Wait, come back? Have you ever been to Trixie’s Gold Room? It’s a strip club in Southside Louisville. With informal boxing matches in the parking lot at night.
So, Gustavo can hit those poles on my right side from anywhere. And stick in them no mattter what. Well, not with me running backwards yelling in German. Which Otterpop CAN, by the way. I can send Gustavo into them from gambler’s length away, weirdo angles, no problem. Practicing. Sent in off my right side.
So I found this great motel named Econo Lodge. Right by Trixie’s. Econo. Righty-o. I am so cheap-o. So of course I have to make a hotel reservation there right away. Before I know about Trixie’s. Then I look it up on google.
Those weave poles when he’s on my left though, a whole other can of worms. Or should I say snakes on a plane. Because I think about things like plane tickets now. It’s my new hobby. I am travelocity. Gustavo is travelocity. He actually has pretty nice looking poles when he enters on my right, where he can be certain he entered correctly. They’re fast and he’s sinewy in them. Sinewy, I say. On the softside, no matter where my position was, today he would stop in his tracks between poles 11 and 12, almost every time. This was up at Forest Agility because god bless Kathleen for being the first on the block to buy some 24″ poles.
We did them from the other side. Both directions. Like his OCD of the day is instead of washing his hands 7 times before turning off the lights and spinning in 23 circles counter clockwise, he pops the 11th pole when he’s entered on the softside. Not pop and run to robot, just pop and stop. A nifty, new one! And let us not forget that his problem the last couple weekends has been not weaving. Period. Complete meltdown when faced with a set of poles in a trial.
I got out some 2×2 poles for a little experiment. Did he still remember how to do that? Oh my yes. He can run to the 2×2 entries from pretty much anywhere on the field and hit them. And he was flying into the entries beautifully today, I have to say. Just that weird slamming on the brakes and getting stuck at pole 11.
I am going to chalk this whole problem up to stress. Weave poles have always been stressful to Gustavo.
Like booking hotel rooms and making flight reservations is to me. Could it be more complicated?
I wonder if Econo Lodge has fleas? Did I hit the entry right? What did people do before google earth to find the strip clubs closest to their hotels? Did I do all the poles or are there more?
E-CON-O! Such a cheery and budge friendly name! POLES! Just dash around through the little pvc sticks! POLES! Just what kind of poles are we talking about here?
So we just did lovely, happy poles for the robot. Not too many. And big frisbee mayhem after robot for every good set of softside poles with no weird stopping. And then I found a different hotel. I couldn’t find any strip clubs nearby. Just a lot of grass and no McDonald’s. The google earth photos pleased me very much. Let’s just make all of this uncomplicated, easy and fun. Please.
When you back up to 2×2’s, how far did you back up? How were the poles set up? Kate started this weird stopping between poles 3 and 4 last night (can’t fit 12 in the backyard so only doing 6). Literally just stopping. Like there was a force field there she couldn’t get through. Dead people, perhaps? But, only in one direction and on my right. Left fine, right force field. Me no gets.
Also, life lesson…skip all hotels that have “econo” or “budget” in the name or slogan. That’s hospitality-speak for “crack users in the parking lot.” You’ve worked hard. You deserve a homicide-free experience!
Plus, I mean, nationals! You should totally go all fancy pants. You need a hotel with a doorman and lots of moisture wicking outfits!
I've had mixed results with econolodges and motel 6s and like that. Motel 6 near elk grove: Phone rings several times during the night. Pounding on my door at 2 a.m. Security guard wanders the halls. Apparently not a hotel meant for actual sleeping in. But there was another one somewhere else (and now I'm not remembering) where apparently the managers did have in mind that people could sleep there. Stains on the carpet, but they looked clean anyway, you know? I dunno, I always stayed in the nice hotel at nationals with free wifi in the rooms but I shared the room to share the expense. Room large enough to block off the bedroom from the sofabed area so it was almost like 2 rooms. But you don't know in advance really.
