SF2015: Transportation turmoil

Let me just say that a ~13-14 hr combined flight/drive journey from Oregon to Florida via ATLANTA is not for the faint of heart.  A bit over 4 hours in flight, 6 hours driving PLUS over 3 hours of airport time (before take off & after landing).
Everything at the airport took a long time & either the airport or airline needed more manpower to make it work at all efficiently.
I will concede that the TSA woman who checked our crates for explosives & shit was very nice.  She offered us water & made sure our cushions were fluffed before we got back into the crates.  This was the highlight of my trip.
I don't know what J's highlight was, from her description of her cramped seat & no leg room, I was probably more comfortable in cargo.
Once arriving in Atlanta, J was flummoxed on how to get the rental car.  She had found a nice porter (Lester) to help her with all her stuff & our crates, but the car rental kiosks are not in the terminal - you take a train to them.  He could not even accompany her to the train platform an adjacent building -- which didn't matter in the big picture,  because she could not have gotten her luggage, Opa!, & I (in crates) off the train before the doors would have shut leaving half of her shit behind.  Lester patiently waited for her with us while she went to get the minivan.  He thought this would take 30 minutes, but this was closer to an hour.  Seriously.
Finally, J got back with the minivan, loaded us up, tipped Lester well, and zoomed south from ATL.  The driving part of the trip was pretty uneventful.  J did make lots of caffeine stops, but this gave us opportunities to stretch our legs.

Tonight there was a meet & greet in the hotel.  A few of my fans recognized me & were thrilled to meet me in real life.  It is nice to feel appreciated.   J picked up her 'welcome' bag & 'welcome' bandanas for Opa! & I.  She managed to find one for me that is floral without being "girlie", but I don't think I need a bandana.  Opa! is happy that her 'girlie' bandana matches her new 'girlie' lure coursing slip that Kati sent from Finland.  Whatever.

Silkenfest 2015: Preparation

My fans may have been wondering why there have been no posts as Silkenfest approaches.
For the past few years I have posted (with J's assistance as my scribe) as we traveled in Ivan the InPhenite Van all across the country to SF.   Last year the trip was short - it was only a few hours away in Olympia, WA.  This year SF is in Florida.  That should be a long trip, right?  Well, not if you are flying.

J is very considerate (she thinks) and wants to limit our flight time & avoid potential baggage handling errors as much as possible; so she is flying direct to ATL.  We are then DRIVING to Florida.  Excuse me?  That is at least 6 hours!  This is pretty ridiculous.  I tried pointing out that Seatac is only 3 hours from Portland.  This means our driving time is twice what it should be.  Grr.

J has argued that flying into ATL will allow us to visit with some of her family on the return.  Well, it will be nice to see my human grandparents, but I've never met her brother, his wife, and their kids.  I might not like them.  AND they have a LAB.  Do you know how annoyingly enthusiastic young Labs are?  And BIG, and probably fat (at least compared to me).  I don't know if I will like that . . .

OK, I got distracted by that side trip.  Back on track to SF2015.
J has been throwing clothes & dog food, & show leads & LC blankets & more clothes, etc into the guest bed room for days.  Today she needs to get her act together & actually put them in a suitcase.  She also has the BadAss Trophy in an enormous box with tons of padding.  She hopes they will let her take it on the plane, but I say it is too big.  Plus the statue has a pointy nose & tail; they might think she could use it as a weapon.

Our flight is not until this evening.  Hopefully it will be smooth sailing!  Or flying, as the case may be.

Spy vs Spy (4)

J & Rob brought us to Central Oregon for Xmas.  I like it here.  There's lots of open space, it rarely rains, there's a nip in the air (it's COLD), but the air smells of Juniper & there is a dusting of snow on the ground.  Merry Christmas!  . . . or not . . .
Enough pleasantries, let's get serious.  Santa is bullshit.  There may have been pig ears, cow trachea, and treats both from Zuke's and Stella & Chewy's.  But I do not believe in Santa, and I do not believe in playing dress up.
WTF - jingle bells & Santa suits?  Are you kidding me?

Plus the brat didn't have to wear a Santa suit.  Yeah, they gave him an elf hat & bells, but no Santa or elf coat.  The indignity of it.  I may look like the Grinch's dog, but I feel more like the Grinch.  Bah Humbug!

Not to mention the little so-called Spy blew it.  He made it through the mountains without puking; he managed not to pee in the car even though it was a long trip due to slow going over the snowy pass; but once at the house he pooped in the living room.  What kind of spy does that?  Please . . . 

Spy vs Spy (3)

Well, what do you know . . . Conner did something clever.  This was after having done something stupid, of course.

J took him to Allagante for an Xmas party.  Thank goodness she did not make me go (-Opa! told me the details-).  It was pouring rain so the ground & grass would have been wet (ick); plus there'd have been lots of strange dogs milling about.  Opa! enjoys that - but I often find it tedious, especially if adolescent boys get too sniffy.  The Sanders do leave out a box of treats - free for the taking - but still . . . there's a lot to put up with.
Of course, when we get to go play outside, it's a completely different story.  I get to chase the lure.  Some people, who know me only for my brains, are surprised to see how fast I am.  My early speed out of the box is impressive, but J won't let me race because I sometimes get irritated if some dog even faster catches me from behind.
Sorry, I got off track.

