Our trip was wonderful ! We were gone for 3 weeks returning September 4th. We travelled over 8,000 km, through 15 States and 3 provinces. All 3 purposes of the trip were fulfilled.

The first leg of the journey , Winnipeg to Atlanta Georgia was for the purpose of taking Hugs and Belle back to Rick and Gary at Risgae Kennels in preparation of their American championship. On the way, we stayed with Jill Sanfilippo in Bristol, Wisconsin. Jill is the owner of 3 very successful obedience and agility Bichons. Our travels then took us through a number of states with Kentucky being my favourite. Yes , we had ourselves a good helping of Col. Saunders Kentucky fried chicken! Corbiel Kentucky was where it all started. Upon arrival at Rick and Gary’s, we met up with Linda Ross “Luvit” kennels and husband Pat. This gave us a chance for a nice visit based on a lot of “dog talk.” Our plan for the weekend was to relax , visit the Atlanta dog show which had over 2,300 entries, do some sightseeing where the Coca Cola museum was awesome along with the Olympic Park and the CNN building, and of course a little of shopping ! Linda and I had not seen each other in a year , so it was fun getting caught up on things “live” ! We were at the dog show on Saturday so we had the pleasure of watching the BFCA Specialty winner “CH.RISGAE MIABELLE SWEET GEORGIA” win the breed and take a GRP. 2nd. She did the same on Sunday.

The second leg of the journey, Atlanta to Ottawa, was in order to spend some time with our son Grant. The drive northward was beautiful taking us through the Appalachian Mountains and the the Blue Ridge range. This area is steeped in history , both the American Revolution and the American Civil War. The final portion of this travel was along the St. Lawrence River and the “Thousand Islands”. Grant is completing his co-op work year. He is currently working as a ” web developer” for a company called “Wirespeak”, and is both enjoying himself and learning a lot. He will continue with the second part of year 3 at Carleton University in January 2010. We always enjoy spending time with him, taking in the different sights and “tastes” of Ottawa. Grant’s office is across the street from the Byward Market, next to the Rideau Shopping Mall and down the street from the Parliament Buildings. What an awesome spot to be in!!

Finally , the 3rd purpose of our trip was to visit Bichon friends. Along with our friends in the States , we visited Marilyn and Alan Torrance “Campion Kennels” , Harriett Cadot ” Cadot Kennels” and Rolande Anderson.
Marilyn and Alan were kind enough to take us to Quebec to see William Lyon Mackenzie King’s summer residence( which he willed to the people of Canada”) and “Pink Lake” , a marine phenomena, since this lake does not have any oxygen in the bottom since the water does not have the capability to “mix”. Therefore, there are many archaeological treasures on the lake bottom providing Canada with some of its earliest histories. Marilyn and I went to see Harriett and her lovely litter of pups( sired by Taiga). The trip through the countryside resulted in a few stops and a shopping spree for me!

Like everything else, all good things must come to an end. Our journey home took us through the Canadian Shield and around Lakes Huron and Superior; a quick stop at the “Terry Fox Memorial” in Thunder Bay, an excellent tribute to this courageous young man as he “walked ” across the country to create awareness of Cancer and the need for funding for the cure.