Day 1: Traveling
-No, ARRIVING- Is Such Great Fun
The Wilmington Holiday Inn - Roberts Centre is a gigantic, well appointed
facility. The lobby -gawd would I hate to heat it- is 3+ stories
tall with
marbley/stone floors throughout. We had to wait a little while for a
room -we arrived kinda' early- but quite the room it is. King bed,
desk, armoire
with TV hidden inside, couch and chairs ... and there's plenty of room.
Walk in closet, bathroom big enough for a small party and a decent, albeit
not exciting, view.
Off in the distance ... I think I can see Barber Court. Rumor has it
Patsy has a room at the Inn while her kennel help (read Mr. Rudy Barber)
is
roughing it in the RV. There's a small collection of mobile homes
off in the distant hinterlands. We see a Priority Club reservation for
Craig Schumann but no Schumann's in residence yet. We know the Bombergers
are around ... somewhere. We can't find them; neither here nor
across the way at the Holiday Express. Those Midwestern
RV'ers ... can't pin 'em down.
The ring is GIGANTIC. I'm not sure I've ever seen a ring at a show
-specialty or otherwise- so large. I don't get out much though.
No matter
how large the entry, this ring will accommodate it methinks. We've bumped
into Christy Gonzalez (CA) and Laurie Schisler (CA) a coupla' times
already. Betsy, Doreen, Lynda Barber-Wiltse and Brian Cox competed
in teams (they didn't win, but results are Janes bailiwick.)
CBRR&R has a lovely booth manned by Rita Peters (OH) with items for
sale and games of chance. There's a booth waiting for Sandie Pappa
and the ACCCT. There's a few vendors here already but more to come.
Maxine Lundberg's inimitable touches are evident at the clothing table.
You'd be surprised how many CBR folk nurse; ask Maxine.
Let's see we saw Sybil Winfield in the lobby, Sherry Massey was busy all
day with obedience either corralling people or proudly handing out awards.
We saw Donna Cronin near the rings this afternoon and Gail Ferguson (who I
think I heard mutter ... Who the h... is that?) Our favorite Hope
from MD
was running around the obedience rings; she's packing it in early though
and not staying for the whole Specialty. Confirmation is just not
Jana's
thing.
Christy just said they're expecting Joanne Silver very shortly -after a 9
hour drive- WITH 9 DOGS. Joanne, Are you out of your ever lovin'
mind? No
wonder Stan stayed home.
We're having dinner with the Stewarts (MD) and going to try a steak and
rib place ... "known throughout the Midwest" for fine food (or
at least that
what it's publicist says!) Reports are the restaurant here in the
hotel is quite good. Coffee is free for hotel guests! The room
service menu even
appears reasonable.
We ran into the couple from Denmark today and a woman from New Zealand.
The Danish couple drove cross country after the Field Specialty ... and
hit
4 Cabela's along the way. Talk about outdoor clothing and
accessories burnout ...
Early indications are Yvette is on track to pull off another winner of a
Specialty. Gawd do these people -those who undertake to put on a
Specialty
for their fellow breed supporters- deserve big, big rounds of applause.
Way to go Yvette. Apaws, apaws, apaws.
More later ...
Barbara and Fred, On The Road at the 2006 American Chesapeake Club Show
Specialty.
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Day 2: Life Under The
Big Top
Firstly, the judging. I know, I know. "Who the h___ is
Fred Feins?" Well,
firstly and secondly; the judging and the facility. BOTH TOP NOTCH.
We don't generally show dogs, all we've got right now is a tired old
RESCUE! dog living out her
days with us. And alot of empty kennels (and fenced property.)
But we did meet a lovely, young dog today who might like to live with us!
But at the end of judging today I walked over to the judge and asked if I
could have a moment. I told her what an honor and privilege it had
been to see her judging today. She was a little taken aback.
She said, "Who are you? Are you someone I should know?"
I can't quote my response but in effect it was, ... Not at all, just breed
supporters; we go to most pecialties -Show and Field- and your judging was
outstanding, in our opinion. Two things stood out; firstly, you were
colorblind and secondly, you didn't care who was on the other end of the
eash. We had a very pleasant exchange; frankly I thought she was
done with her assignment. Maybe I should've waited until tomorrow,
when she was done but ... darn she was good. (And foolishly, I
didn't look at tomorrow's
classes and judges so didn't realize!) Others no doubt will -and
should- disagree.
I didn't necessarily agree with all the judge's picks and I wouldn't have
necessarily put up the same dogs in every case ... but she was an easy
judge to respect. She was warm and personable with the dogs and the
handlers. One handler misunderstood the instructions; she went out and
back twice when she had been instructed to go out and back, then around.
The judge and the handler just looked at each other. The handler was
like a doe in the headlights, she didn't know what to do. The judge
smiled, put her hands on the handler's shoulders, they had a good, quick
laugh together and she sent the handler on her way ... around, this time.
Like I said, it was a pleasure to watch her judge. Remember ...
we're rank amateurs, all we know is what we like. There were other
miscues and missteps that were handled
just as graciously. She has class!
Let's see. Oh yeah, the facility. I am as impressed today as I
was yesterday. The ring is bigger than anything I've ever seen.
Best of Breed will still overflow, no doubt, but it is huge. And
well lit. Very well
lit. No obstructions, no columns, just clear spans. This must
have been some expensive building to erect.
The hotel itself -the staff especially- is top notch too. Last night
we had little problem in the room. I called the desk to report it
and they were apologetic and were going to send someone right up. I
told them it was unnecessary, just wanted them to know of the problem.
