Sunny Dog Day on the Carlsbad Sand

Drove down to the dog beach in Carlsbad for the afternoon and half the county had the same idea — dogs in every direction, off leash and soaked, from the waterline all the way back to the bluffs.

The tide was low enough that the flat reef rocks were out of the water, so we spent most of our time out there instead of on the sand. The little dog picked his way across the pools like he wasn't sure the ground could be trusted, and the puppy stood in the foam in his harness watching the water pull past his feet, more interested than brave. The kid climbed around on the rocks with them while the waves broke just past the edge.

On the way out we stopped at the sandstone at the base of the cliffs, and the two of them wedged themselves into a gap in the rock with the little dog tucked in, tongue out, still dripping. Getting back down took longer than getting up.