Winn's 2nd Place herding run at Corgi Nationals

We tied for first place on this run. I lost 2 points on the cross drive, maybe when I FELL DOWN, and the other team had 0 points off so we came in second.
I could not be more proud of Winn. I have worked so hard to learn herding, and want to thank Susane Hoffman for her patience.
Hope the video shows up here.....

2010 Corgi Nationals

It's our last night in Pennsylvania and I wanted to post quickly before crashing for the night. Tomorrow will be a long day--agility and then the start of the long drive home. As much fun as we've all had, I am anxious to get home; I miss Allen and Maggie and sleeping in my own bed (without having to shush dogs--although they've been really good and the hotel has been relatively quiet).
Our Nationals has been just terrific--seeing old friends, making new friends, watching great corgis. The weekend of herding was a wonderful experience and I learned a ton by watching. Winn worked well, and earned two 'bonus' Qs in Started Sheep. On Sunday we had a very nice run that tied us for first place (we ended up second, as ties are broken on the cross drive and I didn't make it to the #5 marker---um, I fell down and got up and proceeded to the gate instead.)
Today was obedience day! When I sent in my entry for our first Open "A" experience I really had intended to practice. And I did, right before going into the ring--ha!
It took a little bit of time in the ring to get into the rhythm of the heeling, but we actually didn't do badly--in fact Winn's heeling score was the best in the class of 12 dogs (and hey, they had all been there before!) . When it came time for the Retrieve on the Flat, though, I NQ'd us by throwing the dumbbell short of the required 20 feet. Oops. And when the judge walked over to give me back the DB, it unnerved Winn a little and he kept one eye on her the rest of the run.
Then Winn NQ'd us by going AROUND THE JUMP! on the Retrieve over the High Jump. THAT was a surprise.
The high point of my Open A debut though was that Winn actually stayed in a sit--which has NEVER EVER happened before. Not in class, not in practice...never. So THAT was worth the entry for me. And then, he got up on the long down. He has NEVER EVER done that before, either. Ah.......maybe with some practice? Next year!!

DDare's first Corgi Nationals has been great too--lots of dogs and people to meet. His sister Remy was here too and she looks great--such nice dogs.His last baby tooth fell out. He looks like a giraffe. He acts like a monkey! But he's a great little traveling pup.

No matter what I do, this photo shows up sideways. Sorry, you'll just have to lie down to see it correctly oriented. Which is what we are all doing tonight. Chillin' at the Inn.

The Road Trip Gene

So, before I was born, my dad was a travelin' salesman. He sold ad time for radio, covering the state. The story goes that he was in International Falls in mid-March 1953 when my mom went into labor--but when he drove all night to be home, in a snowstorm, part-way with a sheriff's escort (fact or legend?) it was no longer labor. (another version states that my folks' insurance didn't kick in until April, so I was born April 1)

The family traveled (SEVEN kids) for fun--our first camping/fishing trip to the Kinnikinnic; countless horse shows; and our last family trip to Montana to fetch our brother Tim at college.

I've been traveling for work for about 35 years. As a Regional Manager for B. Dalton (ah, remember them?) My region at one point covered the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as well as the prairie of South Dakota, and Minnesota's Iron Range. There were times when I'd leave on Sunday, spend two weeks on the road, and put about 1800 miles on my little Chevy Citation RSM car. As a buyer, I traveled to New York regularly and twice to England in search of bargain books. When I worked at Putnam as an RSM I had seven reps, 23 states, and three time zones.

My sister Nancy has a mobile gift store and routinely rises at 3 am to hit the road--sometimes Florida or California for the winter, and often the greater Midwest for "local" horse shoe circuits.

My brother Rob has been scuba diving in Bali and he and his wife Liz travel to Hawaii often.

Tim went to Ethiopia with friends for six weeks (a long story for another time, but it did involve a later-annulled arranged marriage!)

So today, after 1150.8 miles in two days to Pennsylvania for the Corgi Nationals, I pondered the idea of inherited wanderlust. I realize that most people travel, and take vacation out of town, but I think nothing of driving across the country for a dog show. And traveling with dogs means you don't take a lot of side trips, although we've done a few (LOVE the Badlands loop--but they prohibit you from even taking your dogs out of the car!)

I've been to 43 states in my life so far, and have enjoyed the drive.