Mid afternoon the evening the night Peter and Jeff (came out)…. They had gone to the river area down town Pest (pronounced Pesh)  this is the West area of Budapest.  Before the merge there were two cities, Buda and Pest which in the late 19th century became what is now Budapest.  The danube river area has some incredible architecture and amazing history.

We had planned to meet them, but with over 2.5 milion people, airplane races and all the other celibration for the Hungarian 4th of July, it just did not work out.  After some events we will not talk about,  we finally wound up just off the river in front of the aprox. 1 mile long show area, the fireworks started….. I have never, and I mean never seen anything like it.

Pictures will come later, because Barb (wife of Jozsi) had her camera going through the whole 22 min of fireworkss at the river.

So the week went very well. The Kathy Miller and Ruckus Trophy (KMRT) was held Sunday, and everyone had just a blast. Gave out many awards, got hugs, kisses, ( I like the kiss the cheek tradition, especially for the cute ones) awh, they are all cute here……..

Then, Monday rolled around. Seminar time…… Sven and I gave an all day training seminar to 20+ people. No dogs, except the few wandering looking for someone to play with. They caught me by surprise, and I had no idea it would be as many, or detailed. I was expecting Q and A for help, and spent a lot of time improvising, but It was well worth the effort for the students, Sven and myself. We covered How to teach, through complex disc mgmt and routine setup, tricks and music. Pre routine, correction for errors or interruptions and even more. All these things I can teach, but can not do….. Go figure…..

At the end of the day, they brought out food, treats, fun and “Palinka”…… This is a local drink with fruit in it. They pour out the drink, then the fruit, and feed it to you in any order. Only one word for it….. GOOOOOOOOOOOD……………… The meals, the friends the whole nine yards were just off the hook. We ended the day viewing the Freeflight from the KMRT and critiquing it. Then Tuesday we were going to go to a park near where the Skyhoundz European Qualifier was to be held and do some one on one with the teams……. I just love this, this is what I do best…..
Next day we head off, and saw some unbelievable sights as we travel. Budapest is a must do if you come to Europe. And a local Guide (not a pro) is just off the scale. Oh, and I had 6 at one time or another……. We get to the park, and I will not schare you with the parking and moving from the cars to the field. Your hearts may not be able to handle it….. It is a great area, (except for the sprinkler ((moved by hand)) keeps getting closer and closer to where we are working) and all the teams go hide under the shade trees. One by one we take out 12 or 14 teams and ask ” so what can we do for you”. We had some very interesting requests, but I think the very best was Richard, (who is in a wheel chair) asked for help with a freeflight routine. Now Richard can throw the disc, but has no idea of how to develop an idea for he and his pup…… So, in 15-20 min, we put together something which I very much think you will all see in 2010 at world….. Enough said, but……

His last question (left front hand on his knee) was “have you ever had a wheel chair Pairs team………………….” He has three friends who want to get in on our fun…….. I can’t wait till 2010, and I will have a first hand view because I have been asked back to do it again next year already.

Wednesday was our day of rest. Only rest entailed sight seeing……. something I will never forget. It was late, but with my (local guide) Jozsi, (yosee)  Oh, and that’s Szisz with him.we made our final stop at the Hero’s Square which is an area about the size of a large football field. The surface is not concrete, not marble, but called arduin which is a natural mineral hard stone. At the center and one end are large stands of statues. In the middle, the two dogs with us spot a frisbee being thrown around…… Game On…… We wound up spending over two hours teaching two complete strangers (boys) how to throw, skip catch, and other moves with two flying disc thay had which were close, but not frisbee’s. WHAT A BLAST……..

So, now Thursday rolls around, and we start to talk of the arrival of Peter B and Jeff P (of Skyhoundz fame)……The question is, where do you think they will stay.
Ok, The first words out of every mouth, and I mean Every Mouth, was (NoT HERE)…. Somehow no one saw them as the camping kind. Yup, we were right. But………. They did show for drinks and conversation….. Well, Drinks anyway…….. No, we did talk,,,,,,, Well, Peter did anyway…… We moved to the fire pit after I had shown both where the beer was. It seems that when the arrived, they were only offered Palinka, and unlike me did not ask where the heck the beer was…….. Can you spell mistake….. Bantering started between the two of them, and I was sitting with Szisz and Sophi listing to Peter try to tell his story around Jeff baiting him into why it was wrong.. Can you guess who was the brunt of the story….. Ok, I am watching what is going on, and make a commeth in jest to Szisz and Sophi. “This is normal for them (Peter and Jeff) they do this so much, they are like an old married couple arguing”. Szisz got the joke and asked which was the female side of the team, but Sophi thought I was serious and asked, ” so does that make them gay”. I will let you imagine the rest of the evening…….. All I will say is if you ever have the choice of Palinka or beer TAKE THE BEER……………………..  Sorry, no pic’s yet.  But, I am waithing to hear from others who were there.

