It was wonderful being in the same place for more than a week!

We stayed at the Indian River Fairgrounds just north of Vero Beach. It is a terrific place with open fields for the dogs to run and a covered arena for agility. There are also three ponds but warnings of lurking gators kept us away from the tempting shores. We were told that a gator can outrun a race horse for 100 yards or 100 feet or 100 inches or 100 something. I do know they most likely could outrun most of the race horses WE ran! HELL! I could outrun most of the race horses we ran and if you have ever seen me run, well, nuff said!

We were in Vero for the Susan Garret/Greg & Laura Derrett camps. Mel ran Crush in the Advanced camp the first week and MeMe in the Masters camp the second week. I ran Charisse in the Master’s camp. We rotated through the instructors each day seeing two of them for 3 or more hours. Each camp lasted three days.

I wore a pedometer and it said we went 6 to 7 miles per day! My legs say 6 or 7 HUNDRED miles a day! We are both exhausted but it was well worth it. This is the third Derrett seminar we have attended and the billionth Susan Garrett seminar. You would think we would get it down. Well, we try anyway. We always learn so much from Susan, Greg & Laura and that is why we keep going back for more. It is like childbirth. We only remember the good things and forget the emotional and physical pain part.

We also had a USDAA trial Saturday and Sunday. I only ran Charisse in a couple of classes but she did well. Mel won the 16” Performance Grand Prix with MeMe and was third in the Championship Grand Prix with Josephine. Not bad for old lady Josephine considering the competition.

MeMe’s little Legg-Perthes leg got tired towards the end of the morning session on the third day so Mel ran Josephine in the last afternoon session. Lisa taught Josephine to flick away very well and Mel still battles trying to get her to not flick!

The camp was over on Wednesday this week but we stayed at the fairgrounds until today, Friday. Susan Garrett was the last motorhome to pull away on Thursday morning and we had the entire place to ourselves. It was wonderful! Millie had a great time! There were critter holes they explored and birdies to chase. We relaxed and vegged out.

This morning we took our last long shower for a while and headed west towards Tampa for another trial. We didn’t want to go through Orlando again. The construction and tolls bite the big one so we stuck to the smaller roads. Mr.”Don’t Apply The Brakes Until You Are On Top Of The Car In Front Of You” didn’t disappoint. I had plenty of chances to NANANANANANANANA him. At one point we missed our turn thanks to our moron of a GPS! We ended up on a narrow dead end road with no place to turn around the Global Warmer. We are pulling a 20’ Ford Extortion too so we are about 70’ long when you include the hitch! There were a bunch of apartments with gated driveways and low overheads. Then we came to a restaurant. Mel pulled into the driveway but it was so narrow he thought he would have to unhitch the car and back all the way to the highway! We were in for some major cussing I feared! Well there was a very narrow and sharp curve in the parking lot that led around back to the street. I never thought in a million years he would make it without hitting the beautiful new Lexus parked in the way but he drove with confidence and maneuvered GW without a hiccup! I think the person in the Lexus was ready to lose it when she saw the GW headed right for her shiny new and very expensive car. LOL.

Back on the highway and finally headed in the right direction, we all of a sudden needed to get into the left lane to make the exit. Narrow roads and heavy traffic made the going tough. Mel sat waiting but no turn signal. I finally suggested he use his blinker, which he did to shut me up. Still, nobody even slowed to let us in. We were holding traffic while we waited for an opening. Finally, there was a gap in the cars and Mel slid the GW to the left and onto the onramp. He said, and I quote, “SEE! I used the turn signal and it didn’t any good. Those things are pointless!” I give up.

Oh, and why is it that every time there is a CVS pharmacy on one corner, there is always a Walgreens pharmacy on the other? How many pharmacies are needed in a one block radius??? What up with that?

The show site is a small place with doggie day care. I think a third of the dogs in day care are Doodles of some kind! I couldn’t believe it. There is only one ring so it is a small trial. We have a 30 AMP electric hook up but we keep blowing the breaker. They told us we were running too much stuff and we told them we were only running ONE air conditioner. They said in the 15 years they have been having trials with motorhomes, it is the first time the breakers have blown. What the hell do they expect? This is the GLOBAL WARMER we are talking about! HELLO!

Now we are all snuggled in for the night and ready to go to bed.

Helen & The Girlz (Mel Too)

www.jility.com