"I got 44 Acres...

...and a bitch in every one."

The lyrics to Marty's song of the weekend sung to the tune of Jay-Z's "99 Problems".

We had an absolutely wonderful weekend! It seemed like the first weekend in months that allowed us to have fun with our own plans. We didn’t have to unpack boxes or take stuff to our storage unit. We didn’t have to run errands out in the ‘burbs. We even managed to keep our apartment clean for the week, so we weren’t left dusting and vacuuming. And to top it all off, the weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Our October had been one of the coldest and wettest in decades, so having a weekend in November with highs in the low 70s was certainly welcomed.

What, might you ask, did we do on a Saturday with no responsibilities to attend to? Spend the day with our dog of course! We've felt that we've been neglecting him a bit.  Being away from him during our ten hour workdays is just too much, and with the weather turning and lack of sunlight, it's harder to get out with him for walks and playtime.  Soooo after some Internet searching, I found a forest preserve about 35 minutes north that had a fenced in area dedicated to letting dogs roam free—44 acres to be exact! It was exactly what Marty needed.

A happy dog...

We were definitely proud parents that day. Marty has always been the type of dog that when he gets away, he never wants to return. He runs and runs and runs and never looks back. Saturday was similar, he ran and ran and ran, but we were proud. He constantly kept us in his view, and if he was getting too far away, he would come sprinting back to us. You should have seen the smiles on our faces!

He made some friends...

And was constantly asking for water...

I also used the opportunity to play with my camera in Av and Manual modes (as you can see). The sun was a bit harsh, and I just couldn’t seem to get the exposure right. Oh well, practice makes perfect right?!

I’ll leave our Sunday adventure for Raul to narrate. I’ll just say that we were invited somewhere for free that made Raul (and me of course) very, very happy.  What a great weekend!

Read more...