Check back……

Ok, I started this one night after I got in, but the keyboard I had to use was a europan version and they are not like the us. keys are not the same location, so I saved it to edit later…… Later is now…….

Well, here I am in Budapest in a campground with a great group of people from several countries. I am tying to type on a european key board (which is no where near like an american one) waiting for dinner to be done. There are two teams here from Rumania (spelling) which are first time in the sport. Yesterday was the 3rd leg of KMRT and had 53 teams enter. It was an off the hook day, and there is way more to come. Sven V and I held a seminar day and will be going to a park in down town Budapest in the morning to watch and talk about freestyle routiens of the teams or help with things they want.

The camp is very third world, but just the best. I received VIP treatment in that I was given the garden area to put up my tent instead of out on the dirt lot for everyone else.

The showers are a cargo container which had been set up to handle a basin, two showers and what would be a changing room. When I finally was able to take time to get a show, I found that the watter was driven by a pump….. So, when you would turn it on, it would pump for maybe 45- 90 seconds and then shut down for 15. Ok, when it is on, the temp and pressure is fine, but when it shuts down, it then builds up hot watter in the pipe and as it starts the next time it will scald you….. Sooooo, it goes like this. Turn on the watter, wait for the correct temp, wait for it to shut down the first time, hold it away from you for 3 seconds when it comes on, now put watter on your body/hair/what ever….. When it stops, hold it away till it starts again and after 3-5 sec you can stand the temp. You wet down, shut off the watter. lather up, turn on the watter, scrub, watter on, watter off, watter on, watter off…… once you are rinsed, turn off and dry. Now that is camping….

There were Geese, Sheep, dogs and people at the camp. It was to be a Frisbee camp, but as it stood, it was more like a summer camp for dogs…… At any given time, there were at minimum 3-5 Bc’s, Austie’s, Mal’s, Kelpie’s and a mix of other great breads running around having a blast. And then the fun really started when it got up to 10-15 or more.

Sleeping was a problem at times, as in one night a fox got into the Geese, and from what we know, one of the unbelivabley good pot meals cooked for the whole camp had Goose in it……… Ya think…..It was two weeks of great people, great fun, great food, lots of discin, and two to the most beautiful helpers I could imagine. The night I came in, there is a gate at the front of the complex. As Kata and I walk up to it, the gate is pushed open by this vision of a dream who announces In English, Hi, my name is Szilvia Toth. After I stumbled on it, she tells me to just call her Szizs (pronounced Sis, or very close to that). Now this is one beautiful vision, and then we get to the main camp area and I am then introduced to Sophie, Szisz’s sister. We will go into who they are much late, but let me tell you this, My heart almost stopped, and the week could not have started in a finer way.  Siz in front, and Sophie in shorts.  BTW, thats Ann Geets from Holland with the cool paw tats on her arm.

Leaving the usa was easy, but getting through London/Heathrow was interesting. I made it through customs and getting from one terminal to the other, but my luggage didn’t….. When I arrived in Budapest, I was to contact Kata Kerenyi by phone to pick me up, and had to make her wait way to long. I stood at the baggage ramp until all bags were gone, and then found my way to the Lost/Found desk. It was lucky the attendant spoke english (sort of)… After making a report on paper as to my address (USA because I had no idea for Budapest) and phone numbers to reach me, I was then told to go to the next counter to file this re port of lost luggage and when it came in it would be sent to me……. NOT…. I made it very clear that it was not to be sent to me, but I would pick it up. Now, I had told the first agent this to start with, but he insisted I make the report and file it. I get to the second desk and of course the agent does not speak english, so, back to the first for translation of my problem. When she hears that I want to return and pickup the bags, her response is, (are you ready for this) I don’t need a report filed, just have the bags brought here and he can have them.

