Poodle Palooza

This past weekend we loaded Gypsy in the car and headed for Charleston, West Va. to meet up with Linda and Prim. Linda breeds standard poodles (www.crossbrookpoodles.com) and Sandi has been waiting for a few years to get a puppy from her beautiful and sweet Violet. So, off we go and don't let anyone tell you that from the Eastern Shore to Charleston is not a long drive. Gypsy did enjoy the fresh mountain air.

I wasn't really sure what to expect of Charleston but went with an open mind. First thing, we had to find a dog friendly place to stay. We ended up at a Holiday Inn on the South side of town. A very industrial area with a beautiful view of the refinery. At least it was clean. I knew we were in trouble when we asked the guy behind the desk for a dinner recommendation and his response was, "we really don't have anything very good close by." Humm, that is customer focused. We did find a neat Bistro a few miles away on top of a mountain that was very cool.

Saturday came and it was time to meet Prim. Another couple from the Boston area arrived to pick up their pup. Talk about a long drive! A very nice couple and we discussed poodles, beaches, Charleston, and had a beer while waiting. Imagine finding my favorite beer from Cleveland while staying in W. Va. Linda arrived with three poodle pups and another of her own dogs. She had a car full. After the initial introductions, the puppies played in the courtyard. Gypsy was very patient with them and had some good interaction with the pups.  After a short visit Linda packed her dog and hubby up and headed back to St. Louis. The Boston couple packed up their pup and headed north. Sandi and I were left with Prim, Gypsy, and another puppy that we are dropping off in the DC area.  That night, since we had two puppies and Gypsy we decided to pick up something to have in the room. We ended up with Beef Jerky and frozen shrimp. Not sure how that happened but it seemed like a good idea at the time,
Is that West Virginia surf and turf???

Bright and early (it was still dark) the next morning we headed back home with Prim, and the other puppy in the back seat with Gypsy. We called the other puppy Red. Red was a bit of a whiner but all things considered it wasn't such a bad ride.
Those puppies smell and they kept touching me!!!

Gypsy and Prim were troopers the entire weekend.  It was a long weekend to say the least and both dogs were exhausted by the time we got home. Prim is fitting in nicely and Gypsy is adapting to having a little one roaming around.