Reflections of Experience Articles / United States Date: Feb 04, 2008 - 10:19 AM |
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Yesterday, 2/3/08, I had an interesting experience I can share with you. As some readers may know, my other web site, Prestodog.com, is for and about our best friend, the dog. In that perspective, we entered our newest Shetland Sheepdog, Maggie, in a dog show in Wildwood, NJ hosted by the Boardwalk Kennel Club. Now, if you're a frequent visitor here at Netscrapes.com and are also familiar with geography, you'll quickly realize that I currently reside in a rural area in PA and that Wildwood is "down the shore" in NJ. As a matter of fact, it's south of Atlantic City and just a wee bit north of Cape May, the southern-most point in the Garden State. To get from the mountains in PA to the Jersey Shore in NJ, we had to drive 150 miles...each way. And, since Shetland Sheepdogs were scheduled to make their entry into the show ring at 11:00 a.m., since they had to be groomed and prettied up before they entered the ring, and since we had to cart all the "stuff" (grooming table, powders, implements, etc.) from our van into the show area to prepare for the previous two eventualities, we had to leave our home, or what we call the Presto Dog Phunny Pharm, at 6:00 a.m. Arriving at the Wildwood Convention Center where the dog show was held after traveling a mere 2 hours and 45 minutes, we immediately set up all our equipment and began preparing the dog for her entry at 11:00 a.m. Well, I lied a bit. My bride is the one who actually prepares the dog for her show appearances...to date, I've been the transporter, driver and first string moral supporter of her endeavors. So, after hauling all the necessary equipment up a long ramp & into the building, I was able to go for a walk outside. Here's where my observation relative to the title of this post shall commence. First, I went onto the boarwalk. In the event you're not familiar with the area, Wildwood is right on the Atlantic Ocean. And, a boardwalk is a walkway usually made of wood that traverses the ocean front. So, I was walking along the waterfront enjoying the ocean air, sand and sea. The boarwalk took me past the parking lot where many of the out of town dog show participants had parked their vehicles. The were the usual Chevys, Fords, Toyotas, etc. Vans, sub-compacts & luxury vehicles also were present. But the eye-cathers were the huge, monsterous motor homes that spread their huge bulks over two-to three parking spaces and across multiple rows as well. These behemoths, when parked, also expand out from the sides, thereby giving their owners even more room inside. We've walked through a few of these mansions-on-wheels and to say they're "finely appointed" is a gross understatement. Marble countertops, microwave ovens, flat screen TVs with satellite dish on the roof, shower, sleeping and eating areas are usually standard on these homes on wheels. Wood cabinets, huge, comfortable captain's chairs and a sound system that'll bring the DVDs you watch close to a theater presentation experience round out at least a few of the amenities. We travel to and from our dogs shows in a hunble GMC Safari van, in comfort and style but not nearly as ready to relax in a home-like environment as the aforementioned owners of the motor homes. But, we get where we wanna go and, although it's sour grapes, can turn our trusty ol' van around on a dime...try to do that, you gas-guzzling, traffic-blocking, expensive as all hell motor home owner! Leaving the parking lot, I headed out onto the beach. A couple of sea gulls were squarking and screaming over head, excitedly announcing to their fellow gulls that an intruder was coming. But I bore no malice toward my aviary companions, even as they continued their cacaphony the whole plodded toward the beconing ocean. And, in a few minutes, I reached my destination. Stretching in front of me, far beyond the mere 14 miles or so that the curvature of the earth allowed me to see, was the vast, undulating body of water called the Atlantic Ocean. It was a comparatively calm day, so the waves were only gently trying to make my feet wet as they splashed happily at the end of their territory. To the left was the amusement park that thrilled summer visitors; off to the right was a hotel, way off in the distance. Between both was about two miles of seashore, sand and sky to ruminate over. I gathered a few sea shells, an odd circumstance since prior to moving to PA I had resided about 15-20 miles (at most) from some fantastic beaches at our former residence in NJ for over 30 years. Then, on impulse, I walked over to the edge of the warer and let the waves wash around my feet. Now, I didn't let the water get into my shoes or anything like that; just watched (carefully) to revel in the experience. After the dog show was over (and our dog took first place in its class, by the way), I packed up the van and we traveled back to the Presto Dog Phunny Pharm, making the 2 hour and 45 minute trip once again. As I refelcted over the days's events, I realized I had spent the morning at sea level, and later that same day I was several hundred feet higher in the mountains of PA. Is this a great country or what? |
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