When I first got my dog, a little Australian Shepherd/heeler that I named Lando, we took a road trip through washington and stopped at Alki Beach in Seattle. It’s one of my favorite places to visit. It’s the westernmost point in the West Seattle district, surrounded by the Puget Sound. Lando would tease himself with the shoreline of the Puget, slowly putting a paw in the water and then running as fast as he can 10 yards backwards. He kept on doing that over and over, until he crept slowly to the edge to test the water again when a small wave came in covering his whole body, drenching him and taking him for what I consider his first surfing trip, riding a little wave. He was a pretty timid pup so I was worried about how he would handle it, but once he got back to the shore though, he looked at me, as if he was checking in with me to see if he was okay…and then he dove right back into the next wave.

I’ve told that story to a lot of people and it’s usually followed with one of their great memories that they created at Alki Beach as well. It’s a very special place. It’s also where the first recorded Pacific Northwest Christmas took place.