Showing poodles in Texas

I just returned from a very long trek through most of the major Texas cities, showing the poodles at various locations. It was a good trip, as most of the dogs I am showing did their share of winning. For part of the trip, my granddaughter, Sam, went along to help out. I hit the Dallas shows, held at the old Market Hall, on Stemmons Freeway. Then on to the San Antonio shows in downtown, right on the Riverwalk. (I finally rode one of those river boats for the tour, but was unimpressed with the whole thing). Next, was Houston at the huge Reliant arena. Love that showsite, but hate how big it is and how much walking it requires just to go to the bathroom. To wrap up my stay in Texas, was the rather lowly Longview shows. I say lowly, due to the somewhat pitiful showsite. You see, I grade shows mostly on the ease and comfort of each showsite. If the site is well-done, and the parking situation is reasonable, I'll give it pretty high marks. If I have to walk too far to park, or the site is too crowded in the grooming areas, than I might not ever go back.

I guess of all the Texas sites, I'd give the Dallas shows the highest marks...next would be Houston, then Longview and lastly, San Antonio. Surprised I'd make SA last on my list? Well, it costs an obscene fortune to park downtown and still have to walk blocks to the showsite. Also, the hotels/motels are horribly expensive anywhere close to the downtown area. I stayed in a Motel 6, which was about 8 blocks from the site...it was the cheapest downtown, yet was a pretty seedy place. Transients were always around all hours of the day/night. Sort of scary, huh?

So, now I'm back home...and grateful for my own bed. I have two wonderful weeks at home before heading back out to the show wars.