Not so, today. So we didn't stay long, and instead went to Pablo's park, which has finally dried out enough that I didn't come home with mud caked all the way to my ankles. We met 5 dogs there, and Bandit jumped on two of them, was indifferent to two others, and made friends with the smallest of them all, along with its little kids.
No turtles today, but plenty of tiny frogs. None of which stayed still long enuf for me to get pics.
Path in Pablo's park:
It's peaceful, when there aren't kids on bikes blasting thru.
On Friday last week, we also had a bad day at the dog park, so we left after a very short time, and took a later trip out to Hartshorne Woods, which is at the top (and bottom, technically) of a large promontory that over looks the shore, and has an old gun battery at the top (18 ft canons, they're impressive, and could apparently shoot an awfully long distance). We started at the top, and went about halfway down, mainly because of my lack of confidence in being able to get back up the hill (this varies from day to day, depending on how I feel, and the temp/humidity combo). We (mostly) used the paved walkways, which does make it somewhat easier (maybe). Until you get down to the river, tho, there's not much scenery other than trees, but just as you're leaving the battery, you get this view down the hill, overlooking the ocean.
Clouds, sky, ocean, in that order, top to bottom. It's WAY far down. Bandit isn't into getting wet, so it's just as well we didn't go all the way down. And all you get at the bottom is river, the ocean is on the other side of the Sea Bright/Sandy Hook peninsula.
We also one day did the other side of Thompson Park, away from the mass of people, and it was nice. We even were surprised by a deer, which with Bandit is one of those shoulder-popping experiences, as he launched himself after the deer, nevermind being on leash. At least he went forward this time, so he didn't spin and land me on my tush.
Yes, all the parks kind of look alike, but they each have different smells, which is, I think, why we go to more than one.
On my wish list, I want to start Hartshorne at the bottom, where the trails climb up to the battery. Tried it once with Pablo, and it quickly got too steep for him. Then, when we tried to go down that side from the top, he got scared of the woods. That's the side away from the water. It's a big park.
That's probably the best thing about Monmouth County. They've got good parks.
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