Ah, wasn’t that what I asked for in the first place…. And Kata had to spend the time and money waiting for me. And parking, like LAX is not cheap. We came back two hours later and even though I had phone numbers to see if the bags were in, there was no answer. So, we decided to just go check because I had been told as I left that the bags were in the air at that time. 5 min from the airport, my phone rings and the agent says he has them. I said bring them to baggage and I will be there in a matter of minutes. He said meet me at the Info desk and you will need to sigh for them. OK……

I get to the info desk and sign, and the bags are on a cart (which by the way are free in every airport outside the usa), and I ask where to get back up to the level above which is were Kata is waiting in the car for me. I am told to go to the “lift” and pointed in the right direction. As I start around the corner to the life, a guard stops me and indicates I must stand there and brings up a tape to block access to part of the terminal. He said “Police action” and pointed at a post about the size of a trash can for trash day outside. All I can see is thee post, and have no idea. After a few minutes 10 maybe, I call Kata and she drives down to the level I am on. As I leave to go out to meet her I can now see behind the post. There was a bag which had been left unattended. Now I realize it may have been a bomb, and I’m thinking Damn, he stopped me, but hell, I was less than 20 ft. from it. What the heck kind of security for the customers is that. LOL,,, Oh well.

So I had a great time in Budapest, and have a bunch to say, but tonight I am tired and will be back tomorrow.

Just thought I would stop by and leave a short update. Denver was just great…. Didn’t get anything hardware wise, except Sam Farrens and Ruckus got 3rd at the UFO Saturday Toss n Catch. Sams First time out at an actual contest, and we got him hooked…… Sunday he was trying the Quad for the first time as well, and I think nerves got to him. He actually threw very well, but will still need some time to work on playing with a pup in the moment…… Remembering to watch the pup, place the disc, well, you all know what I am talking about….. He will learn, and I truly expect to see him with a family disc dog soon….. I had a good day with RT, but not long enough to stay in the game.

My trip to Minnesota, was un-eventfull, well, sort of…. Stopped in Mason City Iowa Monday night at a Walmart, but was notified by another driver of a tire problem with the trailer. Seems a belt broke and it caused very uneven wear, which led to the tire loosing air. By the time I limped into the Walmart lot, it was flat…. Put the spare on, and replaced it with a new one from Walmart, and will talk with the place I buy from back in LA later.

Got the yard ready for my sister to care for BigBoy and RT, and as it turns out, my Niece is real pleased to watch Ruckus (who she knows from past trips here) cuz her husband is going out of town for a week. She had her purse stolen from her house over the 4th of July, and is happy to have the protection with hubby being gone….

Packin my bags today and tomorrow to board the plane for Budapest and then Brussels. Really looking forward to the next two weeks of Friends Fun and Disc Dogs….. Peter and Jeff will be in Budapest next weekend for the Hyperflite Skyhoundz European Qualifier. I will have the pleasure and Honor of Judging with them, and I am sure I will learn from them as well. If the internet access is anywhere close to good, I will update while in Europe…..

Have Fun, and be safe out there.

Well, it was a interesting trip getting here, wind, minor rain, LATE START, but, got in last night around 6 pm. Found the space in the campground and set in for the stay. Today is practice, check out the field, lunch with a group here early, and getting everything right in the trailer that just got shoved in to leave. I m really looking forward to the weekend, and hope to do well. More later.

Well, I really wanted to get back and update this much sooner, but ya know what they say, “shit happens”, and you really don’t want to know just what it was. If you are really interested, catch me on the road sometime and we will talk over a couple beers….. No, a bunch of beers………

In less than one week, I will be packing off for 60-70 days on the road. I will be going to Denver for the Challenge, Minneapolis Minnesota, Budapest Hungary, Brussels Belgium, Napperville Illinois, Florida (several cities), Chattanooga Tennessee, possibly Purina Farms Missouri and then back home. Oh, and Atlanta in there somewhere. You can see from the route that I will be at a few really great contest competing in some, and judging some, and just having fun at some. I will be stopping back here for updates as I travel and hope you enjoy my thoughts if you care to come check them out. If you happen to see me on the fields anywhere, PLEASE come say hi and share a big Hug….. Kathy loved Hugs, and got me hooked as well.

