An Evening Jaunt at Dog Beach, Nahant

Dictionary.com defines the word Jaunt as, "A short journey, especially one taken for pleasure".

I can think of no better word to describe our trip to Nahant today.  Just a 30-minute drive north and out onto an island is a wonderful dog-friendly beach, one of the few in the area.  We were there at low tide and the sand stretched out forever.  Lola and her friend Chelsea wasted no time running out towards the water.

Lola and Chelsea, off in the distance

It took quite a while to walk out to where the water was more than ankle deep.  Along the way we waded around empty shells, hermit crabs and spitting clams, and almost stepped right onto a crab hiding in the grasses.  Of course, the dogs were running to fast to notice.

It's amazing how fast Lola STILL is even when running through the water!

Once we got out to deeper waters, it was ALL about the ball.  Lola and Chelsea were well-matched competitors and took turns having the ball and chasing each other.  Life was absolutely perfect.

I think for the first time ever Lola actually looked fairly graceful.  She was bounding and leaping through the water with such ease.  She really does belong there!

Action shot: Catching the ball in mid-air.

I really love this picture!

The sun was beautiful shining down on the water.  It made for a gorgeous view of the Boston Skyline.  My cell phone camera was not quite adequate enough to capture it though. However, I am often surprised at how nice of pictures I can take on it.  Today's shoot was interesting because, in the sunlight on the beach, I could not really see the pictures as I was taking them.  It was like the "old days" of actually having to wait until you developed the film to see the pictures when I loaded them onto my computer.  It was a nice surprise to see that they all turned out so well!  

 Waiting for the ball to be thrown

At first it was just Lola and Chelsea, but soon we were joined by Maisy and Lilly.  Maisy was quick to join in on the fun, and promptly took her turn with the ball.  Sweet Lilly had never been to the water before and was having a blast figuring it all out.  She really didn't understand why her face kept getting so wet!  She was adorable, but never managed to make it into any of the pictures.  Sad.

Lola chasing Maisy 

Every so often, Lola would stop playing just long enough to remember that I was there too, and would come give me a tail wag and let me throw the ball for her.  Thanks Lola, so sweet of you. 

Stopping by for a quick hello

At this point, you could definitely tell they were getting tired, but neither one of them ever wanted to stop chasing that ball.  There was just too much fun to be had!  Unfortunately, the day was coming to an end, and so was our time in Nahant.

Lola investigates a crab

As the tide started to make its way back in, we started to make our way back to shore.  My feet were much more sensitive to the broken pieces of shell after standing in the salt water for a couple of hours, but I took the opportunity to find some decent shells to bring to class and show the kids.  During the walk back to shore, we discovered another crab in a little water hole.  Mike helped  it out and both Lola and Chelsea managed to examine it without getting pinched!  I was a little nervous though . . .

This picture makes me happy.

At the end of the day, there is just something so perfect about dogs playing on the beach in the setting sun.  It truly is a shame that Lola and I didn't discover this place sooner.  We would have been here every weekend!  A very big thank you to Mike and Chelsea for bringing us along on this adventure! 

 ~Crystal