Once we got to Houston, mommy and daddy weren’t feeling very well, so we really didn’t do that much there.  That was ok with me because it meant that they would be spending more time with me.

When we left Houston, we were going to Galveston for a week before heading to the Dream Center in Beaumont.

We stayed at another KOA in Galveston and it was super nice too.  I’m a big fan of KOA campgrounds.  They had another Kamp K-9 and they also had a nice heated pool and a heated lazy river.  I wasn’t allowed in the pool or lazy river, but I did go into Kamp K-9 a few times.  Mommy and daddy went to the pool and lazy river quite a few times.  Daddy really loves lazy rivers.  I would take a nap when they went to those things.  I like taking naps.

You know what the best part of this KOA was though?  It was only a ½ mile from the beach!  I hadn’t been to the beach since were in Long Beach, Washington and the last time that I was even in any water at all was at the Great Salt Lake in Utah!  So, when I heard that we’d be near the beach, I was super excited.

The first day that mommy and daddy went to the beach, I was so sad because they didn’t take me.  They said that they wanted to “check it out” first, but I thought that I could’ve just checked it out with them.

The next day though, there was no way that I was going to let them go to the beach without me!  As soon as they started talking about it, I jumped up and started pacing back and forth and reminding them that they said that they’d take me too.  When we started walking to the beach, I could hardly contain my excitement.  I pooped as soon as we started walking to the beach.  Sometimes I get so excited, I just have to poop.  I don’t know why, but it is what it is.

I really love going to the beach!

As we got closer, I could smell the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico.  I had already been in the Gulf of Mexico, but never in Texas.  We crossed the street and started walking down the path that went to the water and there it was!  Oh, the beauty of the beach!  It was glorious!  No matter how many times I go to the beach, I’m always in awe of it.  I guess for me, it’s like the Lee Ann Womack song when she sings, “I hope that you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.”  That’s when I feel most in awe of God and all of His creation, when I’m standing in the ocean, or in this case, the Gulf of Mexico.

Once we got down onto the beach, I didn’t waste any time getting into that water!  I was pulling daddy down to the water with me.  When that first wave crashed into me, I felt like I was in heaven.  That’s one of the best feelings in the world when that wave comes crashing in.  I was so happy in the water.  I was splashing around and smiling from ear to ear.  Then one time, I was watching daddy and turned sideways and a wave came in and knocked me over.  Daddy asked me if I was ok.  I was ok, but just a little embarrassed.  I learned my lesson though, never turn sideways when a wave is coming in.  You have to face those things head on.

Me and mommy really love the beach. It’s our happy place.

I was so happy to be back in the water.  The beach is one of my happy places.  I mean really, anywhere with mommy and daddy is my happy place, but the beach is REALLY my happy place.  I just love it there.  The beach is also mommy’s happy place.  Daddy never really liked the beach before, but since we’ve been living in the house on wheels, I think that he is really starting to like the beach too.

Later in the week, we got up really early to go down to the beach to watch the sunrise.  That’s when I think that the beach is daddy’s happy place as well.  I can tell a difference in daddy’s energy when we go to the beach to see the sunrise.  He seems to feel closer to his mommy when we go to the beach to watch the sunrise.  He once told me that his mommy would get him up early to go see the sunrise when he was a little boy.  He also told me that he wasn’t really excited about it then, but sure wishes that he’d be able to watch one more sunrise with his mommy.

Mommy and daddy both take a lot of pictures whenever we go to watch the sunrise, even if we’re watching it somewhere other than the beach.  I like the sunrise too.  It’s so beautiful and shows us the start of a brand-new day with a whole ton of new opportunities for me to get snacks.

We spent a lot of time down at the beach that morning which was absolutely fine with me.  I splashed around and was all wet.  I was having so much fun.  Daddy and I walked out pretty far into the Gulf of Mexico to a sand bar, so the water was really shallow.  I don’t think that I was ever out that far into the water before.  I didn’t even know what a sand bar was before that morning, but now I think that sand bars are pretty neat.

Later that day, mommy and daddy were going to be going to dinner with some of their old friends from Pennsylvania who live in Galveston now.  They were actually parents of one of daddy’s old players, Mike Latona.  Their names were Pat and Dawn.  They were going to be coming over to the house on wheels to pick mommy and daddy up and take them for dinner.

When Pat and Dawn got there, they came into the house on wheels for a tour.  Tours of the house on wheels are pretty quick because it’s not really that big, but it’s home for us.  I love the house on wheels because I’m never too far away from mommy and daddy.  In our old house, the one that didn’t have wheels, sometimes I would have to walk up or down two whole flights of stairs to find mommy or daddy.  It was a nice house with a nice yard, but I like the house on wheels so much more.

Sorry, I got sidetracked, anyway, as soon as Pat and Dawn came in for their tour of the house on wheels, I was there to greet them.  I could tell that they both fell in love with me right away.  They both said, “Hi!” Then they started petting me right away.

When we left the campground in Galveston, daddy told me that we were going to stop at Pat and Dawn’s house on our way to the Dream Center and that I would be able to roam around their yard while we were there.

It was true, when we got to their house, daddy took my leash off and I had full reign of the yard.  There were so many plants in their yard and all kinds of different smells.  I explored every nook and cranny of that yard and I even found a stray cat, I chased that guy out pretty quick!  Daddy kind of yelled at me for that, but there was no way that I was going to share that yard with a cat.  On that day, I was going to be the king of the Latona yard!

When we got there, daddy said that we were going to stay for about an hour, but mommy and daddy were having such a good time visiting with Pat and Dawn that we ended up staying for 2-1/2 hours.  I had a good time too.  I got to explore the yard and chase that cat out, but more importantly, I would just go around to mommy and daddy and Dawn and Pat and they would all take turns petting me.  It was so much fun.

When we left Pat and Dawn’s house, mommy and daddy kept saying that we were going to be going on a boat.  I was really confused because I didn’t know where the house on wheels was going to be when we went on the boat.  I was excited as well though because I had never been on a boat before.

This was the house on the wheels on the big boat. We floated right across. You can also see how messed up our ladder is from that tree branch back in Arizona.

As it turned out, we drove the house on wheels right onto the boat!  Can you believe that?  I was amazed.  I didn’t know that you could drive a house on wheels right onto a boat.  It was so cool.  There were all kinds of other cars and trucks on that boat, but we were the only house on wheels.  Just when I thought that I had seen it all, then this happens.  Pretty incredible.

After we drove the house on wheels off of the boat, we drove right along the Gulf of Mexico for a pretty long time.  It was a very scenic drive.

Once we got into Beaumont, we had to stop at Petco to food for me so that I wouldn’t starve and then we stopped at Wal-Mart to get food for mommy and daddy so that they wouldn’t starve.

Mommy and daddy kept saying all day that their goal was to make sure that we got to the Dream Center before it got dark so that we didn’t have to get set-up in the dark.

Well…that didn’t happen.  It was dark and wet when we got there, but we got there and that made me happy.

I’m excited because mommy and daddy will be volunteering here and we’ll be here until December 31st.

After that we will be heading to Florida again.