Everybody's here...

Bulldogs, Labs, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Poodles, German Shepherds, and Golden Retrievers were just a few of the dogs that had the run of the beach on this beautiful winter day. I wondered if some kind of special event was happening at the beach when I arrived due to the packed parking lot, but soon discovered the "event" was nothing more than an opportunity to enjoy some time outdoors with your favorite furry friend. The picture above really doesn't do the scene I happened upon justice because I found it difficult to capture all one hundred or so dogs frolicking on the beach in one shot. It was one of those, you have to see it to believe it kind of things.

The best, most hopeful thing about this whole experience, was witnessing the many people out in nature on this winter day. They weren't at the mall looking for after Christmas markdowns and they weren't sitting in front of the TV letting advertisements encourage them to buy stuff. Almost a year ago, I wrote a post called "Where is everybody?" after spending the day skiing in a Chicago area nature preserve. In that post, I wondered where everybody was on that beautiful winter day. Thankfully today, I get to title this post "Everybody's here". Even if it means I can't have the beach to myself, I love to see many people choosing to spend time in nature. It gives me hope that more and more people are discovering the benefits of spending time outdoors.