The long and windy road

We took a late walk after dinner the other day.  

It's really nice that it stays light until about 10:00 PM over here.

Such a beautiful evening.  

And I was all prancing and happy during the walk.

Nice call guys.  

And I'm not going to even comment on the fact the you prolly needed to walk off dinner.  Oops.

There's a new rugrat in town

Hey, look who it is.  

It's Charlie and the rugrats.

Also known as the Yipmeister Supremes.

And the little brown fellow rushing ahead is Charlie's new grandchild.

Now if only the rugrats could take some doggie training and keep things down to a dull roar.

Heffalump?

Someone is casting a long and rather large shadow.

Looks like I'm being followed by a heffalump, if you ask me.

Because I know I'm rather small and dainty.

Bat ear tips

Here they go again.

Pointing out my "bat ears".  Or in this case, "bat ear tips."

Hey, I don't know about you, but I think I'm looking pretty good for a 12-year old dog.

In Alpha's studio

OK, so maybe this isn't really his studio.

More like his office.

And this neat black background is really dark green.

And it's my minky blanket.

But still, this is a pretty good "deer fawn" pose, doncha think?

OK Alpha, we'll call it your studio if you insist.  But only if you promise to keep my blog up to date.

p.s., Alpha says he's sorry for the recent delays in posting.  Some lame excuse about a business trip, and then a hard disk crash, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Just don't drop the ball again, 'K Alpha?

My old stomping ground

Well, here I am back in my backyard.

Looks like it's time to go for a walk in my neighborhood.

Whoa!  I almost stepped on that snail.

Can't do that even if this is my old "stomping" ground ;-)

Somebody's got a new hairdo

Well will you lookee here.

Mom's got a new hairdo.

Decided to get it cut pretty short, and be rather stylish.

Way to go Mom.  Now we both have our summer cuts ;-)

We're Home!

Well, we finally got home after a pretty long drive (plus a stau, er, traffic jam).

And since Mom turned off all the heat while we were gone, it's a little cold in the house.

But you can see I have muy minky blanket doubled over for extra warmth.

It's nice to be home, on the leather sofa, under my blanket.

Arches in Porto Venere

Wow.  Check out that view in Porto Venere. 

And the color of the water.  Cool.

Nice seat ya got there Alpha.

Just don't lean backwards ;-)

Mom -- tell Alpha his photos are getting a bit repetitious.

But at least I am in all of them, so that makes up for just about anything.

Awwww.  Looks like someone is a little tired.

Alpha, you can stop leaning against me now ;-)

Old streets in Porto Venere

Some cool old streets in the old city.

Cool being the operative word, as it was down right toasty if you weren't in the shade.

Perhaps you can tell I'm getting a little bit sleepy.

Thanks for picking me up Mom.

Oh good, you brought the bag.

Way to go Mom!

Heading over to Porto Venere

This time we're going to take a ferry over to Porto Venere.

We hear it is very nice.

There is the ferry in the distance.

And you see me on the rocky beach of our local town Riomaggiore.

Not exactly the material for sun bathing.

Here's hoping the ocean has calmed down from earlier this week.

Not sure I want to be rocking and rolling in the boat.

Visiting Vernazza

Another day, another town to visit.

This time we are off for a quick visit to Vernazza.  Which happens to be the town that was most damaged during really serious flooding in October 2011,

They are still doing lots of repairs in Vernazza, but the port area is now open.

So we rested and had some lunch.

Back on the train to our hotel, and you can see that I'm a very tired poochie.

Luckily, I can sleep just about anywhere.

Time to rest

Now we are back at the hotel, and it is time to rest.

I've got the blanket that Alli made for me.

Now that's what I'm talking about.

Serious snoozin'.

So this is Sanctuary

Looks like a cool place, with its arches and tiled floor.

But unfortunately we were too early in the season for it to be open.

Sure is a nice bell tower, on a beautiful day.

Well, after having a snack, and walking around a bit, it's time to head back down.

Guess what mode of transportation I'm opting for?

Try not to bounce me too much, OK Alpha?

Happy B-day Frito

Stop the presses!

We interrupt this vacation photo series (and Frito's nap) to make this special announcement:

Frito is actually not a dog ... he is actually a pigmy deer fawn.

No, no, that's not it.  The announcement is ...

Frito's very tired and he's having a hard time standing up.

Oh, that's right ... that's because he's so OLD!

Yep, Frito turns 12 (or 84 in dog years) today.

Woo-hoo.  Happy Birthday Frito.

And don't listen to that announcer.  You're still a young pup to us.

Made it to the top

Well, we finally made it to the top.

It was an enjoyable, if somewhat tiring hike.

But check out our reward.

What a great view of Riomaggiore.

And you can see Lover's Lane cut into the cliff just beyond the village.

Someone's a little tired

I'm not sure if you can tell in this photo, but my eyes are closed, and my head is slowly falling to Alpha's shoulder.

I am very tired by our hike up to Sanctuary.

Yo, Alpha.  

I am not an offering, so put me down.

That's not exactly what I had in mind.

Heading up to Sanctuary

There's a walk up the hillside to a church high above the ocean.  

We decided to give it a go.

I'm not entirely sure I'm up for this much hiking, but let's go.

That's a lot of steps.

And they just keep going and going.

And here are some cool little side steps that go into the terraced vineyards.

It appears you can also get caught up on your religion as you make your way up.

Or in my case, maybe take a well deserved nap ;-)

BTW Alpha, good job using two hands to hold me.  I appreciate it.

Sneaking in

Now this is certainly better than dangling.

I'm catching some air!  Woo-hoo.

Apparently I need to be a little more circumspect.

Time to lie down and enjoy the ride.

Ah, I see.  

Alpha's being sneaky.

And sneaking me into another church.  

Way to go Alpha, 'cause I've never seen one of these before ;-)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

You are the center of my universe, Mom.

Just like this cool mosaic in the center of Vernazza.

See how everything radiates outward from you (OK, and me too ;-)

Thanks for being such a great Mom, and making me that really cool bag.

And you can take me on vacation again.  

I will try to be a very good boy, really.

Dangling warning

Hey Alpha!

Didn't you get my previous "dangling warning'?

Two hands, sir -- the camera can "dangle' around your neck.

Jeez.