Thank you so much for your thoughts. I really do appreciate the sentiments. I also appreciate those of you mentioning about your own losses (mostly via pm) as a reminder that this isn't just me, which I of course know, but need to hear. My perspective has been rattled by the sudden, unexpected and drastic nature of losing Smoochie. I had no idea when I took him to the vet that I would not see, hear, or touch him again. I fully anticipated another 10 years of having him throw grapes, freezing when a raptor would fly by, going bonkers when I would give him a banana chip, and his ritual sunrise/sunset squawks. I've got no one to hang out with and drink my am coffee with outside. I still imagine I hear him. That really hurts.
Saturday I put him in one of the most awesome places I've ever been. If any of you ever have the opportunity to travel to the Monterey/Carmel area of California, I highly recommend the Point Lobos State Preserve as a stop. You can walk maintained paths up onto cliffs and sit on benches overlooking the Pacific, seal island, bird island, coves, tide pools, wildlife galore, and surrounded by pines and cypress trees and native plants. Seals, otters, gulls, star fish, etc. A stunning place for an hour or a day. Diving, snorkeling, kayaking can be done and you can take in some history of the whaling that used to occur a hundred years ago. Google it.
Unfortunately, you can't bring your pets

This is the location in the preserve where I buried Smoochie about 10 paces from the walking path behind a bench (the dark shadow dot on the path):
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Looking south (towards tide pools):
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Looking west:
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Looking north (seal island):
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