Sunday at Fort Funston

Marc and I decided since we'd been gone all day on Saturday that Sunday would be all about Maddie and Dex! We got up early and went to church, had breakfast at this great little place around the corner from our apartment - Brickhouse Cafe (www.brickhousesf.com) - and then loaded the pups up for their first trip to the beach!

We took them to Fort Funston which is, quite frankly, a dog's dreamland. Fort Funston is this giant strip of land with beaches, cliffs, forest, trails...it's an amazing place to let the pups run free (off-leash) and tap into their curiosity. They have free reign of the park and can run and play and investigate at their leisure while Mom and Dad take in the sites and get quite a bit of exercise hiking up and down hills and through the sandy beach. =)

Below you can see the pups were anxiously awaiting their destination...we were prepared with a sheet already protecting our seats pre-beach.

At first glance while piling out of the car, the views around us were just gorgeous...the pictures below don't do this place justice but hopefully you can get an idea of just how beautiful it is.

Fort Funston isn't only a place for pups to play, it's also a place for human folk to partake in some pretty crazy beach activities including......hand-gliding! Because there are so many cliffs in this area I guess it makes for a great place for hand gliders to come out and enjoy their favorite hobby.

As we began walking down towards the beach area from 'way up,' at first glance I was totally intimidated. I could envision me rolling down this steep sandy path and landing in the middle of the ocean below as Maddie and Dexter raced after me to lick my face - easy access when I'm lying face up on the beach..........BUT THANKFULLY, that didn't happen! =) It was totally worth the climb (down and up) because the pups had soooo much fun!

Doesn't it look like they're both smiling in the picture below? I like to think they're saying 'Thanks for bringing us here Mom - this place is awesome!' =)

Contrary to what you might think, beaches are chilly in San Francisco in July...I'm sure you can tell by our attire below.Marc (below) trying to get Dex to sit still so I can take a picture of how INCREDIBLY DIRTY he was!

Two happy Jacks (in pics below) enjoying their new, giant park

Action Shots! =)

Dexter fighting Marc (below) for the ball... Maddie was supervising.

These next few pictures are my favorite from the day...it was so beautiful out and we were able to get some pretty awesome pictures of the two of them. Some of these might be frame -worthy, I think... The first picture below I titled 'Where's Dexter?'

After lots of running and playing, the dogs weren't the only ones who were dirty...we got caught up in the tide coming in and were soaked from about mid-shin down! Hard to tell in the picture (below) but trust me, we were WET!

Remember I mentioned our climbing down and 'up'? Well, below you can see a picture of the trail we had to hike up with the pups after our adventurous day on the beach. My legs were screaming at me most of the way up. =)

These are looking back while on the path - catching a little bit of a breath and using the excuse, 'I need to take a picture'... =)

We had a great time and will definitely be heading back to Fort Funston soon. It was another peaceful day and so beautiful out playing on/in the Pacific. I am pretty sure that Madd and Dex have officially learned what the word 'beach' mean and will be begging to go back soon. We have some videos we took while we were out there that I'll download later...for now, enjoy the pictures!