Just a half-hour drive north of Mammoth Lakes lies Mono Lake, one of the strange yet beautiful landmarks of central California.  There was no one there besides us.  We took an afternoon out of our Mammoth trip to visit this natural wonder.  There was a small little hiking trail that took us around interesting mineral formations that must have once been completely under water.  The salinity of the lake is extremely high, much higher than ocean water.  Only certain creatures can survive in Mono Lake.  Luckily, Toby had no interest in jumping into the lake for a swim. :-)  The weather was just gorgeous, just a slight chill in the air.  It was so peaceful out there, like our own little alien world.

Toby and I at the beginning of our hike.

I love the colors in this picture.

Mr. BAW and Toby heading towards the lake.

Mono Lake's strange mineral formations.

Spring is signaling its arrive early this year.  So in order to get the most out of Mr. BAW's ski pass, we had to act fast!  We took a quick weekend car trip to Mammoth Mountain one last time before all the snow melts.  It would also be the first time Toby sees snow!! I was super excited to see if Toby hates the solid form of H2O as much as he hates the liquid form. :-)

The weather in Mammoth was extremely warm, ~60F.  The snow at the ground was starting to melt.  Luckily I packed layers and was able to get away with a lighter coat at the base of the mountains.  Eventhough I didn't ski, I took the gondola ride with Mr. BAW up to the summit and got a few spectacular pics.  I took the gondola back down while Mr. BAW took the faster way down. :-)

Toby's first snow sniff and he didn't seem to mind the cold stuff! :-)  I took him into the woods for a little romp in the fresh, clean snow.  He walked around not bothered by the cold snow.  His cute little paw prints soon littered the hillside.  After a while, I also discovered that Toby likes to chase after snow balls.  I would throw a snow ball and Toby would hop over to sniff the scattered snow.  I guess it's better than fetching a ball, there's nothing for him to bring back! :-)

Overall, we had a fun trip.  We stayed at the Shilo Inn which was very dog friendly.  They even have doggie treats at the check in counter.  We also drove to Mono Lake for a little light hiking.  Stay tune for more pics!

After a week of gloom and cold, we had the most amazing weekend.  The sky was blue and the temperature was ~80F at the beach.  Mr. BAW had a good friend visiting from Arizona so we had to invite him to spend the entire Sunday at the beach with us.  We took a long walk along The Strand and out to the Hermosa Beach Pier for some awsome views of the coast. 

We then all had brunch at a local beach place.  Unfortunately, the place was extremely unfriendly to dogs and even though they have tons of patio seating, they made Toby stay outside of their fence on the crowded sidewalk with no shade.  It was no wonder we didn't see any dogs at that restaurant whereas we saw tons of dogs at places like Good Stuff and Uncle Bill's Pancake House.  I think it's sad that more and more beaches and restaurants are becoming increasingly dog-unfriendly.  Maybe they've had issues with bad dog owners who don't clean up after their dogs or have unruly dogs.  But it's unfortunate for responsible dog owners who just want to share more of life's wonderful experiences with their furry ones.

The picture on the left is my favorite picture of my boys.  Such adorable smiles on both of them! :-)