Anyway, J drove out with Opa!, and my Rob brought Conner out later.  Conner puked in the car (snort).  Rob had had him in his lap & had to dry off with a hair dryer.  It serves him right, the traitor.  I'm usually the only dog Rob lets ride in his Mini.
Everyone ooh'd & ahh'd about how cute Conner is (big deal, all puppies look cute even if annoying).  Then he started running about & paused to pee on the entry mat.  HAH!!
J put him in one of 2 runs off the covered patio while she went in to clean off the mat.  That's when he did something clever.  The 2 runs are separated by a shed with 2 interior compartments, and somehow he got from one side to the other.  Apparently this has not happened before.  J peered into the shed from both sides, but she could not see where he went through.

Very interesting.  There may be some hope for this wannabe spy.  I'll have to check out that shed next time I am there.

Spy vs Spy (2)

I'm still having trouble with the spy references.  SummersSpiritInPhenite 007, really?  At least she shortened the call name from Sean Connery to just Conner.  That way this spy BS is not flagged in my face every time they call him.

He is not so bright.  Yeah, he's very athletic & good at escaping pens when athleticism is what's required.  (I don't think J can get the video to work. grr)

but being a climber is not all it takes.

Just last night he failed to escape from his puppy prison (after earlier escapes, it's got a roof over most of it now) - but when J went to release him, I could see that she had forgotten actually to latch the gate.  He could have pawed it open.  What a dope.  He just sat in there & whined after he'd finished eating.

How can he be a future spy & live up to his name sake, Sean Connery?  Sean Connery could climb a fence without becoming ruffled & with no smudge on his tuxedo, but he was also smart enough to use a gate when available.

Spy vs Spy (1)

WTF:

It's a puppy.  He arrived just a few days before Thanksgiving.  Well, Happy Thanksgiving to you, too.

What is J thinking?  Didn't she just bring that irritating gnat-brained Greyhound puppy home in March?  Must we do this again?

and the WORST thing is he thinks he's a spy.  Please.  I am the spy.  Agent Gita: SuperSpy & SmartAss Bitch.  That's me.  Who does he think he is?  Sean Connery?  Well he is SummersSpiritInPhenite OOSeven.  They're calling him Conner - shortened from Sean Connery.  

I'll keep you updated as the 'game' unfolds.

Lone Star Classic Report (InPhenite shit only)

Well, I went to Texas this weekend.

Honestly it was stressful . . . the only time I'd ever flown was flying from Firebird to InPhenite as a wee pup.  J had also been to Kansas City to pick up the Greyhound puppies as their breeder would not ship them cargo - but that was IT for InPhenite's experience with air travel.

Plus, Opa! does not like to travel.  All the other dogs & I clamor to join J when she leaves (well, not for work in the mornings - 0630?  That's too early- but other times . . .  But, Opa! stays in the next room if she thinks J may take a dog with her.   Opa! has never puked & enjoys nonvet/nonshow excursions - but she is worried until she arrive at events.

J drove up to stay the night with Iola on Thursday so that we could fly direct from Seattle (Iola & Jane - Winsome Hounds- came to TX, too).  Traveling with that experienced crew helped with our stress.  BUT after that the TX show got off to a bad start- J had worn a necklace with glass charms that include her Grey's & Bados' ashes - Phoenix & Luka's charms broke off friday night (but were not lost).  Anyway, this made J more ANXIOUS.

J had brought me down explicitly for competition in the UKC Altered Ch class (with 3+ Ch dogs competing) - but I was getting no love from the judges.  Nothing on Saturday.  Opa! 'won' her age group with no competition but that was it - I thought she was showing well - but she did not advance from there.

Sunday started better for me - I won Best Companion in the Silken Specialty (beating Rio - one time BISS Silkenfest winner - as well as Bados' sister (Breezy) & her handsome son, Ziggy).  Not to be snooty, but ALL those guys had been 'rated' SHOW as puppies but are now altered for a variety of reasons.   I was labeled "pet" as a child.  Whatever.  I BEAT THEM ALL.  That was good.  (yeah!)

FYI:  For all "pet" puppies out there - don't let that "label" get you down - you are no less than "show" pups.  Even if you do not mature as beautiful as I did.  There are many routes to SuperStar status - admittedly - you may not turn out as 'pretty' - but as a Silken, there are UNLIMITED venues where you can excel.  Moving on . . . 

Opa!?  Nothing on Saturday in UKC or Sweeps, nothing in the specialty show on Sunday.  Less than nothing.  She would not stack & kept trying to leave the ring.  No points there.

Then with the UKC shows. . . I don't know what happened.  I did not manage to beat Ziggy in the ALCh class, but I did get Reserve (a 1st for the weekend).

Opa!? Perhaps it was the grooming suggestions Jane made regarding Opa!'s crazy curls . . . who knows? Anyway, Opa! decided stacking was not so bad.  In her age class, which she won by default - she would not "down&back" toward the judge; he made her try twice - but no.  She did keep moving - just sideways.  J was feeling a bit hopeless - but Opa! did move better in the Winner's Bitch class . . . actually she WON Winner's Bitch!!!!!!  What???!!!!!

Then in the final UKC show . . . perhaps Opa! gave up her resistance in disgust . . . but she won Winners Bitch AND Best of Winners!!!!!!!!

OMG!  J was on cloud nine, Opa! was clueless.  Unfortunately . . . J had to be at work before 0700 this AM  . . . we had to catch a plane.  DAMN IT!!!!!! I did not even get to show in the final ALCh class.

J helped the Walls showing a beautiful girl in the CH class - but then we had to zoom off to the airport.

Sigh.

Oh, well.  Don't expect more posts until another inspiring event - my typist (J) can be hard to motivate & claws don't mix well with keyboards.