…we’re back.

I’m glad to be home, but it sure was good to be gone. Sometimes it’s nice just to get the heck outta dodge.

Many, many spectacular photos were taken, but they’re not yet ready for public consumption. If you really, really, really wanna see ‘em, pester the the shutterbug who has ‘em all on her laptop.

There are lots of little anecdotes to be recounted, but I’ll leave you with just one.

We decided to go down to Astoria, OR, which isn’t far from Long Beach. Astoria is a quirky place. We lunched, shopped, tooks some photos. Going back into Washington, we passed a state park, Fort Columbia. We stopped to take a look at the lovely view of the river, and check out the barracks (built between 1899-1906, incidentally).

I got out of the car with the camera, and Bayou got out, too, since the sun was out and the views were so spectacular.

I walked down a short slope, peered through the viewfinder, when I heard:

“SUMI! Get back here NOW!”

I stood stock-still for a split second, thinking I was hallucinating. Then I remembered that we own a Shiba Inu. I raced back up the hill.

Bayou was herding Sumi towards me as I crested the hill. In my most concilliatory voice, I asked her to come to me, and by Dog, she did- and straightaway. Once we got her safely back into the car and I had a moment to think, I asked Bayou how she got out.

Sumi had jumped through the front passenger window, which I had rolled down to take a photo. My head, she asploded at that moment; I’d totally forgotten to roll it back up when I got out.

And so, as you can see, I forgot Cardinal Rules #2 and #3 with Shibas:

#2- Never forget a Shiba’s ingenuity
#3- If a door is closed to them, a window will work just as well

More stories to follow, of course. None of which (thankfully!) involve escaped canine and near-heart attacks.