Reunited at home

All are back home safe and sound from our various adventures due south and west. I can tell from the fact that it took me several minutes just to compose that first sentence that my energy level is not exactly back up to full power yet. We are officially in drool mode.

Jen, Ryen, Isabella, and the combined CCNF/TGF caravan made it here from Nebraska by yesterday afternoon.  That was after a 26+ hour slog which started late Monday afternoon followed by overnight stops in Iowa and then western PA. They quickly got the Tripping Gnome critters rearranged onto their own trailer so that the Munros could make it home to Freeport, ME at a reasonable time yesterday evening. Though I was admittedly a little bummed to have missed the whole road trip experience with all of our friends (Dave Serino and Pat Badger were also out lending a hand), most of us will reunite in Syracuse, NY in just eight short days. It would seem that we are all gluttons for punishment. What’s new, right?

Though the Futurity held firmly onto its reputation as the toughest and most humbling show in the world, at the end of the day we can’t be too displeased with our results even if we (CCNF) did come home trophy-less this time around. We did still manage four 1st place finishes and half of our 26 alpacas finished in the top 3 of their respective classes so all boot-lipping is a relative thing. It’s also worth noting that Ring of Fire’s entry into the Get-of-Sire class (Gabanna, La Vie en Rose, Consolation), which came in 3rd place, was the only entry which placed that wasn’t from a certain breeding program in Sand Point, ID. Yikes. That was only the beginning too. What can you say, really? After that weekend we must simply doff our caps to the Skinner family and Snowmass Alpacas. Well done guys…

My trip with Sam, Max, and my Dad to Pennsylvania also concluded after 3+ days in Gettysburg with a final night revisiting some family roots in the beautiful little town of Lititz. My grandfather, who is buried in a local cemetery there, spent many summers of his childhood in and around Lititz and the rest of Lancaster county so it was really nice to able to take the kids there to see that in person.

It wasn’t all sentimentality those last 24 hours away though. For what do you do with noted Latin American historian and scholar, Christopher H. Lutz, in rural PA when it’s raining out and you have some time to kill? Having done museum and battlefield tours ad nauseam for 3 days it seemed to me there was really only one option: take him go-karting. Oh, yes. Turns out that though my pop gave up his driver’s license when I was a kid (it’s was an eyesight thing, nothing nefarious) he was still quite adept at skidding his kart around the indoor track at full throttle. Don’t let the whole nutty professor thing fool you: though it’s safe to say that Jimmie Johnson need not look over his shoulder, looks can be deceiving! Not to be outdone though, our newly minted teenager (his B-day was 4/18), Sam, was determined to be the champion of our little 22 lap Battle Royale and had no compunction whatsoever about bumping his grandfather out of the way in order to assure the result. No respect for his elders! For my part, I think I will stick with alpaca breeding after spinning out while in hot pursuit of my aforementioned smarmy but lovable adolescent.

Yesterday we drove my Pop home to Cambridge, MA where we all spent the evening catching up with my Mom, eating great Chinese food on Mass. Ave., and recounting the wonderful experiences of the previous 5 days. This morning the boys and I hopped back in the car and drove home expectantly: after eight days apart we all missed our favorite blonde terribly! Though both journeys were vitally important for very different reasons it is safe to say that we are all equally relieved to be back together and at home yet again.