs and umbrella are set. Let the relaxing begin.

Judy, Katie, and Kyle snorkeled the shallow waters searching for shells,

while we relaxed in our beach chairs under the shade of a tree.

Zuzu and Tootie hung out with us at first, but then set off to explore the beach. When we arrived, we were the only one's on the point, but within a half hour, another boat arrived followed by another, and new four legged friends were running along the beach. Zuzu and Tootie quickly became friends with Chrissy, Weasel, and two other dogs.

It was a very nice, lazy, relaxing morning that bled into the afternoon.

Zuzu and Tootie enjoyed the beach and laying in the sun.

Judy never left the water. She said, at first, that she couldn't do this everyday. It would get too monotonous. But then she quickly changed her mind and decided that yes, she could do this everyday.

So could we.

Stay tuned for more from Snipe Point.

Camp Sugarloaf for Cheyenne

Sunday, July 3, 2011

9:30AM

Layne turns down the lane towards the driveway gate in the Fusion, Michael not far behind looking very Italian on Layne's cream colored Vespa. They are leaving for a three week holiday in Italy, leaving their beloved behind with us. Summer camp, Wayne called it for Cheyenne.

Michael gives his pooh bear a loving farewell hug, parks the Vespa alongside his Triumph in the garage, and brushes away a tear (a farcical embellishment of Michael rubbing his eye) as they get ready make the 120 mile drive north to the Miami International Airport.

Zuzu, Tootie, Cheyenne, Wayne and I wave to our traveling friends...
"ARRIVEDERCI!"
"BUON VIAGGIO!"

And we walk quietly up the walk towards the front stairs, Cheyenne checking back on more time to see if it's true, they really did leave...

The afternoon was spent relaxing and napping.

Then it was 6:00PM, time for dinner! Wayne assembled the girls' bowls, filling them with handfuls of dry kibble, cooked brown rice, and chicken gizzards.

After dinner, Cheyenne and I walked down the bike path along Sugarloaf Blvd where she checked out the new smells and left her mark around a few coco palms and scaevola bushes. Once back at the house, we all settled on and around the sofa for the 1959 doomsday film, "On The Beach."

July 4, 2011
Independence Day

Cheyenne slept soundly on her bed last night until 7:15. No motorcycle arriving at 6:15, no walk around the Ramrod Pool, just a brief stump around the house before breakfast, more kibble, gizzards, and rice. After breakfast, Cheyenne settled on the lanai with us as we read the paper and downed our first cup of coffee...then we all headed down the bike path for a morning walk before the storms rolled in.

And the storms rolled in with thunderous fanfare. Zuzu and Tootie nervously paced around the house searching for a small hiding spot, ending up in the closet while Cheyenne dozed in the middle of the floor.

We are only a week or two into our rainy season, and a tropical wave is poised to the north of Puerto Rico possibly drifting our way bringing with it round after round of rain and thunder. Maybe Zuzu and Tootie will get accustomed to the thunder.

They could always look to Cheyenne for guidance. She knows how to pass the time during a thunderstorm.