The sun dawned bright and clear on Saturday, April 18, just in time for the Mid-Atlantic Chinook Club's Spring Picnic and Pulling Event! I packed GreatMountain Passaconaway and GreatMountain Lyric Tikaani into the car for the drive to to Alexandria VA bright and early. Arica & Eric Young and Crossing Creek Shackleton's Nell had scouted out the Ben Brenman Park location, which proved to be a great venue.

Arica, Nell and Christian Natiello with Sandhill's Linc of Channahon arrived early and reserved the lion's share of the pavillion and picnic tables for the event, and watched over the gear while we started setting up. About this time, Kim Kramer and GreatMountain Atlin Moekaneau arrived, also fighting the traffic from NJ to VA. While the dogs were settling in, JoAnn Blackman walked over to the pavilion with Cloudburst Crossing Snowy River and Cloudburst Wonalancet (Legend) and Kipper the Golden Retreiver - there was much joy and fun in Nell's reunion with her father Legend and grandmother River! While all of the chatting and set up was happening, Roy and Theresa Perkins and Hurricane Chopper arrived.

There was the typical catching up and excitement of a Chinook event, and while the people talked, big boys Linc and Chopper headed down to the dog park for an off leash romp with a cocker spaniel. They were smart to burn off energy while everyone else socialized! We were lucky to have a few local families who had heard of Chinooks but not seen them stop by - this group was a great bunch of ambassadors for the breed, and everyone left wanting a Chinook of their own! Of course, set up and socializing took a bit longer than planned, and by this time, the day was really heating up for early spring. Chopper and Linc returned, and Chopper did a brief stint pulling the drag sled- he has real potential! He was a terrific demo dog- string cheese was quite the incentive, and he easily leaned into his harness and strutted his stuff.

Unfortunately, a few people had to leave around noon for some other commitments, so by the time lunch was ready, there were fewer people to eat the bounty. As usual, the food was excellent- Eric was the grillmaster, and the burgers and sausage were complemented by some great sides- the broccoli salad was awesome, and I'm still salivating over the brownie sampling I did! After lunch, Nell got her turn in harness, and did a great job showing her pulling instinct! She ran after both Mom and Dad with the barest hint of food treat, and wasn't bothered by the drag sled bumping along behind. What a sled dog!

Sadly, the time passed all too quickly, and after a quick photo of those still around after lunch, it was time to pack up and head out for the long drive home. Still, hanging out with a bunch of Chinooks and their people is a pretty great way to spend the day!

We hope to see you at the next MACC event, the COA Specialty in Bridgewater, NJ on June 26!