A few minutes later I aw an envelope slide under the door. 2
complimentary breakfasts. How thoughtful.
THERE IS A CAT SHOW HERE TOMORROW! CATS. HUNDREDS OF CATS.
Right down the hall. Oh boy. "Loose dog" will take
on a whole new urgency.
Melissa arrived sometime late last night (but was still charming and
beautiful early this morning!) The Bombergers surfaced; they had
gotten bad directions -real men don't get lost, remember- and didn't
arrive until 10:00 PM. They were booked elsewhere but a room here
opened up so here hey are. Gail Ferguson DID NOT say, "Who is
that masked man?" Boy does news -even fake news- travel fast.
That little comment made it back from San Diego ... seemingly in minutes!
My mailbox was overflowing ... oh yeah, that's another story.
Now hold the applause, but I almost got us and the Stewarts crushed last
night. We went out to a GREAT sports bar/restaurant for
"famous" ribs and teaks ... and they were. We had a great
dinner (and OUTSTANDING apple martinis!) We got in the car and
pulled onto the street ... going the wrong way on a one-way street!
Oh boy. Reverse direction, FAST. Three lanes of traffic coming
at us, around a curve. REAL FAST in reverse. When we were
safely back in the parking lot ... there were no signs in the parking lot
or on the street opposite the exit. Gotta' think this has happened
before; we can't be the only out-of-towners who've been to this FAMOUS
restaurant. Gotta' remind them about that sign. And no ... the
driver could have EASILY assed a field sobriety test.
No excuses, we had arrived at the restaurant a few hours earlier on that
same one-way street, ... but. As we were sitting in the parking lot
wondering if we should dare try driving on a public roadway again, ... 2
sheriff's cars went by with their flashing lights on. I wondered if
they ere looking for us? Whatever. We're here ... still On The
Road, ...
Yvette is moving around non-stop. Perpetually in motion. She
looks worried. I guess it goes with the territory when putting on a
show of this magnitude. The devil is in the details. She
should relax though,
everything is going just great. Apaws, apaws, apaws.
Oh yeah, one last little tidbit. We saw a real show of courage and
guts. A dog was in the holding area to be shown by a friend of a
friend of the owner. The dog was growly, not bad but not good
either. The handler was uncomfortable -not unreasonably- and
withdrew the dog. We know the owner and felt bad for her, but if a
dog is "off" for whatever reason ... better to avoid the ring.
Here, here.
More later ... we're off the the Luau!
Barbara and Fred, On The Road at the 2006 American Chesapeake Club Show
Specialty.
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Day 3:
What A Day
It's over, except for the WD tomorrow morning. By now you should
know the winners, those honored with JAMs and the less than tickled ...
those that weren't as fortunate as others. We think the judging was
ood; better than good. Some others disagree, as well they should.
We look at some things -through our inexperienced eyes- others look at
other things. We think the judges did a GREAT job. They all
spoke at the banquet tonight; their comments were brief and entirely
complimentary. Their ring presence was
superb; they were gracious and appreciative of the honor of being invited.
Our hosts, Yvette Pete, Mary, Bill, Sherry and the countless others who
worked with them -working out the logistics of a large show with hundreds
of entrants and spectators- were GREAT. They couldn't have been more
warm, welcoming, ... and efficient. Maybe we should just let Yvette
and Pete do this every year!
We bought a beautiful book at the auction tonight. A 1948 first
edition of American Sporting Dogs. A coupla' people were less than
pleased that they missed out ... we're tickled to add this lovely first
edition to our bokshelf.
Connecticut, Minnesota, Alaska and Colorado ACC members made and submitted
EAUTIFUL baskets for auction. What a great idea ... more state
contingents hould participate.
Robin Haskins was the auctioneer with the mostest tonight. She plied
the road and squeezed out
money from ... ACC members, which sometimes is no easy feat. Thank
you Robin.
Maxine Lundberg ... running a discount clothing store out of her trunk.
What a sweet person; a sweet, hard working, dedicated to the breed person
that is. She was out of 3-X ... but I gotta' lose some of this bulk
anyway.
Oh yeah ... you gotta' see the Committee-Judges table all decked out in
their Purina Dew Rags. Uh huh, dew rags. That was a table full
of fashionistas. Jane's got photos; these will be collector's items.
Jane gets up early and stays up late ... posting results and photos is not
a 1-2-3 kinda' chore. She spends hours every day bringing the show
to you at home. Apaws, apaws, apaws.
Ron Anderson is laid up, results of an accident a few years back and
follow-up problems. He was 'wheelin' around the banquet tonight ...
I waved and almost ended up buying a CBR painted on velvet! I sat on
my hands from then on! We really like Karen and Ron ... and their
dogs. We don't know them well, but enjoy seeing them when our paths
cross.
Sybil and Stephanie, the Bombergers and their grandson and his girlfriend
joined us for dinner. A gay time was had by all. The Humers
and Jeffcoats were at the next table with the Stewarts, Lynda Barber-Wiltse,
Doreen Palmer. They put us right up front ... so they could keep an
eye on us? Or so we could bid easily? Hmmmm.
At one point ... George took off his pants. 'Nuff said. The service
staff at the hotel and centre were outstanding. In every way. Gotta'
get some sleep. Wanted to give you a taste of the last day.
I'll
try to find some more time in the morning.
Apaws, apaws, apaws. To the Committee, the judges, stewards,
helpers, exhibitors, etc., etc., etc. Soooooo many people worked to
give us a good time. Apaws, apaws, apaws.
Barbara and Fred, On The Road at the 2006 American Chesapeake Club Show
Specialty.
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