I offer the following in response to some "Stay At Home Thoughts" about the location of the ABC National and some questions about Purina Farms:

First, let me say that there is an entire continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.  While there are those who are on the Atlantic side of the continent who feel that the geographic center of the continent is somewhere between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, let me say this -- there is a whole continent to the west of Frederick, which is only about 100 miles from the Atlantic shore, if that much.

When Bruce and I left Ft Mitchell for our home in Arizona, we had 35 hours of driving time ahead of us.  That is one 24 hour day of driving time plus 1 hour short of another 12 hour day of driving time.  This doesn't include time to gas up, time to eat, time to sleep.

Nine and a half hours from Ft Mitchell after Breed the first day, then 13 hours to Amarillo the second day, and then 11 hours from Amarillo to Strawberry the third day.  There were those who drove from CA to ABC that had at least one day, if not more, longer than that.

Can you even comprehend that -- you who live on the East Coast?  Can you comprehend the absolutely teeth chattering sections of the US Interstate highway system that the Department of Transportation says need no improvement because the money is going elsewhere?  Come with us, drive with us on our trip to ABC and back, and then suggest that the ABC needs to be on the East Coast.  Try to fly your dogs from the West Coast to the East Coast with hours of transition time from one flight to another -- never knowing whether your dog was under air conditioning at high temp airports.  After you have experienced all this, then talk to me about holding the ABC National on the East Coast.

As to Purina Farms, we were there the week before the ABC.  That is where Spirit finished her championship.  We had to try three different spots for motorhome parking in the electricity area before we could find a spot level enough to put out our slide-outs.  Many motorhomes came in late and had to park in areas with no electric.  Last year there was so much rain that parking areas were under water.  There is no convenient hotel within miles.  Where do you hold your banquets, your seminars? 

How do you accommodate your attendees who have physical disabilities so that going to the show and going back to the hotel is not a major physical trial each day?

I do understand the logistics of putting on a national show and realize that if we were to change the permanent location (Kentucky) to a location farther to the geographic center or to have a roving show, we would have to have local as well national personnel ready, willing and able to pitch in.  And…we would have to find facilities willing to host dogs, and that is getting harder and harder to do with the "Lower Slobovian" contingent making up a significant percentage of the attendees of the show.