Sunny Saturday Doggie Day

On Saturday morning, Kath got her hair done in at Ad Astra on Belmont in SE Portland. While she had her hairdresser work her magic, Quigley and I went for a long walk around the neighborhood. We ventured along Belmont, made our way South, past Hawthorne, down to Ladd Circle Park and Rose Gardens, and then back. All in all, it was over 2.5 miles of walking. The weather was great during the walk, not too hot, not too cold, though you could tell it was a lot warmer than Quigley had been used to so far. He drank a few bowls of water along the walk, and as a result had to pee at least twice that I can remember. Once we finally arrived back at the salon, we got to see Kath's updated hairdo, which was wonderfully done, as always.

For lunch, we tried to find the dog-friendly Berlin Inn, once again. The last time we hunted for it, we kept going in circles, but never found it. This time, we were determined. Finally, we found it across the street from Edelweiss Sausage Co. & Deli on 12th Street. We seated ourselves in the corner of their relaxing patio. It featured nice, high walls, which concealed much of the area, and buffered much of the road noise from Powell Blvd. You'd never realize you were in the city, it was so relaxing. =)


For our lunch, turned breakfast, Kath ordered the Blue Brew Cakes, made with Hefeweizen and blueberries, and I ordered the Leberkaese, which was a slice of sausage loaf with eggs, and potatoes (I chose potato pancakes). We also shared their Porta Sticks, which are breaded and grilled portabella mushroom sticks. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmmm! The food was absolutely perfect. I also had a refreshing Strawberry Lavender Lemonade, which was perfect for the sunny day. After lunch, our waitress brought out their dessert tray, which featured a VERY enticing selection of sweets from their in-house "Backerie" (Bakery). We selected their Cashew Cream Cake, which was very cheesecake-like, but without the cream cheese. That was the perfect selection for further enjoyment of the sunny day on their great patio.

After letting Quigley have a refreshing nap at home, we ventured out to Hillsboro for the library book sale, and then to the much mentioned Hondo Dog Park, right next to Hillsboro Stadium. This was a very large dog park, with a nice hill right in the middle. The layout and features of the park are great. My only qualm was the abundance of what I believe was goose droppings. I've been seeing that more and more all over town, so I can't really blame them since the geese go where they please.

Quigley eagerly found a few dogs, but found he was not fast enough to keep up with them. When he wasn't looking he was practically stampeded at one point! Being the tough dog that he is, he stood right up and found a few dogs closed to his size that actually seemed to want to play with him. One of the dogs was quite vocal, and at one point seemed a little aggressive, but Quigley held his own without stirring any trouble. They were all playing much better after Q showed he could stand his ground. Not long after, Q was even playing with a tiny little MinPin. Quigley was easily 5-times the size of this dog, probably even more! Quigley was so eager to play and let this dog know he'd be safe that he lay on his back to play with him. Quigley, we're so proud of you. You've learned and matured so much. Such a good dog. =)