A walk through the Japanese Tea Gardens and a bit beyond

Stairs -- you know, the kind you walk up and down?  Most of you probably don't give stairs a second thought, but I LOVE them. Wide, or narrow.  Curved, or straight.  I just can't get enough.  Whenever I discover a new set of stairs, I absolutely lose my mind.  I just have to find out where those stairs go! Here are some of the things I think are at the top of every set of stairs:  a squirrel, a kitty, a new person, some dog food, or something new to sniff and crunch with my teeth.  When you think of stairs the way I think of stairs, you have to admit -- they are really something!

I haven't always been this interested in stairs.  Before I met my humans, Ben and Jeannie, I had never even seen a single stair, much less a whole set!  The night they brought me home, I took one look at those stairs, dug my heels deep in the floor and let out a terrible "Whaaaaaaa??" Or, was it more of a "ssssaaaaaaa!!!"  Either way, it took Ben the better part of an hour to coax me all the way up three sets of stairs.  They didn't know anything about dogs then, so they had no idea what would happen when they tried to take me back down.  As you may have guessed, I freaked!  These stairs that went so high into the sky on the way up, seemed also to go so far into the ground on the way back down.

Jeannie has always been afraid of dogs -- she still is even though I'm pretty much the greatest dog she's ever met.  I think she's nuts, personally.  I try to explain that dogs are the best thing in the world, but she thinks the best things in the world are chocolate and summertime.  Because she's so afraid of dogs, she wanted to get a dog whose personality was very trustworthy with all kinds of situations and people. Before she picked me, I had to pass some pretty weird tests:  1) the kitty test (I passed when I tried to run from an angry baby kitty - so embarrassing); 2) the hug test (Jeannie was too scared, so Ben conducted this test) and 3) the scariest test for Jeannie -- the hands in my food test.  Even though I went through all those tests and passed with flying colors, she was still a little nervous that I had a dark side. (Me?! Oh, come on!)

So, that first night, when I got so afraid of the stairs that went into the ground, Jeannie got scared of me!  She actually thought I might bite her -- which is ridiculous!  I would never bite a person -- I love people! Finally, Ben told her that I couldn't just stay inside the apartment for the rest of my life, so this stair thing had to be addressed.  He scooped up the front part of my body and set my front legs on the first step.  Then, with a lot of encouragement, I was able to go down into the ground and all the way out the front door.

I've come a very long way since that night and I'm quite the stair aficionado these days.  Guess where there are lots and lots of stairs in San Antonio.  At the Japanese Tea Gardens!

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Jeannie surprised me with a trip there for the first time last weekend.  It was too hot to stay very long, so we went back for a second time this afternoon.This place is amazing!  Tons of stairs go up, down and all around!  I could play on those stairs for hours -- or at least until I sensed that a kitty might be nearby...

Get a load of this place -- isn't it the perfect place for a stair-loving doggy?
The best stairs in town!
After I got a good dose of the stair action, I was ready to travel into Brackenridge Park proper.
What a thrill!  When we got there, we saw these gigantic water birds.  I couldn't believe my eyes!
We couldn't stay out and about for too long -- Ben's daddy is coming in for a visit tonight, so they have to finish preparing before his flight arrives. I was a good sport about leaving and didn't give Jeannie too much grief when she asked me to hop in the Subaru.  But, it was pretty obvious that I wasn't quite ready to go...
Being strong for Jeannie's sake...
Wait a second, Jeannie -- maybe I'm not so ready to go after all...
You definitely owe me one...


Thanks for reading about my trip to the best stair collection in San Antonio!  I can't wait to tell you guys about my next adventure! :)


4 comments:

  1. Oh Mayli! I'm so pleased that I discovered your blog! I've been enjoying your comments but I didn't realise you had your own blog until today! I'm so pleased coz now I can come to visit you and follow your adventures too!

    That was a wonderful story about you overcoming your fear of stairs! And also Jeanie overcoming her fear of doggies to adopt you. I think you sound perfect together! :-)

    And what beautiful gardens! I wish I had something like that near me! Do you actually drink tea in them, though? Is there like a teahouse?

    Slobbers,
    Honey the Great Dane

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  2. Hi again, Mayli - just to let you know that I have given you a blog award! PLease come over to my blog to pick it up!

    SLobbers,
    Honey the Great Dane

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  3. @Honey the Great Dane
    Honey, thank you for visiting my blog! I've so enjoyed reading and participating in your experiences, and I look forward to telling you a bit more about me.

    Thank you for the blog award -- I'm very new to blogging and coming up with seven things about myself sounds like a perfect way to get started!

    Mayli the Labradane

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  4. So great that we were able to connect through the Pet Blogger Hop. We LOVE taking Gus to the Japanese Tea Garden. Maybe we'll bump into Mayli some weekend! :)

    We'll be following along to see what Mayli is up to!

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