This past week was my April vacation, one of the many joys of being a teacher! I tend to go visit my parents in Florida during the February vacation, and then April vacation I usually look forward to for fun day trips with my pup, Mizpah. The weather wasn’t amazing this past week as we definitely had some of those April showers, but we made the best of the days that had good weather.

The two coastal areas I took Mizpah too this past week were Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester MA and Narragansett/Newport RI. I had wanted to do a little Kennebunkport ME on Friday but it was rainy in the AM! Good Harbor Beach is off leash on the even days until April 30, Wingaersheek is the dog beach on the odd days. I looooove the way Gloucester runs these two beaches in the offseason. The clear rules allow everyone to be happy- the dog people and the not so much dog people. After the beach, we hit up Woodman’s for the lobster roll special- $15 on Mondays during the offseason.

Both beaches in Gloucester have views of lighthouses. From Wingaersheek you can see the Annisquam Lighthouse, and from Good Harbor you can see the Thacher Island Twin Lighthouses. Here is a great post from a terrific website about the lighthouses. Mizpah had a blast running around the beach and playing in the water.

Our other coastal adventure was down in RI. We met friends at the Narragansett Town Beach which allows dogs on leash until May 15th. Now….interesting situation. Dogs are supposed to be on leash, but as you reach a concrete wall on the beach, the dog officer told us he can’t patrol past there because its private property……sooo can your dog be off leash? I let Mizpah off for a bit to run around, but this particular beach has stairs off the beach to the Dunes Club, hotels, and homes….and Mizpah’s explorer personality made it hard for her to resist heading up to those private properties. Its the off season so no one is at these properties for the most part, but still, I don’t want to be an irresponsible dog owner that disrespects property owners’s wishes.

From the beach, we headed to Iggy’s for lunch and then off to Newport to walk around. As I have said in previous posts, Mizpah really benefits from not only playing off leash out in nature, but also socializing on leash in busier town centers and such. To be her best dog self, she needs to be good at both. I want her to greet people with the same respect off leash on a trail in the White Mountains and she would on leash on Thames St. in Newport.

In the offseason, parking at the metered spots on Thames is free so we nabbed a spot near Kilwins with the plan in mind that ice cream would be procured at the end of the day. If we hadn’t eaten lunch already, I probably would have gone to O’Brien’s Pub because they have an outdoor seating area that is dog friendly. It was a long day with the drives back and forth. From NH to RI, the drive was around two and a half hours each way. As we walked around Bowen’s Wharf, I looked around for spots where the KJP store could be opening and I did happen to see a nice space next to the Alex and Ani that was being renovated…..we shall see! Hope you have enjoyed our adventures!