Hobie was very interested in the box of gifts we received from Kris' family. He managed to sniff out his gift and once he heard it squeak, we couldn't leave it under the tree. So we hid his gifts in the closet until Christmas Eve. He could barely contain his excitement once he finally got his gift.

On our way down to the coast, we realized we had forgotten to bring a toy for Hobie. Luckily, we spotted a pet store along the freeway and made a quick dash inside and chose a Chuckit! Flying Squirrel
. The crazy miniature schnauzer was clearly delighted with his new toy.

Hobie was definitely a much happier camper at Big Sur vs. Big Basin. It was much warmer at Big Sur and running off leash at Pfeiffer Beach was pure heaven. We wrapped up the weekend by spending the afternoon on the Carmel River Valley State Beach

We got there after dark, but that didn't stop Hobie from barking like a crazy dog when I left the car to check in. Fortunately, he calmed down as soon as his little pack got back together.

We stayed in the Wastahi Campground (PDF map of park). We stayed in site 85, which was fairly secluded (site 86 was even more secluded). Stay away from the sites just down the road from 85 - they are right next to each other. There were a few other dogs nearby, and it looked like most of them were off leash while inside the camp site.

The campsite itself was pretty nice, although Hobie found it a little cold for his liking. We could just bundle up and sit near the campfire, but Hobie wasn't quite happy sleeping on his pad. However, when I put him (and his pad) on my lap he quickly curled up and fell asleep.

Hiking with Hobie
Since Hobie is not allowed on any of the trails, we had to walk along the main road to the fire road, near the check-in point.

It's about a 20-minute walk away from the check-in point and the main day-use parking lot.

The fire road is a couple of miles long, and it's a pretty nice walk. It starts out as a two-lane paved road (closed to traffic), but turns into a more conventional fire road about a mile up. On the way there are a lot of day-use areas there were closed off (not sure of it was because it was late in the season or because of budget cuts).

We bring water when we go hiking with Hobie, and a few sips of water tends to get him (and us) re-energized.

Hobie staying warm

We stayed there for two nights, and the next day Hobie figured out that in addition to my lap, the sleeping bags also made a comfortable sleeping surface.

On overall, this was a good campsite to bring Hobie to, although the hiking options were pretty much limited to one fire road.

We took Hobie to the downtown Sunnyvale pet parade last weekend. I took the opportunity to reuse his reflective vest and turned into his Halloween costume - a miniature schanuzer crosssing guard, complete with whistle and stop sign. I found a picture of the stop sign online and pasted it onto some cardboard, and sewed it onto his vest.

And as one passerby commented, Hobie was a very alert crossing guard! Be safe out there tonight. Happy Halloween!

It's kind of like lawn bowling, and since there is throwing involved, Hobie is of course very interested.

We went to the Whisman School Park in Mountain View after a walk, and set up. I hoped Hobie was tired after walking for an hour, but once the game was set up and things were flying in the air all thoughts of tiredness were forgotten.

Although Hobie sits still in the picture, he spent the entire time running around the game. Although he didn't interfere with the game, I think he (not so) secretly hoped this would turn into a game for him.

The Whisman School Park is a good neighborhood park for dogs as they are allowed off leash in one corner. Officially it is only for off-leash training, but it looks like the local dogs are usually having a good time playing. One of the regulars told us to be on the lookout for park rangers and just leash Hobie should we see one.

It was love, er, bark at first sight. We went to visit my friend Kat and her new dog, Bella. She spotted us from her perch at the window and Hobie greeted her with a round of woofs at her door. Bella followed Hobie around the house, got close enough to sniff, but she knew better than to engage him in play. Hobie in turn growled at her and stole her football. They tolerated each other but preferred their people instead.

When it was time for us to leave for dinner, they whined and barked together. And when we returned home, we found them both asleep on the couch, though at opposite ends. And when it was time to say goodbye, they somehow ended up laying next to each other and we snapped away with the photos. That's Tokai in the middle, keeping an eye on Hobie and Bella. Not pictured is Milo, aka Jaba the Hut, who is the biggest cat I have ever seen - almost weighs as much as Hobie!

Ah, back on the beach again in Half Moon Bay. Life is good.

That's Hobie there emerging from the belly of the plane in Frankfurt to connect to our flight back home. When we finally met up again in San Francisco, he was understandably crying and whining, which drew such sympathetic looks from other passengers as we waited for our bags. Hobie emerged before my bags, a first for us. Kudos to the ground crew at United!

This miniature schnauzer has had his share of flying. Too bad Hobie can't earn frequent flier miles too.

We celebrated Hobie's birthday with some hiking and canoeing out in Vuosaari. Hobie wasn't too thrilled about jumping into the canoe, but once we were out in the water, he seemed a little more comfortable, walking up and down the canoe to check on our progress. As we paddled out further toward open water, the sea became a little more choppy, rocking the canoe ans scaring Hobie. He somehow ended up laying across my lap.

It started raining a little and we headed back a little earlier than expected. We pulled into the dock, and another kayaker mentioned she admired how well-behaved he was. Once he was on deck, Hobie sprinted the full length of the dock to dry ground then sprinted back toward us and somehow ended up back in the water. I think Hobie might've preferred to spend his birthday playing fetch on the grass instead.

His special birthday treat included a big chunk of cheese in his usual organic kibble. He was definitely happy with that.

Today Hobie turns 10! I think it's fair to say he had a pretty good year. We moved to a new country, and Hobie sniffed out much of the city. The highlights include:

• moving to a new country


• attacking a giant snowball


• ice skating for the first time by pulling around the rink


• removing an old dog fat lump


• first sleep over and morning run with Shehani


• lake swimming during Juhannus


• canoeing for the first time and panicking


• learning he's afraid of horses and spending nearly a week with Auntie Denise


• flying back to Norway to meet Phillip and teaching him how to bark


• more lake swimming at a mokki


• riding on buses, trams and trains, now with minimal whining

He's still impatient as ever and still crazy whenever a toy comes out to play. Hobie still loves going for long hikes but now he needs more time to recover. People are always surprised when they learn how old the spinning ball of energy is, and we hope that energy remains for a long time.

Wishing the best schnauzer dog in the world a very happy birthday! Here's to another year filled with new adventures and more cheese!

long walk + nonstop fetch + swimming = tired but happy Hobie

Hobie does not approve of Kris' floor cleaning methods

This little guy is Hobie's new cousin! Philip is the new schnauzer puppy that belongs to Kris' sister. He's three months old and weighs a hefty 4kg. He's super sweet but super difficult to walk with on a leash. He stops frequently and Hobie tries to pull him along.

Hobie isn't a fan of Philip's boundless energy and Hobie quickly established that he's top dog around here with a few snarls. Philip learned pretty fast to not try and play with Hobie's beard. Though he complains, I think Hobie will miss him when we go back to Helsinki.

Hey, the dog looks like Hobie, beard and all!

Checking out the potential.

Alas, it just wasn't meant to be.

Hobie didn't seem to mind walking on the frozen bay. As you can clearly see, this was Hobie's winter coat, taken about two weeks ago.