It’s grey and rainy in Seattle, so we decided to pack up the dog and our most challenging cat (why torture our housesitter?) and head north to San Juan Island and Friday Harbor. It’s grey and rainy there too, but at least the view is different. Chloe loves going to Friday Harbor. I don’t know if she secretly yearns for a life on the rolling sea, or if she just likes chasing gulls instead of crows, but she’s always thrilled to death when she realizes where we are.

In the winter, Friday Harbor is a tranquil, low-key place. Some of the restaurants close for the season, but some are still open and so are the shops. The scenery, of course, never closes. The fact is, though, that there are a lot more dog-friendly things to tell you about in the summer season, so I’ll wait to publish my big post about bringing a dog to San Juan Island until the spring. Right now, the main dog-related activities we’re engaging in are walking on the beach at South Beach (vast, pebbly/sandy, strewn with driftwood) and going to the dog park. We could also take any number of walks/hikes around the island, and there are some fun geo-caches, but we’ve got a fire going and we’re lazy.

Chloe loves the Friday Harbor dog park. LOVES it. It is terrific, and they’ve recently addressed the only flaw I mentioned in an earlier post (someone has fastened a piece of plywood over the gap in the gate between the small dog area and the big dog area, so now even a motivated small dog can’t get into the big dog area). It’s pretty muddy right now, though. Here’s what Chloe looks like at the end of a long Chuckit! session — now that’s a happy dog.