All summer I'd been wanting to take the girls to the dog beach for fun but also because Ginger had
never been to the ocean before! On Thursday 7-30-09 I declared a day trip day! Mom and I drove the girls to the Dog Beach in Avila. We totally lucked out...it was a beautiful sunny, breezy 70 degree day at the beach...no
clouds!!! It sure beat the 100-plus degree day Bakersfield was having!!! When you get there...you park along the shoulder of the road and then walk down this, like...big boat
ramp (or at least that is what is SUPPOSED to happen!) You see, the minute we made the Avila turn off I rolled down the windows and Baylie jumped up out of a dead sleep when she smelled the ocean air! She ran from window to window and barked a few times out of excitement...Ginger didn't really know what was going on but seemed to feed off of Baylie's enthusiasm. Once we got
to the people side of Avila we HAD to make a pit stop...too
much water intake on the way up! Of-course near the peer there wasn't any parking so I jumped out of the car and ran to the restroom while mom drove around the block...then a quick "Chinese fire drill" and I jumped into the driver's seat and drove around the block while she ran into the bathrooms. Whew! After that I drove us down to the dog beach...the girls could SEE the other d
ogs down on the beach and started going crazy! I could barely keep them calm enough to get their leashes on and grab the toys, beach blanket, camera, and water! The girls were DRAGGING me toward the beach...only they were looking for the shortest way to the shore and it was all I could do to keep them from jumping down the rocky cliff and taking me with them! We made it half way down the ramp when Baylie pulled out of her collar and took off running for the water!
Ginger started whimpering and so I just unhooked her collar and she sprinted after Baylie.
I was shocked that she had NO hesitation when her paws hit the sand or as she dove into turbulent water! She and Baylie played for a solid 2 hours while we threw the frisbee and the ball. By the time we left they were SO tired and dehydrated they drank about a gallon of water! We were hungry for lunch and I was really craving GOOD fish and chips so we drove in to SLO and stopped at the Splash Cafe (they have outdoor tables so the dogs could come too)! I'm such a sucker, I even got them a
plain burger to split between
them! After lunch it was on the road toward home...the girls slept the whole way (well, with the exception of the 2 pit stops they had to make after drinking soooo much water!) Overall it was a beautiful day and everybody had fun...and only got slightly sunburt! :)
There was a lot of things I wanted to do and get done this summer but this was one of those things that landed more in the "need" category. Ever since buying my house I have felt unorganized and never sure where to put stuff that should be kept in case I need to reference it at a later date. My cheap 2 drawer (broken since my last move) filing cabinet I got at Target back in 2002 is just not cutting it anymore! Many of the documents I've wanted to keep are larger than the standard letter size and most file cabinets made for the general consumer aren't made to accommodate that. So, Mom and I were talking one day and she had been searching the Internet in hopes of finding a used lateral file cabinet in good condition. I asked why she wouldn't just get a new one, ignorant of how much those files 
cost and was astonished when she enlightened me! She was looking for a HON 4-drawer lateral file which start at around 600 dollars and venture into the thousands!!! Anyway, I decided this was a perfect opportunity to fix my issue and help her search the Internet. Ultimately it was Mom who actually found the Craig's Listing for Tri-County Office Liquidators. When we called the San Luis Obispo location we were told they had quite a few 4-drawer lateral files and a couple 3-drawer ones (which I was originally thinking about getting) that were in great condition and mechanically perfect, although some did not have keys. We decided to hitch up the trailer in hopes of finding 2 big cabinets and make a day of it by packing up the girls and stopping at the dog beach in Avila before driving home! When we 
got to the store we were impressed that the cabinets really were in great condition, although the two good 3 drawer files had sold the day before leaving only one that had quite a lot of scrapes and scratches. In the end, Mom and I both picked nearly perfect 4-drawer lateral HON manufactured filing cabinets for a little over $100 bucks! They were a great find and after a quick trip to a locksmith we now have beautiful working, locking filing cabinets! I realize that it is a silly thing to be excited about but it is surprising how much less stress I feel now that I have things organized!