And weave poles? Huh. After I taught Tika, I was the weave pole teaching champ. But now I've taught boost, and I really have no idea at all how to teach successful weaves. Dog brains are so weird. Fortunately they don't care about stains on the carpet.
L,I just asked a friend who I believe is no longer going to Nats, if she still has her Red Roof room. I've stayed there and it's more than acceptable. I'll keep you posted.
We found a better hotel. I guess it's better. I hope it's better. It's still in the econo price range but it's called Candlewood Suites and it is about 10 minutes away and there is grass around it and has a refrigerator and so forth so I can make sandwiches! I think it sounds super!
When we backed up to the 2×2's, we started out with the 2 and worked the entries around them to see if he remembered. Yes! Then on his next turn I brought out another set and put them in the beginner spot. He remembered. We didn't proceed past that.
Google earth was my primary confirmation mode when we were picking hotels for the AKC Nationals in Tulsa last March.
I am with you for going with grass = good, and I also did find a girly bar across the way when planning weekend trip last spring. (Note: we stayed elsewhere.)
So, go Google Earth!
One other source I use a lot is tripadvisor.com. You get a lot of insider info that way. I use my mental keyword "bugs" in particular when scanning posts.
Speaking of bugs, I have a new ally that is called Bed Bug Registry. It tell you where the creepy crawlies have been found (sometimes in surprisingly ritzy places).
We have Candlewood Suites in our area, and I think they tend to have the better condition than most of the "suite hotels."
I remember that a lot of these extended stay places were fairly pricey a few years ago, but the prices have dropped drastically with reports of transient residents, "bugs" and stinky corridors.
I haven't heard that so much with Candlewood, and my boss stayed in one when he was waiting to move his family to town, and he is a picky type person. (He did this after checking out the area extended stay competition first.)
One other thing to know about these hotels is they don't provide daily maid service. Usually, the rooms are fairly spartan. But if you don't mind making your own bed and tidying up after yourself then you should be fine.
In my experience, Econo Lodges tend to be frequently located in some not-so-savory areas. Red Roof Inn (along with Motel 6 and Super 8) seems to be dependable choices for a lot of the dog show set in the Midwest. Even so, pays to check.
I hope you'll report your experiences with your hotel as we will also be stopping in the Northern KY area on our way back from the 2011 AKC Nationals in VA next spring. I'll be scanning the nets for some reasonably priced but nice digs, too!
(And yes, we are upgrading for Nationals as per 2halves suggestion. Nationals events require total focus and you don't need to the worry over your car/possessions/self while you're trying to stay in "the zone." Worth the investment to have comfy, safe digs if you can swing it.)
Good luck with your trip!
Barb @ View From 4 Inch
http://viewfr4inch.blogspot.com/
Google earth was my primary confirmation mode when we were picking hotels for the AKC Nationals in Tulsa last March.
I am with you for going with grass = good, and I also did find a girly bar across the way when planning weekend trip last spring. (Note: we stayed elsewhere.)
So, go Google Earth!
One other source I use a lot is tripadvisor.com. You get a lot of insider info that way. I use my mental keyword "bugs" in particular when scanning posts.
Speaking of bugs, I have a new ally that is called Bed Bug Registry. It tell you where the creepy crawlies have been found (sometimes in surprisingly ritzy places).
We have Candlewood Suites in our area, and I think they tend to have the better condition than most of the "suite hotels."
I remember that a lot of these extended stay places were fairly pricey a few years ago, but the prices have dropped drastically with reports of transient residents, "bugs" and stinky corridors.
I haven't heard that so much with Candlewood, and my boss stayed in one when he was waiting to move his family to town, and he is a picky type person. (He did this after checking out the area extended stay competition first.)
Good luck with your trip!
Barb @ View From 4 Inch
http://viewfr4inch.blogspot.com/
Transient residents and bugs? Oh man. The strip club is sounding better and better. But I want to make sandwiches!
We've done our Motel 6 time out here. Most of the Motel 6's are fine if you don't mind keeping your shoes on when walking on the rug and the occasional hooker or entire marching band next door. And I bring my own sheets.
We thought Suites sounded fancier! And sandwiches!