Two weekends ago, we loaded up the boys and headed down to Cannon Beach, Oregon, to attend a wedding. If you've never been there, I highly recommend it, as it is a very special place.

As a bit of trivia, Steven Spielberg chose amazing locato shoot Goonies here in the early 80's.

The drive down from Seattle invariably took longer than we expected, and we arrived after dark. The next morning, Rufus and Cooper were rarin' to get out to the beach, so Kelly and I bundled up and headed out (together with her brother-in-law Bob and his elderly Basenji, Toby).



The morning was crisp and cool, and the tide was out, leaving a vast expanse of firm, wet sand.



Rufus spotted a bunch of gulls picking through the jetsam on the beach left by the receding tide. Ever the optimist, he went pounding off to see how close he could get, Cooper in hot pursuit.






Not surprisingly, the boys did not have any luck getting a gull (Cannon Beach being a very popular beach for dogs, and these gulls having played this game before), and watched in dismay as the birds casually winged down the beach to settle again at the water's edge.



Rufus then decided there MUST be something interesting buried under this all that sand, and set out to find out what it was.





Cooper took this opportunity to find a friend to go romping around with. Cooper chased his new buddy...



...and was chased in return.



Rufus finally tired of trying to dig up the beach, and invited Toby to play.



Toby is not a young dog, and so Rufus was forced to entertain himself while Toby trotted along behind.


Cooper wandered back over, and Rufus too this opportunity to whale on him as only a big brother can...



Note that Cooper is now taller and longer than Rufus, and only trails him by fifteen pounds or so. Better get your licks is while you can, Rufus...

The next day, we loaded up and headed for home, the boys were pretty beat, and watched the passing scenery with drowsy puppy eyes...



After such a big weekend, Cooper was pretty worn out, and wanted nothing more than to curl up on the couch.