The Road Most Traveled by "Sea Dog"

Leopold, Leo for short  lives by the sea shore, as a matter of fact he lives right on the harbor. A little history about Leo. He is a black and tan Min Pin, 1 year old who yes came from a pet store. But his owner saw fit to provide Leo with the best opportunity to overcome the first 4 months of his miserable life and he has made great strides. He is amazingly smart. It doesn't take him long to pick up on stuff. Good and bad. if I ever got a little dog it would be a Leo dog. He's got a big dog personality in a compact little body.
A few weeks ago I took to bringing Leo home after a day of daycare. It is about an 8 mile drive to his house.  I find the first view of the water and boats and the smell of the sea  almost as good as a cocktail at the end of the day.
The first few trips were uneventful. But last week as soon as we turned into his drive way Leo let out a little..."Hey everyone I'm home". He did it all three days!
Now people will tell you all the time about how their dogs hear the car when their owner turns into their street, or their dog sees a familiar landmarks and starts getting excited. I know my dogs can be returning from a dog show sound asleep and as soon as I turn into our road up their heads pop. So I got to thinking.
How did Leo know he was home. He couldn't see out the windows because he was in his carrier on the front seat  with his seat belt attached. Unlike an owners car his house wasn't making any noise. Could he sense the amount of time in the car? Did he feel the car climb up the incline to his house? How did he know?
And then last Friday evening it dawned on me as I gulped in the unmistakable smell of a low tide and heard the sailboat lanyards lightly clinking on the masts. Leo who's hearing and sense of smell was a hundred times better than mine knew he was home by the smell of the sea.