Life Adventures

It might have been the chilly winter weather that arrived a little earlier this year that intensified my Christmas spirit.  I think it is safe to say that was part of the reason.  I suspect the biggest reason I was so excited for  Christmas is that the whole family is still around to celebrate it with us.  Logan made it through another Christmas and all of our family is still alive.  Life is short and these moments of togetherness won't last forever.  A sobering thought, but one that underscores that this Christmas was one to be enjoyed. I made the gifts special.  Rather than random items of things we wear or collect that don't have any real significance, I chose gifts where we could make a connection between the item and the dog I assigned the item to.  Thus, we got 4 gifts, 1 from each dog. Logan got me measuring spoons.  I saw these folk art measuring spoons from Anthropologie and thought this would be a unique gift.  Etched on each...

My Christmas wish came true.  Logan celebrated another Christmas with us.  This miracle made the holiday extra special for me.  I normally don't get too deep into the festivities, but this year, I soaked up every sentimental drop I could squeeze out of the 3 days we spent at home preparing for the day.  I want to remember every moment and even found myself taking fake photo memories with my hands to permanently etch in my mind some of the magic that happened during this time. First and foremost, on the Christmas Eve walk at Deep Run, Logan ran up the big hill after a squirrel.  Sure, he never reached the point of building real momentum, but the desire could not be misperceived as merely wishful thinking on my part.  He truly was present and he made his presence known.   As we rounded the corner at the top of the hill, the fellow dog walkers approached and Logan has learned that these particular dog walkers are like pez dispensers, disseminating a...

Preamble (Stephanie's Musings): There are those who play short-game well and there are those who play long-game.  I have trended towards the long-game most of  my life.  My doctorate in Neuroscience was a 7 year investment.  It required sacrifice, determination, and always keeping the end goal in sight.  Similarly, this goal, to place in the AKC agility Invitational Finals, was a goal 8 years in the making.  It too required persistence, sacrifice, and constant improvement.  I knew from the first moment I decided to take Braddock, that this goal was the journey we'd be on together. I was fortunate to have a dog like him who was motivated to take this ride with me. Of course, we all hope to achieve our goals sooner rather than later.  We qualified for the Invitationals in 2014, 2015, 2016, and now in 2017.  We came to compete all of those years.  In 2014, on the third round, I forgot the course at the end and we had an off-cour...

As I've started Frye in agility competition, Jen and I have been talking about me coming down to GA for a "Greyhound Training Camp."  Since I was driving back through from the Invitational, we made it work to get together for 2 days to train together and give each other some tips. Frye getting ready for training Jen set up the courses for both days.  On day 1 was a JWW course.  The challenges for me were that she had a lot of wingless jumps and they were 4 foot as opposed to 5 foot jumps.  So yes, as expected, Frye missed many of those jumps, running around them as she drifted on her lines and didn't collect herself up.  I also need to work on my front crosses,  Jen ran Maddie and she ran really well. Jen also ran Riley, who is currently retired, but ran this exercise like the pro she always was.  Look how much fun she is having at 11 years old. And here is Frye, needing a few tries to smooth out the run.  At the end, I work a fr...

We came back home via Atlanta/Acworth area in order to stop and see Braddock's puppies. Our place for lodging was a flyer, a campground we'd never seen and we went soley by reviews.  Truly, the campground was beautiful, situated right on Lake Allatoona with spectacular views all along.  The only issue is that for our bigger rig, a 37' fifth wheel, the pull through site we had #44, was rather tight.  In order to avoid hitting a tree, we had to turn sharply and take the front wheel of the truck off the pavement. When the tire came off, the truck bounced and the RV and the truck bed hit, bending the RV body near the hitch molding just a bit.  Truck was fine and hitch was fine. It appears the damage is just asthetic, but frustrating nonetheless.  In the end, we ended up pulling the RV all the way through the pull-through site and then just backing it in as a better angle.  Wish we had just driven past the pull-through entry and just backed ...

Our goal for Florida, apart from the Invitational, was to visit some of our favorite spots.  On Saturday night we made sure to get to Celebration to walk the trails around the lakes, see the decorations, and eat at the Columbian restaurant.  The location is extremely pet friendly so we let Frye eat out with us. We got the usual, the Mahi Mahi Verdadero.  We did try a new appetizer, the Scallops Casinimo, which was amazing.  The only thing they didn't have was the blueberry cheesecake.  Another favorite spot is Lake Louisa.  We strolled Logan along the roads while waking everyone and then parked at the lake to sit out and enjoy the scenery for about an hour.  Frye was laying underneath me so she didn't make it into the picture. When we arrived Friday morning we did stop at Turkey Lake prior to arriving at the show, thinking we'd prefer it over Lake Louisa, but after getting back to Lake Louisa, we decided that it is more peaceful than Tur...

Invitational 2017 Overview: The Invitational was held at the Orange Country Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.  It's been a wonderful venue and a great place to travel to in the Winter.  To qualify for the Invitational, you have to be among the top 5 in your breed during the July 1 - June 30 qualifying period.  To succeed at the Invitational you need to run 4 clean rounds, finish first in your breed, and be fast enough to be among the 12 chosen to go in your height class to go on to finals.  Speed was never our problem.  If Braddock ran 4 clean rounds, we would always make it.  Consistency had been the issue. The fact that Braddock ran 6 clean rounds is a testament that this was his year. Invitational 2017 Course Analysis: On Friday, handlers enter T2B if they desire a warm-up prior to the main event. Braddock ran a wonderful course and finished 2nd among 147 24" dogs. The first challenge was 3 to 4 (weaves).  A few handlers...

Reservations for Hunting Island were cancelled again due to another hurricane this year, so we headed back to Huntington Beach.  This time we stayed on site 66, and I liked it better than site 98.  There is more space between sites and some pretty trees around. The weather was cool in the mornings, 30’s, and reached about 50 in the afternoon.  Some highlights were seeing a school of active dolphins and a bald eagle. We discovered a new nature trail, Kerrigan Trail, near the checkin that leads to a nice overlook. Hard to keep Logan from coming after mamma's treats We revisited The Claw restaurant for lunch and shared the lobster bisque soup, which was excellent.  We split the crab cakes, which we give an OK rating.  Better than most, but not nearly the best we’ve had. view of deck at The Claw View of boats parked along the marsh boardwalk View of inlet from the marsh boardwalk Lunch at The Claw on the enclosed patio We bought group...