We met them by chance on one of our walks. Standing outside the Post Office on 8th Street in San Pedro were a group people and dogs. As Rocket and I strolled past, he of course, had to stop and sniff the other canines.
"What are all you people doing here," I asked.
The answer I got was both surprising and delightful. It was a dog-walking club organized by the
local chapter of the Sierra Club. I had been walking these streets for years and never knew such a group existed.
"We meet here every week," said a nice lady whose name I don't remember, but her dog was named Rocky. "Come next week. Be here at 6:30 sharp"
And so I did. I arrived a few minutes early to 1441 E. 8th Street, just east of Weymouth Avenue just as people were starting to gather. I do a lot of walking and figured it wouldn't do my maniac dog any harm to see how good dogs behaved on a leash. For some reason, only about four other dogs showed up, but people assured me that there are usually more. About 20 folks came without companionship.
A nice man named Barry introduced himself and said he'd be leading us on our trek. Barry wasn't exactly young and I fancy myself a brisk walker, so I didn't think I'd have any problems keeping up.
"Everybody ready?" Barry asked? "Let's go."
And then he took off like a bullet. I could barely keep up.
We followed him through Averil Park, down Western Avenue, all the way to the beach, where we walked through the
White Point Nature Preserve, walked on a few more streets and wound up in a gigantic field of yellow flowers overlooking the ocean.
We walked on a steep trail and finally stopped to rest at a bench. Less than an hour had gone by, but my feet were starting to ache. Most of the people seemed to be older than me, so I didn't want to admit that I was getting tired. I mean, jeez, there was even a little wiener dog there who wasn't as pooped as I was.
After a too-brief stop, we continued. Before too long, we crossed the border into Rancho Palos Verdes. Barry was way ahead of me.
Finally, we started on our way back, but the hard part was still ahead of us. Crossing Paseo del Mar, we entered the back end of Friendship Park. It was like climbing up the side of a mountain.
The hike proved to be a little too much for some lady, so I handed her Rocket's leash so he could pull her along. It was a slow process and we suddenly realized that the rest of the group had disappeared. And it was getting dark.
We were vaguely lost, but kept climbing and climbing. Rocket and I had been in Friendship Park many times, but I didn't know where I was. Only the lights of the harbor, which were starting to come on, helped guide me to civilization.
At nearly eight miles, the walk was a lot more than I expected. I know it doesn't make sense, but we seemed to walk uphill the entire time! But feel free to try it yourself if you're up to it. The people couldn't have been nicer and the dogs were all friendly. But be sure to wear comfy shoes and bring water.
More than two hours after we started, we finally found our way back to the post office. I climbed into my car and drove home, where I quickly took off my shoes and rubbed my throbbing feet.
But Rocket ran straight to his toy box, grabbed a tennis ball and ran around in circles, as if to say, "OK, I'm warmed up. What are we going to do now?"
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
Hello Josh,
I just found this blog, what a wonderful idea! I have been meaning to go to the Sierra Club K9 walk... as a matter of fact we ran into them last Tuesday night in Avrill park while out on a walk with our dog. Those Sierra Club folks are super fast, I am always amazed at how people who are twice to three times my age are so much faster. We recently adopted our 11 month old puppy, so I am all about doggy stuff. I look forward to reading your entries. Thank you for putting your time and energy into this awesome blog for us dog lovers!!!