We finally made it to the
Greyhounds Reach the Beach event in Dewey Beach, DE. This was the 14th year! It was greytastic!!! Everyone who has a hound should attend this event at least once. We met people from all over. Just at our hotel alone, there were two couples from ME. Yes, Mitch had to go say hi and find out where in Maine etc. and as it turns out, they make the coats we bought for our hounds! Anything made in ME for warmth, has got to be warm!! If you would like to check out their store, here's the
link. They also shared a neat story about one of their 6 hounds. They got one of their hounds as a puppy. He was born in FL at the exact time that a fireworks finale was occurring in Bridgton, ME. So they decided to name him Finale. Mitch got a kick out of that story and was super excited to see ME families with their greyhounds! I only wish he would have been this excited last year while we were in ME and I was begging him to take me to Augusta, ME for a day to help at the rescue kennel. =) There were also families from NJ, FL, MD, CT, NM, MA and VA at our hotel. One guy from VA that we met just moved to VA from TX and he identified us as VAGA adopters because of the hounds ID collars. That was pretty neat. He attended one of the VAGA events in Fredericksburg recently. He has two beautiful male hounds.
We spent our time by greeting greys and people, shopping, walks on the beach, devouring yummy seafood, sitting at a bar enjoying a beer with our hounds, more shopping, greeting greys, more walks on the beach, more seafood, and so on. We had a BLAST!! And are already making plans to return next year!
We had a very relaxing drive up. It only took us 4 1/2 hours to get to Dewey. Our route included going on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. Mitch and I had both never been. It is crazy....I have lived here all my life and had never been on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
Below is Booyah enjoying the scenery that the bridge gave us.
Maggie and Cueball enjoying the trip.
The kids settled in for a nap after the long ride. I don't know why we bother bringing dog beds along. I knew this was going to happen. Luckily the boys did give us the beds for the night. Miss queen was not going to sleep on the dog bed on the floor, so she slept on the bed.
But, soon they were up and ready to go.
We saw this big beautiful white male while walking on the beach. We stopped and talked to his dad. We just love those big males! And he was large. His racing weight was 82lbs.
We even saw a greyhound puppy. She was 100% full of energy and wanted to play with everyone! We stopped and talked to her mom. As it turns out, she was one of a litter of pups that they did not know for certain who the father was, so the litter went to a rescue kennel and this nice couple adopted her. I hope the other pups got adopted too! Good luck! The puppies are oh so cute, but too much energy for us.
And, Mitch finally got to see a Whippet!! We actually saw quite a few, but he took a picture of this one. He was ga-ga over the whippets. =)
This hound was also very playful and very interested in the fisherman.
People and the greyhounds who own them. It was awesome to see so many hounds!!!
Mitch and the kids taking a nice stroll.
I tried to coax the kids into the water, but Mags and Booyah were a little freaked out by the waves.
Cueball didn't seem to mind though. He is so easy going!!
It was a tad windy, but this is a great picture of the kids.
Below is the future Ridlon Beach House. We want the third level, notice the dual balcony. The spiral stair case leading up to the top balcony is way cool!!
Hey...if you're going to dream.....dream big!
All the activities, long walks, shopping and greeting hounds wore our kids out! They slept the entire way home and slept again when we got home.
All in all Dewey was a blast! I am so glad we were able to make it this year and we looking forward to going again next year!
I love pajamas, especially nice warm fleece pajamas. I don't sleep well at night unless I am warm from head to toe. And, since Mitch insists we keep the temp in the house at 68 and the ceiling fan on in the bedroom when we sleep...oh...and not to mention, my head is directly under the vent, pajamas come in handy in keeping warm. Gotta love that good ole electric heat, nothing like a cold blast of air on your head while you sleep. I also want the kids to be warm too. For the last two years we have been getting up in the middle of the night and covering the kids up with small fleece blankets. Not all that practical for either of us. I had been looking at PJ's online for a while. I don't really like the ones without legs. They don't look like PJ's to me, more like coats. And heck...I can make a hounds coat myself. I wanted something that I knew I couldn't make. Justifies spending the money. =) And, the two legged ones were okay looking, but if I was going to buy them a pair, why not get exactly what I want? And, what better place to buy them than Dewey Beach. 
I made all three try a pair on at the Greyhound Love vending spot. Yes, they were not amused with me at all, but that's okay...they got over it quickly. The 4 legged ones are darling!! We are amazed at how warm they keep the kids. When they wake up in the morning even their little ears are warm. SCORE!!! And, what do the kids think? Maggie loves her PJ's and I have to fight with her in the morning to get them off. Cueball is so easy going, you can put anything on him...he doesn't care. Booyah, I have to fight with to put them on and take them off. He has this thing with his feet. He does not like them touched at all. Gets all growly and threatens to nip. Makes clipping his nails a little tricky, but I manage to get it done once a week. 
Once his PJ's are on he is fine....well except, he pees on them. Kinda defeats the purpose of being able to let them out in the morning without putting coats when it is cold if I have to take his PJ's off before I let him out. And, it has been quite chilly here in the mornings this past week. So I just end up washing them everyday. I guess I should buy him a two legged pair. Christmas is right around the corner and now that I know what size he wears, online shopping should be easy.
