LA/XC-6: Greetings from Santa Monica! I’d fully intended to kick off this post with my latest enchantment at the Grand Canyon, but in between my day there and today’s arrival in Santa Monica, I spent last night in Sin City.  And it left me speechless!  So I have to get it out of my system right away.  Yes, I was here once before, ever so briefly:  Ricky the Beagle and I did a super-quick stopover on LA/XC-1 (2011).  We were heading from the G.C. to L.A., and how could I...

LA/XC-6: Greetings from Albuquerque! Little did I know that Carol’s 69+ birthday present to me was to send me driving to St. Louis in a midwestern snowstorm!  I felt like I was on one of those legendary plains cattle drives!  (Not that I’ve been on one, but I’ve seen the movie and read the book.) It’s crazy!  Sunday in Indianapolis, it was a comfy 62 degrees.  Monday, the aforementioned blizzardo.  Tuesday morning in St. Loo, a bracing 13 Not what I expected...

So Mom’s been sharing all your Bourbon Trail adventures with me so far . . . been there, done that I say. LA/XC-6 Anyway, I’m actually enjoying my laissez-faire days around Westport.  True, Mom refuses to take me to the beach . . . she said she can finally walk around the house with no sand underfoot.  And, she only throws the ball 20 times, not 200 like you do.   But at least we’re up and out every morning in minutes – no cooling my heels for an hour while you primp and powder your...

LA/XC-6:  Greetings from Lexington! All good so far.  Got to LGA nice and early, just the way I like it.  My whole family made lots of fun of me for leaving WePo at 6:30PM for a 9:53 flight, but I don’t care.  Who needs an ulcer? Early highlight:  I succeeded in ordering my dinner using the iPad at the airport bar!  First time I was ever able to clear that hurdle!  Good omen.  Btw, I highly recommend the Sizzling Garlic Shrimp at Bisoux.  Better-than-real-restaurant quality....

***COUNTDOWN:  2 DAYS TO LA/XC-6*** Hmm . . . I don’t know about this one.  My own logo, for The Roof Rack Report (left), was designed by a pro back in 2012 — and it’s held up pretty good, if I do say so myself.  Matter of fact, just last week we got a big compliment on it from Elise, Kemba’s dog sitter.  And K-Dawg’s logo, for The Duck Dog Speaks?  That one was created by Robby’s friend Colin, also a graphic artist.  (See logo, right.)  It debuted in...

***COUNTDOWN:  5 DAYS TO LA/XC-6*** Which would you choose? Yay!  Finally!  After 16 years of dog ownership — 11 with Ricky the Beagle and 5 with Kemba — I’ve won my first battle of wills!!!  (Obviously, if this was ever going to happen, you knew it would have to be with my eager-to-please, up-for-anything red duck dog . . . and not with my good old “It’s my way or the highway” Beagle.) Though Kemba will probably never tire of fetching tennis balls in the...

* * *COUNTDOWN: 15 DAYS TO LA/XC-6 * * * Beagle Man came home from Montauk at the end of September with all sorts of complaints about his back and his right shoulder.  He tried to blame it all on me — as usual:  You know, “all that tennis ball throwing, all that stick throwing.”  But the real reason for the aches and pains — and don’t tell him I said so! — is that he’s not exactly a teenager anymore.  All right — he goes to the orthopedist, who tells him the...

One of the first things you always hear about Duck Tollers is how intelligent they are.  After what I saw this past weekend, though, I’m really not so sure.  Ah, Kemba, Kemba, Kemba.  Okay, here’s the picture:  Beagle Man brings Kemba to stay with Elise, the dog-sitter, on Who’s the dummy in this picture? Friday.  Elise’s friend Chip (photo right, black shirt) is seated comfortably on a wing chair in the living room.  The first thing Kemba does is grab a...

Mr. Mantis Okay, yes, yes — the real Aesop’s fable is” The Ant and the Grasshopper.”  I know that.  And my fable, I have to confess, turns on a rather major misconception:   I actually thought it was illegal to kill a praying mantis. Just a little background for my story.  Many of you know how my wife feels about insects:  She hates them.  She also knows next to nothing about them.  She truly cannot distinguish between a fly and a no-see-um and a beetle and a...

I guess I can’t really complain too much, since I spend most of the summer out in Amagansett, where I have a big sandy beach and a whole ocean to play in.  But now that we’re back in WePo, I have to stick to this narrow strip of sand on the far side of the Nope, not my toy . . . but it’s a good one! Belongs to Patrick Henry, the black Lab in front Soundview jetty.  Town rules, Beagle Man says.  None of my friends come there, and when it’s low tide, you have...