Yes, I had a walk at Crissy Field the morning of Saturday, Oct 5, 2013, even though the Golden Gate National Recreation Area was Closed because of the partial Federal government shutdown! Man, what a beautiful day!

Hi! This is Wally writing again. A lot has been going on at my end, which has kept me away from updating you by my blogging on MrWally.com. I’ve been either busy or lazy for more than a year and am sorry…

I just wanted to check in and give you a brief update.

Last summer my guardians decided we should make a change in our living quarters. (They’d been in the same house for 25 years. I liked the home a lot, the only one I’ve really known, especially my perch on the front window seat.) Anyway, we took the summer to shine the house up and then put it on the market in early September. Before long there was an accepted offer and we all transitioned to the downsizing/moving mode. That wasn’t too much fun for anyone, but at least the Giants won the World Series! Also, I was able to get away for a couple weeks in late August to visit my relatives in Laguna Beach, which I always enjoy.

In early November we moved 8 or 9 blocks up the hill from our old Cow Hollow house to a condo in Pacific Heights. I don’t mind it here, especially since there’s library across the street with lots of comings & goings. Also, it’s surrounded by grass, making a nice park that almost always has some from my peer group to play with. (Some of my most favorite pals are Bea, Penny, and Charlie.) Another benefit of this neighborhood is that it’s busier, so I see dogs and people on almost all of my walks. Plus there are more directions we can walk to access coffee shops easily, and it’s still easy to get down to the Presidio Starbucks to hang out. Although there is no window seat (yet) so my view isn’t as good as it was, at least there’s talk of installing one.

Right after moving but before we’d really settled in here, we drove up to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for the Holidays. That was a nice getaway and quite fun for me – a chance to cool off, see some relatives, and get lots of play time in snow, a first for me!

In April one of my guardians and I drove to Laguna Beach to babysit a new grandchild in the family for a week or so. We had so much fun!!! Cece and Peg were in town and Oscar, toddler William, and baby Barrett came over a lot. Especially Barrett.

We had such a nice time…the relatives are very nice to us…when they returned from Washington (DC), my guardian and I were encouraged to stay several more days, which everyone enjoyed.

In mid May my guardians and I went up to Idaho again to experience “springtime” there for the first time. It was pleasant, not too hot, not too cold; lots of sun. (I forgot to mention, on the April visit to Laguna, one of my guardians’ sisters encouraged us to look for a home in Laguna Beach.) We were quite relaxed (at least I was) when we received a phone call from the sister in Laguna about a “cottage” that just came on the market. She wanted us to check it out on the Internet, which we did, and then things moved Fast! In short, our visit in Idaho was cut short because we had made an offer which was accepted on the cottage even though we hadn’t yet seen it in person!

We returned as quickly as we could (2 day drive) to San Francisco, took a day off, and then drove the 8 or so hours to Laguna, so we could all check out the cottage we were in contract for. To cut to the chase, my guardians purchased the cottage, and I’m driving down later this week to take up residence there, which I’m sure I’ll like. But I like San Francisco too, so I was pleased to learn we’ll be back in San Francisco on a regular basis.

After being on the sidelines for so long, I’m so glad to have picked up my pen and written. I’d been feeling guilty about letting folks like you down, but now I feel a lot better about myself. Going forward, I promise to be as good a writer as any dog can be.

Proving that I still have a “large footprint” (pawprint?) in San Francisco, look at me on another of my walks last weekend:

A good time to be in the urban Alta Plaza Park, near sundown Oct 5 2013