Oceanside, CA

Luna at the Oceanside Harbor

Luna and Cocoa at the Pier

Mission San Luis Rey

Oceanside Harbor

With the holidays fast approaching Luna and Cocoa have been busy with preparing for Santa’s arrival. New outfits, haircuts and manicures have been taken care of but they squeezed in a trip to Oceanside before all this pampering.
Oceanside is a small community 35 miles north of San Diego, is home to Camp Pendelton, has a delightful harbor, and the longest wooden pier on the West Coast, spanning 1,942 ft. There is a diner at the end of the pier, and one can fish or watch surfers catching a wave. About four miles east of the pier is Mission San Luis Rey, the largest of the missions in California chain and home to the oldest Pepper Tree in California.
Access to Oceanside is easy and varied with the availability of Interstate 5, the Coaster Commuter train that runs along the coast for some enjoyable views of the Pacific or one can even fly into Oceanside Airport.

Kit Carson Park

What do you get when two dogs visit the Magical Circle at Kit Carson Park? You get two dogs who had a great day seeing Nikki de Saint Phalle's fabulous mosaic masterpiece. Artist Saint Phalle created a colorful vision of small tiles and rocks that explain the myths and stories of California's history. The girls shared hugs and kisses with local school children as they came to the park to learn about the artist and her work. Escondido is lucky to have this sculpture as a permanent addition to their city's art collection.

Balboa Park

Niki de Saint Phalle Sculpture at the Mingei International Museum

Luna singing along to the music

The Lath House

Balboa Park, originally called City Park, is the nation's largest urban park. In 1835 city leaders placed land in reserve as a common area, making this one of the oldest parks in the US. Renamed Balboa Park in honor of the Spanish explorer Balboa for the Panama-Californian Exposition in 1915, 500,000 people come here every year to enjoy the world class San Diego Zoo, museums, extensive grounds, fine dining and many free activities that it offers. The area also offers horticulturists a wide diversity of plants from a rose garden featuring over 2,500 different roses to the exquisite Japanese Friendship Garden that was also part of the 1915 exposition. The lath house one of the most prominent features on the grounds, houses the tender perennials for gardeners to peruse was again a featured part of the exposition and inspired awe for visitors who for the first time saw banana plants and other exotics growing. Balboa Park for its cultural and historic significance was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It is a must see for visitors to our fair city.

Olivenhain Meeting Hall

Luna and Cocoa have a guest this week and being the ideal travel hostesses have taken Aunt Karen to the Olivenhain Meeting Hall. Constructed in 1895, the hall has served the community since that time for town meetings and social events until the 1950's. The Hall sat unused until the early 1970's when a group of citizens began fundrising to restore the building. Listed on the National Register of Historic Place in 1993 the Hall is again Olivenhain's community center.

Happy Halloween

Luna and Cocoa are ready for Halloween are you? The veterinarians at California Veterinary Specialists in Carlsbad, CA have a few safety tips to keep your pet safe during their tour of the neighborhood.

*First, don’t leave your pets outside while you trick or treat with the kids. Unfortunately, there are people who think it is fun to tease, injure, steal or torture your beloved pet.

*Secondly, we have all heard this before, but please don’t give your dog or cat chocolate.

* Watch for candies containing the artificial sweetener xylitol which can be poisonous to dogs. * Lastly, careful about the cute costume you are thinking about putting on Fido. If it has a mask make sure it does not cover the eyes. Careful of strings attached to costumes they have the potential to get caught on something and tangle the dog and you.

Wishing all of you a safe and Happy Halloween.

Roll over and out,

Cocoa, Luna, Karla and Anna

Halloween

It's Halloween and that means a trip to the pumpkin patch for the girls to find their pumpkins and possibly a treat. Luna found the mummy to be a hair rising experience and of course brave Cocoa seems nonplussed. They both liked the ride in the wagon and looking for a pumpkin required extra vigilance from scary things. What next for our travelers, check in next week.

Roll Over and Out

Cocoa, Luna, Karla and Anna

Welcome to Two Dogs Touring

Welcome to Two Dogs Touring, a travel blog featuring Cocoa and Luna, two dogs with an interest in seeing the town. Cocoa and Luna are touring San Diego and recording their adventures so that all their friends living far away can experience the joys of the beach, the parks, and all things good about the San Diego area. Since their manicures prevent them from typing and photographing for the blog themselves, they have enlisted the help of “mom” and full time servant, Karla, who escorts them to various places of interest and serves them meals in dainty plastic bowls. Friend Anna, also a writer and photographer like their mom, is the guiding light on the project and joins in all the fun. Enough about us; let’s meet the girls.

Cocoa is a cockapoo mix who will be celebrating her 16th birthday this Halloween. Her world centers on food, sleep and looking unperturbed about life in general. Luna is a Lhasa Apso youngster of five, and a recent addition to our home. She has turned Cocoa’s quiet life upside down. Luna’s first love is exploring the backyard, getting into the tomato plants, and eating them off the vine. Say the word “walk” and she is bounding to the door ready to go. Luna and Cocoa have become good friends disagreeing only about who gets the first treat or a lap to sleep on.

So what adventure have Cocoa and Luna been up to this week? Visit their blog regularly to see for yourself as they tour the sights of San Diego. If you have ideas of places they’d like to visit, just send your suggestions along. We’ll make sure they read their fan mail.

Roll Over and Out,
Cocoa, Luna, Karla, and Anna