Rover's thoughts - bark!

It's my turn to write now! And I really don't bark much - talking like a human works much better. At least people understand what I am saying if I use their language.

I tried to help Denise by keeping an eye out for photo opportunities, but the haze and quiet ocean kept our photo count much lower than usual.

It was really hot too - Denise's face was just caked with the white crust of dried sweat by the time that we finished our ride each day. We went through a lot of Gatorade on this trip, the strawberry kiwi flavor. I like that one. Oh, and I have to admit I wasn't happy when Denise told me that we weren't going to be carrying any chocolate with us because she thought that it would melt. I think she's probably right; she did bring some CLIF bars containing chocolate chips. Wow, they tasted good - but the whole bar was kind of melty. If she had listened to me and brought real chocolate, I think it would have been a mess. It would have tasted good though. The energy bars worked during our ride, and the hotel very nicely put out a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that answered my chocolate craving.

Let's see, what else happened on our ride? The mute swans didn't want to pose, but the sea gulls always do, so we did get some bird pictures. I'm afraid that Denise is thinking about getting a bigger lens for her camera so that we can make the birds come a little closer to us. I ride in the rack trunk along with the big camera, and while adding another lens to that space will take away some of my room to wander, I think that I will still be comfortable riding there. I'll still be happy riding there, as long as I have easy access to the food AND the cameras. After all, I need to be able to take some pictures while we are rolling down the road. (Besides, she'll probably take a long time to make a decision on a big lens, won't she?)

That road along the coast is very popular with cyclists. There were a lot of people out on bikes. And on our way home we saw a couple of groups that looked like club (or team) rides. One group of cyclists was bad from a standpoint of sharing the road, and one was really good. It just goes to show that it really is possible to follow the rules of the road and still share the road. The New Hampshire vehicle code allows cyclists to ride two abreast. The "not nice" group was coming toward us, riding two abreast. And they were not paying attention to the other traffic on the road. They were moving pretty quickly, but not as fast as the cars behind them. There was quite a line of stalled traffic. (Oh, and the road that we were on was pretty narrow, not wide enough for a car to swing out and pass this two-abreast group of cyclists without taking the entire oncoming lane.) The other group was heading in the same direction that we were. They let us know that they were passing, and quickly pulled in front of Denise & I, riding two abreast. Then one of them called "car back", and the group quickly merged into a single line to let the car pass before doubling up again. Nice. That just goes to show that it really is possible to share the road nicely.

Oh, I know, I shouldn't care about this stuff. But Denise is always conscious of taking enough of the road to be safe, but not so much to be in the way of others for a long chunk of time.

OK, I'm done with my somewhat political statement. Back to our trip...

Let's see, what did I like about this trip? I went rock climbing for the very first time, scaling a couple of towers along the rocky shore just past North Hampton Beach. Yes, they were human-made structures, but very cool. And I found it interesting that we didn't even notice them on our trip home; I believe that they were still there.

I thought Denise should have bought that blue fish chair, but we weren't using the trailer on this trip so it would have been really hard to get it home. (And we really don't need any furniture...)

And the wind? Don't tell Denise that I stuck my head out for a while on our journey to the west; I just love the feeling of the wind in my ears!

I wonder where we're going to wander later this year... Denise has been talking about taking a trip in late August or early September, but she hasn't told me where. I don't think she's decided yet. Humans sometimes seem to take a really long time to make decisions, don't they?

--- Rover, happily (restlessly?) waiting for our next adventure!