Greetings and salutations, my friends. Sid here with you today.

It’s been just super lovely outside here in Chicago so my dad and I took a stroll down to the lake.

If you can believe it, it is our FIRST TIME visiting the lake this year. I know. We live less than two miles away, so why we are not there EVERY SINGLE DAY is beyond me! I’m gonna look into getting a bus pass so I can just go by myself when my dad’s at work.

The waves were pretty out of control so we didn’t go in the water or spend too much time on the beach, but we go for a nice long stroll along the walkway that flanks the water. You get a great view of the city skyline from here when it’s clear out.

And it looks even BETTER with a pug, such as yours truly, in the foreground.

My dad even got a Margarita at the snack shack on the beach. But can you believe he didn’t share it with me?! I mean, I even did my best begging face…

Oh well, I still had a great time! I can’t wait to go again!

In his last post about our excursion to the Chicago lakefront, Sid forgot to mention that our beloved Foster Dog Beach is no more.

The high water level of Lake Michigan gobbled up the small remaining corner of Foster Beach reserved for the 4-legged and the tumultuous storms and heavy waves took out the fencing, deck, and wooden ramp that led down to the dog beach. If you take a look at our post from last summer, you can see what our cute tiny dog beach once looked like. We’ll miss it, but hopefully it can be rebuilt in the future.

Until then, I guess it’s time to find ourselves a new dog beach because this pug wants to swim!

Hello to all my PSP’s (Pug Slope Pals)! It’s Sid with you today to close out the week and carry you into the weekend.

I hope everyone has been having a great summer so far and hasn’t been sweltering from the heat. The Chicago summer has been pretty mild so far so I’ve been able to go on a few long walks to the lakefront.

The first time my dad and I strolled to the lakefront this season, my dad brought along the camera and attempted to shoot some video of me enjoying the huge waves, the sand, and the sun. So without further ado:

Hope you liked my movie! Have a relaxing and treat-filled weekend!

It certainly has been hot here in Chicago and the other day our ceiling fans just weren’t cutting it, so Sid and I took a stroll over to the lake to cool off.

The water level in Lake Michigan is a very high this year and the Foster Dog Beach has been reduced to a little triangle of sand. But Sid hardly noticed as he was there for one reason only: SWIMMING!

I got in the water with him and, let me tell you, that chilly water felt amazing and cooled off both of us instantly.

At times, the waves got pretty choppy and Sid ended up a little deeper than he realized. He is really good in the water, though, and managed to keep his head above water the whole time.

While there, we met a new pug friend: Colby!

Sid and Colby splashed through the waves and kicked up sand while racing each other on the beach. Colby certainly has a cute little face, huh?

With more sweltering days on the way, we may start making every day beach day!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend. Friday was perfect pug weather – sunny, but with a refreshing cool breeze. I got done with work a little early, so in the afternoon Sid and I ventured east to the lake.

Sid must have smelled the sand and surf because as soon as we got a block away he started getting really frisky and started pulling me down the sidewalk which is out of character for him.

Our first glimpse of Lake Michigan occurred at our usual spot, Foster Beach. But the water level was much higher than normal and the entire “dog beach” section of the beach was under water! You see, the area BEHIND the fence is where the dog beach is normally found.

Sid was still just as excited to play in the sand on the outskirts of the dog beach as he would have on the proper dog beach. He had a riot romping up and down the little dunes.

We then headed north along the concrete retaining wall. A few huge waves crashed right near us spraying us with mist – Sid could not conceal his excitement.

“OMG WAVES ARE THE COOLEST! WAAAAAAAAAA!”

If you’ve been following Pug Slope for a while, you know bodies of water of any size – from tiny puddles to massive lakes – have a mesmerizing effect on Sid. He kept intently staring at the waves bobbing and rolling as we strolled along the edge of the walkway.

Soon, we reached the next beach, Osterman Beach.

Sid had a great time running through the larger sand dunes where the grass met the sand. He was channeling his inner-puppy. I had a hard time keeping up with him!

We had so much fun and plan to get to the beach more this summer!

This weekend, we were lucky to have an entire weekend of fantastic fall weather. Yellow and orange leaves slowly tumbled to the ground via unseasonably warm breezes. Even an alley with electric wires and garbage bins can look amazing this time of year.

Sid and I took a nice long late-afternoon stroll eastward. There’s a cute path in Andersonville that winds along the train tracks. We’ve walked this path many times before but this day it happened to be stocked with an array of carved pumpkins. Sid was interested.

Somehow Sid managed to NOT eat any pumpkins. I couldn’t believe it. He sure gave each one a thorough going-over with his super sniffer though.

After wandering through puddles of dappled sunlight courtesy of the beautiful old trees that line the streets of Lakewood-Balmoral, we ended up at the lakefront. The water was exceptionally high that day and the Foster Dog Beach was about 1/8th its usual size!

Soon, the sun started getting lower in the sky and everything became golden. I love Autumn.