The Best Day Ever!

Can you believe that life got even better after my first day at the beach? Can you believe that I woke up the next morning and got to go back to the beach?

And can you believe that I was joined by friends? I had a Golden Beach Bash with eight of my Golden Retriever Instagram friends. It was the best day ever! We started gathering around 11 a.m. at Canova Beach Park, the only dog-friendly beach in Brevard County, Florida. It was a little chilly, slightly overcast, a bit drizzly, and the wind was blowing like crazy. But we didn’t care. That’s Sam on the far left, Brinkley, Carter, and Cupcake. I’m the one on the right with the super happy and totally silly grin.

The day was organized by my friend Carter’s mom. His mom is the hostess with the mostest. She made the fabulous reindeer bandanas for all of us. Isn’t Cater the most handsome boy ever? And why do I look like such a wet rat? Oh well, I didn’t care. I was at the beach . . . with friends . . . and it was the best day ever!

And if you think I was happy, just look at my humans. I would say they were in hog heaven, but it was more like dog heaven . . . Golden dog heaven. That’s my daddy kissing Carter with me hidden in the background . . .

 . . . and there’s my mommy with Carter and Harper Lee bookends. More than two weeks have passed since that day, and Mommy still has that smile on her face.

That’s my daddy handing out treats. Carter’s in the middle getting a treat; I’m on the left; and Sam is on the right. It looks like Sam was getting ready to move closer so she could be in better treat-gathering position. I just look like I’m wondering why in the world Daddy is handing out treats to others. The humans distributed a lot of treats that day . . . when they weren’t snapping photos.

Believe it or not, Mommy didn’t take that many pictures. She was having too much fun hugging all of my friends. That’s Brinkley. Brinkley looks just about as happy about hugs as I am.

It’s not a real beach party until the new girl’s face is covered with sand. Just for the record, I was the new girl.

Carter, Cupcake, and I took a quick moment to pose with our reindeer antler headbands. I’m on the left, looking for my daddy at the other end of the beach; Cupcake’s on the right, looking toward the sky in hopes that treats will fall; and Carter’s in the middle, looking handsome for the camera. Can you tell which one of us is the show dog?

The party ended around 3 p.m. with a final group photo. Actually, the party ended with many, many, many attempts to get the perfect group photo. Finally, the humans abandoned any hopes for perfection and settled for fun. Fun is what you get with nine Golden Retrievers at the beach. In the front row, from left to right, that’s Riley, Sam, Cupcake, Brinkley, and Glory and Katie from Lakewood Golden Retrievers. I’m in the back row with Carter in the middle and Luna on the right (Luna and Riley are sister and brother, but they have different human families).

I had driven 760 miles across the Louisiana border and then through Mississippi, Alabama, and most of Florida. (Technically, I was chauffeured, but you know what I mean.) I had enjoyed a magical day in Melbourne, Florida. I put my toes in the sand and frolicked in the surf for the first time in my life. And then I got to spend a day at the beach with eight of the very best Golden Instagram friends ever. The next day, my friend Carter’s mom had a Christmas photo shoot planned for me (you’ll have to wait to see those photos). Then I would hop into the car and drive with my humans to Tampa for one night before heading back to Baton Rouge. But that night, after a wonderful day at the beach, I put my little head down, drifted off to la-la land, and had sweet dreams of my fabulous day . . . the best day ever!