Sun, Seaweed and Scents

So yesterday was a bank holiday and just for a change, the sun was shining. Personally, I am of the opinion that the holiday reminder wasn't sent to the great weather controller, as let's face it, a sunny bank holiday is a rarity in the UK! And yet the sun shone on, oblivious to the fact that tradition states it should have been raining. Happy Days!

Little Orange Dog and I were without the girls this weekend, so when we were invited to visit friends by the sea, off we drove bound for the lovely Kent Coast. Before leaving, I took Max for a little walk, then loaded the car up with his food and water bowls, his tea, treats and his favourite toy. Honestly, it's like taking a baby out for the day, with all the stuff and nonsense we have to carry about, but then he is our fur baby, so it's fair enough really.

I decided the best route to take to get to our destination was not the motorway, it's a bit boring and usually much busier, so instead took the prettier route (across country) and apart from a small delay due to an event in Faversham, the traffic was kind to us and we pretty much sailed through to our destination, Birchington; given it was a holiday this really was a pleasant surprise as I had been anticipating a nightmare journey.

Having arrived, we parked up, unloaded the car and trotted up the road to meet our friends and for me to have a much needed cup of tea. Whilst enjoying our tea, Max set about covering every inch of the home and having a good old sniff as he went, familiarising himself with his surroundings and hoping to find some tasty crumbs lying around. It was such a glorious day that we decided not to waste it and after distracting Max from his sniffing activities, set about getting him ready for a nice walk by the sea.

Now, I have to apologise profusely here, as I had intended to take a series of photos as there were some lovely features along the sea wall (little doorways that would once have led down from the gardens above to the seafront, but it didn't quite work out and the only photo I managed to take was this one.

Why only one photo? Oh, if only I could have bottled it for you, you too could have experienced the strong and heady (or perhaps that should be gut churning) odour of rotting seaweed that has become trapped in the bay with the sun beating down hot and heavy on it. Words really cannot describe the strength nor the foul smell, but I have visited better smelling public toilets. No, really, I have! As you can see, I took this photo from a fair distance away, as I was reluctant to lose the contents of my stomach and so retreated to relative safety (although it was still a little stinky). I'm actually impressed with how well it turned out as I took the photo one handed and with Max tugging me up the hill in an effort to escape the pungent aroma.

Anyway, we carried on up the road and took a slightly more rural, yet more pleasant smelling route home, where Max crashed out on the cool kitchen floor whilst we ate dinner. Okay, so he didn't stay on the kitchen floor when we were eating, he sat under the dining table, but he had a well earned rest and recovered from the trauma of having his very sensitive nose bombarded with yucky smelling seaweed.

Then it was off home via a quick trip to Seasalter and another very lovely cuppa in good company (and in much more pleasant smelling surroundings).