Above all, remember, “have fun out there”…. Thats what were all about………

Well, all I can say is Life Goes On, (no matter what), and mine is for sure doing just that.  Lord knows, Kathy and I had our share of mishaps both on our travels, and here at home.   My trip to Phoenix was no different.  Many know that over the years I have made many trips on my own to contest without Kathy, but only with One pup.  She would watch over the others while I was on the road.  Phoenix FDDO being my first trip without her, and 3 boys, I decided to ask my friend Eric Holt if he would like to join me and play with BigBoy.  Our trip was to be simple, one day over, the two day contest and one day looking at used/new RV’s as we made an extended voyage home.

Day 1, Friday early April, we hit the road to Phoenix and about 90 miles from the city this car gets my attention and says I should check the rig.   We pull to the side, and as I walk around I see that the awning on my 35ft travel trailer has come loose and is now torn while hanging out at the front end.  This rip is in a place where there will be no repair, so replacement was the only option.  We tied it up for the rest of the trip.

Upon arrival at Peoria Sports Complex (a beautiful ball field just like the AT&T field in Chattanooga) we found where we were allowed to park and spend the weekend on site.  After setting up, we had a chance to check out the field layout and could see that a lot of work had gone into making it very nice.  We were able to throw some practice for the wind, but poor Bill and crew had to take down all the obstacles for the night which they were not happy about.  Some Field problem would not allow them up over night Friday night.

Saturday morning things started early, and by game time, the place really looked good.  Early on rounds had the luck of no wind, but as the day progressed, it got pretty stiff.    My only real deal of the day was taking out last years Obstacle course winner in an early round of the Shootout.   Only problem was I was removed in my next round, even though it was a very entertaining round which came down to the very last Obstacle.   Much to my surprise,  RT and I pulled off a win in the distance pyramid at just over 43 yards, but Jeff Hill and Todd Murnan were just inches behind me for 2nd and 3rd.  Dropped my jaw when I heard we won.   The actual longest catch of the day was Joel Zucker and Baily, but it was to long……   The top of the pyramid is 50yds, and Joel’s throw was around 68 I believe.  Anyway, the day was fun, and we took home some hardware.

In the evening, we had a very fun meet with all the players at a watter hole which was for a much younger crowd than I fall into, so after some conversation and awards being given out, Eric and I went and found burgers for dinner and headed back to the trailer.

Sunday rolled around, and the day started off the same as Saturday, and got very windy early as well.  Freeflite was fun, and with the wind, speed disc was just not happening for me.  Oh well……

Eric and I packed up and got off early and made one stop to look at a real nice used Class A, but really not what I am looking for.  To make an even longer story short, our trip home only had one bad event.  The RV park we were to spend the night at had not left info at the front gate (gated private community park) and the guard had no clue as to how to help find our space.   Soooooooo, we went to an other RV park near by and spent the event there.  Monday we stopped by Yuma Az and looked at several new Class A Motor Homes, and if it were not for the distance, I would buy there.

Oh, forgot one other problem back at Peoria,  the heater stopped heating in the trailer… LOL one thing after another I guess.   Anyway, when we returned to home, the trailer sat at Camping World for over a month waiting on parts, but after almost $700.00 and the wait, that saga was over.

Just as a note here,  although I am no longer a member of the FDDO team, I must say as I always have, if you can make it to this game, DO SO………   It is without doubt the most diversified, and challenging contest in the circuit and just loads of fun.   Props to Bill Watters for coming up with this fun weekend.  If you would like to see the full outcome of that weekend,

http://www.fddo.org/match_play.HTM

Well, this year will be my first traveling alone in the RV.  Well, sort of, cuz there will be the boys.  Ruckus BigBoy and RT have no idea what the year will bring for them.  I sat today going from web site to web site getting dates of events happening all around the USA.  I have this grand plan to travel for several months visiting many locations to be a part of contests all over the US. I am also going to be a part of the KMRT (Kathy Miller and Ruckus Trophy) contest in Belgium and Hungary, but I want to be involved in more contests here in our country as well.  I will not start my tour of the country till August, however I will be making several trips prior to that for some local games here in the South West, as well as Denver for the Open if possible.  If you want to follow my trip this year, feel free to stop by the blog here to see where I am.  And remember, at every contest you attend this year, and in the future as well, stop for a moment, look up and remember Kathy, Our Spirit In The Sky.

Pairs In Chattanooga 2008