Its getting close...to halloween

Sunrise

This was the view from our deck this morning, a preview of another superb day - with temperatures in the mid 70's.
Another dog show - with great results. Both Mister & his sister Sera became champions today - Woo Hoo.....

Another lovely fall day

We showed today, but it was oh so leisurely - our ring time was 3 o'clock, so no early rising, and the show is just a short 1/2 hour from home. I showed Mister and he won 4 points and so needs just 1 more point for this championship title - so we have our fingers crossed for tomorrow.

We have been having the most spectacular weather, with warm (60's) sunny days, and cooler nights and we have all (dogs & humans) been enjoying it. Have not been doing anything in particualr, but have been indulging in our other addiction - Jigsaw puzzles... and this is the one we are currently working on - its a real challenge as all the pieces are unusual and irregular shapes and the colors very similar.

Home Again

As usual, did not get to see much of the town that I visited (Springfield,IL) but the downtown area in which I stayed, was very nice and I did do some walking around in the afternoon/early evening but it is a shame I did not get to the Lincoln Library, as I was told it is worth a visit.
Still it was good to come home and see all the dogs - and David again and to sleep in my own bed tonight. I arrived home to spectacular weather - and the flight along the Columbia River this afternoon was just spectacular, with splendid views of Ranier, Adams and St Helens.

Off to Springfield

Tomorrow I am off to Springfield, Illinois, to judge shows for 4 days. hopefull I will have some spare time to see something other than just the fairgrounds. The photo above is of Lincoln's house where he lived prior to becoming President - its supposed to be open to the public.

Saturday Brunch

David and I went to Brunch today at a restaurant on the Columbia River - called Salty's. They do a very nice buffet with all sorts of seafood, so we had plenty of shrimp, mussels, oysters (just David), crab .....well you get the idea. It was a glorious fall day, nippy but not a cloud in the sky, and beautiful views of the river.

Get Well Soon, Carrie

Our dear friend Carrie had surgery today to remove part of her stomach, she has been battling cancer for the last year and hopefully this surgery will remove all the cancerous tissues and send her into remission. Our thoughts are with you at this time...be strong and we will see you soon.

The picture above is of Santorini (one of Carrie's favorite places)

Photos

Thanks to Miikka Toivola for the photos above

Estes Park and home.....

The National Sweepstakes were on Wednesday and Bob was handled by our friend Anne and he was 2nd in the 9-12 puppy class, then Terri PC showed Mister and he won the 12-15 month class. In the bitch classes Anne showed Sera to a 3rd place (she was beaten by her sister – Abby, who was having a great time and won the class). We finished showing early this day and a group of us, including Pia & Knud from Denmark and Liz & Barry Friedlander went to a Wine and cheese restaurant, where great conversations and merriment was had by all. It’s really great to meet up with all of our friends at least once a year.
Thursday: All the 15” were judged today and Bob won the 6-9 class, Mister was 2nd in BBE dogs and was beaten by the Winners dog and Mister was RWD. Sera won the BBE class. Herbie made a couple of cuts but did not progress further.
Another night where all of the international guests accompanied us to a night on the town, which was enjoyed by all.
Friday was 13” judging, and a rest for me, as we had no entries. I actually got to watch some of the judging…. In the evening we headed to a wonderful restaurant overlooking Estes Park. Then we packed up all the dogs, our belongings and made ready for an early departure on Saturday. We said farewell to all of our friends from around the US and overseas.
Saturday: We drove to Layton, UT where we stayed at a very nice, dog friendly Hampton Inn, the weather had changed and when we got up on Sunday it was POURING down rain, so Carrie & I got rather wet. We then drove through the day with just a couple of stops and got home around 8pm. All the dogs and humans were VERY happy to sleep in their own beds that night.
Monday: Unpacking, washing, drying & shopping filled most of the day. I also squeezed in a trip to the Vet, to get Burt his Health Certificate as he heads to his new owner, Will Finnell in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

To Estes Park

On Thursday 25th September, we (3 people – Carrie, David and myself) and 5 Dogs (Herbie, Mister, Burt, Sera and Bob) piled into the car for the 1300+ mile journey to Colorado. Our first day of travel got us to Twin Falls, Idaho

where we stopped overnight and tried to get the dogs into the routine necessary for a long trip. The weather was lovely, not too hot. An early start Friday (pretty much the order of the day for the next 10 days!) saw us heading to Salt Lake City, where I attended the Akita National Judges education, while David and Carrie relaxed.
Saturday we drove to Estes Park and passed through some beautiful scenery on the way to the hotel.

We arrived at about 5pm and settled us and the dogs into the hotel, before heading out to dinner. We were amazed at how many tourists were in town also, fortunately this appeared to be a weekend crowd, as it was less populated during the week.
Monday started the week of showing with the Rocky Mountain Beagle Club Sweepstakes in which Bob won the 9-12 class, Mister won the 12-15 class and Sera was 4th in the 12-15 class (her sister Abby) won the class.
This was followed by the regular classes for Rocky Mountain Beagle Club and Bob was 2nd in the 9-12 puppy class Mister won the Bred By class and went on to win 15″ Best Bred By Exhibitor. Sera was 2nd in Bred By (her sister Abby again won the 12-15 class.) Herbie earned an Award of Merit
Our friends from Europe – Annica and Anne & Miikka joined us for Dinner on Monday along with Oleg from Maryland. Anne chose the wine and a VERY good choice she made!
The weather was just lovely, in the 70’s during the day, so great for walking, and we had some spare time and walked down to the lake, saw some Elk up close (pictures to follow soon, from my friends) and lots of deer near the hotel. The altitude unfortunately affected some people (Estes Park is at about 7500 ft) with a couple being hospitalized, our group of friends, was thankfully unaffected.

More to come……