Day 32: Brave The Train To The Beach

We're so spoiled! Every weekend we've gone out to the beach so far we've been able to drive, either by renting our own car or catching a ride from friends. Since our friends came out to the beach a couple of days ago, we knew we could get a ride back with them if we took the train out.

It is Wednesday, so even though it's a few days before a long holiday weekend, we thought it might be a little less crazy to take the train out to Long Island today instead of on a regular summer Thursday or Friday. It was maybe slightly less crazy, but the midday train was still packed enough today that there were people standing for part of our ride.

The most worrisome part of the trip was traveling with Ginger. Though she is generally better on a train than when she is traveling in a car, she still can be whiny and temperamental, wanting to climb out of her bag or sit in your lap or wander the train car. Or, she can be relaxed and great. It's really hit or miss.

Ginger  being a good girl, en route to Westhampton

The trip from NYC to Westhampton on the train requires you to switch trains in Queens. We got seats together during the first leg, but when we switched trains Shawn and I had to sit a few seats apart from each other. Ginger started to get antsy. Since I've been home from school and work these past few weeks, she has become increasingly demanding. If both Shawn and I are together with her, she wants to be able to keep both of us in her line of sight. She refuses to walk with one of us while the other stays home, something she previously had little problem with. And when we do take her for a family group walk, if one of us falls behind, she'll put on the brakes and crane her neck until she spots the straggler and they join the group. No one is ditching Ginger while she's on duty.

Ginger's new sense of keeping us all together came through on the train. As she sat on my lap in her bag, a row behind and to the right of Shawn, she started to whine to find him and sit with him. He was on the phone, so he didn't know she was trying to get his attention. Not wanting to offend those sitting around me, I shushed  her and tried to sooth her the best I could. That's not really the best way to ride in a train for two hours. I just wanted to read a book or play Candy Crush.

Eventually, the train started to empty out and Shawn and I were able to move next to each other. Then Ginger started whining for another reason: she had to pee. Over the years, I've gotten a pretty good sense of when Ginger needs to go to the bathroom, when she's hungry, when she's feeling sick or when she just wants to play. As she looked wistfully out the train window and even started scratching at the glass in an effort to get out, I knew she needed to go.

Thankfully, we were less than an hour from Westhampton when Ginger's urge arrived. We made it safely to dry land before Ginger needed to relieve herself on my lap. And that was really the most eventful part of the trip. Other than that, our day was pretty normal and nondescript. We cooked dinnner, drank wine and played games at the beach house with some friends while our dogs played together. It was peaceful, it was simple, it was a great way to start a long holiday weekend.