Hello, it's Caturday PWTF Monday! I'm Benny05, your guest host. Generally, I am a Caturday afternoon guest host, but wanted to do today’s edition and I thank the Pootie Queen for allowing me to pen it. Woozle fans, you are in for a treat.
Groundrule: Play nice in this sandbox. If you are not a fan of pooties or this community series, please comment in the nearest Open Thread.
The Memorial Day weekend generally kicks off the summer season. After a long winter, it's great to have summer back. I think of salads, BBQ, warm days, lemonade, parades, and yes, the beach season gets underway too with suntan lotion and...more after the flip.
Last weekend, I went to visit Mr. Benny, who relocated to the Fort Lauderdale (FLL) area for his new job. He looked for 6 months before landing this one. While it’s not easy having a 1200mi spousal commute, we are grateful that he has a job and that he has good health. And I can get there and back in about 8 hours by plane and car. That’s a pretty short time compared to a serviceman whom I met at my stop in Atlanta. Serviceman Torres was literally on his way back from Iraq to South Florida and was anxious to see his family and pets. He is not the focus of this special Memorial Day edition of PWFB, but since he was part of my journey to FLL, I wanted to give him a shout out as he will be returning to Iraq after this weekend for another 6 months.
Ft. Lauderdale has grown exponentially since the early 90’s, when I used to go to Miami and the Keys during November, probably the nicest time of year to visit. It’s not quite "Where the Boys Are" that many of us fondly remember seeing on TV when the holidays roll around, most especially Spring Break. Donald Trump and his ilk have bought up many of the Mom and Pop motels and turned them into multi-million priced condos.
However, Trump or his ilk wasn’t able to get his hands on all of the North Dade–Broward County coast land to privatize it all. There are still public beaches to enjoy, albeit it is a challenge to park between the hours of 9 and 4. One has to be patient and just try to watch for the spots as they come open and remembering to bring a roll of quarters with you.
At the Hollywood Beach (my spouse claims it is Dania Beach, but that’s not what the sign read to me), the beach opens up to woozles from 4-8pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Today, I will share my pictures from being at the Woozle Beach, but open the photo diary with a song of my first impression when I first stepped on the beach and saw it:
Let's romp!
Dog Beach last weekend--weather was just purrfect! (Yez, I haz to git in one pootie expressyun)
Dog Beach by Mr. Benny, the weekend before
There were all shapes and sizes of woozles, just like this cutie Yorkie:
And this Rottweiler, who didn’t need a leash at all:
And some newbies, like Pompey and Toto:
Then, there's an older like Katie, who is 11 yrs old:
Hershey, who's 18 months ago,a chocolate Lab who only recently got into the water this year, and retrieved green coconuts (they are easier to spot than tennis balls):
Hershey's pet mom also owns two pooties, FWIW.
Now some folks wonder why there isn’t a pootie beach. Do I really have to answer that!!
Ben and Elmora
As it is Memorial Day, I would be remiss not to mention our late two woozles, Mattie and Sydney:
While the Dog Beach made me and Mr. Benny think of our girls, we were so happy for other woozles who got to romp and play. If this is a human vision of Rainbow Bridge, I think this park gives me comfort and joy.
Share your pics—memories, songs, etc.
Coded by BirderWitch
Update: thanks for the tips. I know it is a stressful time for many, but wanted to share joy is available as quickly as a click away!