My Weekend with Zipster

Despite the fact that a huge and damaging storm roared through here on Friday evening, we had a great weekend.  About mid-morning on Friday, I decided there just wasn't enough work to do and the day was way too beautiful to waste.  It has rained too much this summer, and I started thinking I didn't want to squander what was turning out to be a gorgeous day by sitting in my office watching and listening to the guys work on the outside of our building.  So, I took off at noon, and headed home to get the dog.

Nothing big, nothing exciting; well, unless you're Zip.  Zip hears the word "go" and he loses control.  Sentences such as "Do you want to go for a walk?", or, "Do you want to go for a ride in the car", or "Do you want to walk out with me to throw out the garbage" are the cause for lots of butt wagging.

I don't care what you say, dogs have a bigger vocabulary than we give them credit for, and I can testify that the sentence "Do you want to go to swimming?" or "Do you want to go to the big lake?" cause even bigger butt wagging and some whining as well.  I swear he knows what I'm saying.  Friday, I asked him if he wanted to go to the big lake.  Of course, he said yes.

The afternoon was picture-perfect, especially at Lake Michigan.  The photos are actually from our day Sunday at Lake Michigan--Friday, we swam like crazy, and I didn't want to bring my camera/phone along.  I'm just looking for an excuse to post more photos of Zip at the lake.

The only bad part about Friday was coming home and watching a horrific storm roll through the area, which downed huge trees, and deprived people of power for two days or more.  And then, unfortunately, I made a late trip to my mailbox Friday night to find that I am ORDERED to report for jury duty on Thursday.  Yippee kay ay.  Still, I wasn't going to let that stuff spoil my weekend.  Summer is speeding by too fast for my tastes. We have to grab the gusto.

Zip was a bit exhausted on Saturday, from both the day at the Lake and the terror of living through the big storm the night before.  So I just gave him his normal walk, and let him rest.  I, however, went swimming at the pool.  It's a rough life, but I am forced to live it.

On Sunday, I realized that the weekend was coming to an end, so I opted not to sit around waiting for Monday to arrive.  Yes, I should have ironed some clothes for work and done some stuff around the "house", but, frankly, life is too short.

Sunday was Father's Day, and Zip and I drove to Grand Rapids (actually, I drove and he rode in the back seat), to spend a few moments at the cemetery. It was my hope to stop at Lake Michigan, at Hagar Shores on the way back.  The drive up was gloomy and overcast and, passing along the lake my temperature gauge said 69 degrees.  This June day did not look very promising, and so I was attempting to break the news to Zip that we might not be going to the lake on the return trip.  His vocabulary is great for a dog, but it's not as if he's a dictionary.  He didn't have a clue.  Fate did end up smiling on us.  On the drive home, I could see the clouds breaking up to the west.  The temps were barely 70, but by the time we reached the shores, it was actually a beautiful day.  Zip loves the big lake, almost as much as he loves marrow bone and pupperoni treats, chewing his paw, and rubbing his butt on the carpet.  Check out the video proof:
A view of Lake Michigan
Zip at the Big Lake (turn down your sound, I'm screaming!)

We arrived back home around 6.  Zip promptly went off to nap in the sun beam and I went off to play nine holes of golf.  3 pars, a birdie and 3 disasters.  I was on my way to record golfing, but then I started thinking about it, and proceeded to lose a few balls in the water, scoring the dreaded double, triple and who knows what bogies.  It was Juday Creek after all.  I wish to heck they'd drain those lakes--I'm not out there to look at pretty.  I want good golf scores.  Still, it's better than work, and much better than watching it snow!

We had a great weekend, despite the storm, and despite the fact that it's now over.  Here's hoping for a few more of those this summer.