Vito and Bo Reach the Beach

From October 11-14, 2002, we took our mom, grandma and mom's best girlfriend Elaine (our second mom) on vacation to Dewey Beach, Delaware, for the annual Greyhounds Reach the Beach event! Even though we aren't big greys, our mom discussed the event with lots of greyhound owners and decided that if we used common sense, we could have a wonderful and safe trip. And we did! Here are a few of the highlights. Just click a photo to bring up the full-size version! Please note: the two photos marked with an asterisk (*) are borrowed from the Greyhounds Reach the Beach e-mail list, since mom didn't get nearly as good of a photo of those events!

Are we there yet, mom? Thanks to a couple of detours and the Washington sniper attacks, our trip to Dewey was 10 hours instead of the 6.5 hours it should be. But we arrived safe and sound!	What a beautiful time of year for a drive. The fall leaves in Pennsylvania (this is around Somerset) are really gorgeous!	Here is the cute little strip mall where we had to stop to potty. We didn't want to get out of the car in the D.C. suburbs, but we thought that a town named Bowie was a good sign!	Mom loved this sign, on the Reach the Beach headquarters hotel. The hounds really do rule at Dewey... they are everywhere you look, walking down every street!
How cool, we're staying in a hotel! We stayed at the Quality Inn in Rehoboth Beach, about five minutes from Dewey. Here we are in mom and Elaine's bed...	And just to show that we are equal opportunity snugglers, here we are in grandma's sofabed.	Staying in a hotel is fun! We caught onto the routine pretty quickly. Here we are in the lobby, patiently waiting for our elevator.	*The next morning, we reached the beach! It was a little chilly and very windy, but how amazing to see all of those hounds and their people in one place. About 3,000 greys came to Dewey!
This is mom's favorite Dewey picture... our Iggy tracks in the Dewey sand.	*Father Al Dash, a Catholic priest, gave the Blessing of the Hounds.	Ever the curious Iggy, Vito wonders what everyone is up to...	...while Bo is content to be a beach bum.
A real highlight of the trip was a great restaurant called The Grill, right next to our hotel. They allowed the hounds to come and eat with their people!	After dinner, we got dressed for the Beer and Biscuits Ball. Bo, the obedient dog, is perfect in a police officer costume...	While Vito, the more "headstrong" dog, is a natural as an inmate. Here he is posing for his mugshot.	At the Beer and Biscuits Ball, we paraded across the stage to have our costumes judged. We were a big hit, but the competition was stiff against greys like...
Little Bo Peep...	Her sheep...	and Uncle Sam!	Later that night, we stayed at the hotel with grandma to warm up, while mom and Elaine went to the bonfire in memory of departed friends.
One thing about staying at a hotel is that you have to go outside to potty on a leash. Here is Vito during a midnight potty...	And Bo, making sure that everybody in Rehoboth knows that he's been at this spot!	The next morning, we slept in because it was pouring down rain!	Finally, the rain cleared up and we went back to the beach. We met our friends the Jaffees there, with their five wonderful hounds.
Bo and Peanut, the Jaffee's whippet, wanted to play forever!	Isn't the ocean beautiful?	Later that day, our people went to the vendor tents, where they ran into these amazing dogs.	Bo was very appreciative of the new toys that Elaine brought back from the tent!
Bo played with his new stuffed teddy bear...	While Vito chowed down on a Greenie.	Back to the Grill for dinner! Just when we thought Bo was sitting nicely under the table, he surfaced on the bench, sitting there like a little boy.	All right, Bo, one bite and then you have to get down! Since we got home, Vito and Bo can't understand why they can't go to Pgh. restaurants.
Elaine makes a new best friend. Seneca was a beautiful, chicken-loving greyhound from the next table. How could we resist a sweet face like this?	What do you mean, it's almost time to go? We're having such a great time here at Dewey!	Having so much fun is harder work than you would think. We sure hope to Reach the Beach again one day!

Greyhounds (and IGs) Reach the Beach!