Hard to believe we were gone only 24 hours. Tuesday night straight from agility class, the kids, dogs and I drove down to Massachusetts to visit with my parents and see the fireworks in Boston. The weather was not on our side and we came home early, but not before we had a great family visit, swam in my parents pool, and visited the New England Aquarium. Have you ever seen Sea Dragons? They are still my favorite exhibit.

But the thing that was the most special to me, was our very early off leash dog run over at Belle Isle Marsh---my old neighborhood. Belle Isle holds a piece of my heart and it is the only place you can take dogs to run off leash in the East Boston/Revere area. There are leash laws of course , but for as long as I can remember, dogs have run off leash at Belle Isle. If you go make sure you leave the marsh by 7:30 am and do check for your dog for ticks.

Belle Isle is 350 acres of reclaimed marsh land with 7 acres of walking trails. When I was a kid, it was the site of a drive inn movie theater, but because of it's proximity to Logan Airport and the fact that it is on a flight path, it wasn't open for very long. After the drive inn closed, the area became an informal dumping ground, and for years the Friends of Belle Isle Marsh tirelessly cleaned and reclaimed what is now a pristine city oasis.
It was my last dog Dina's favorite place on earth to visit, and it was always a very special place for all my childhood dogs before her. When Dina passed, I took her ashes and placed them under a wild rose bush in the middle of the field.
In keeping with the Jewish tradition, we always place a few rocks at her resting spot when we visit, and as always, we brought with us some very special rocks from Maine.

In the photo, just to the right of Charlee, lies Dina under the wild rose shrub.
I never once regretted the decision to bring her there.

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