Monday, July 30, 2007

Flying Dogs at the Free Fair in Ionia, Michigan

A short drive from Grand Rapids is the town of Ionia. Claire had read of a Free Fair. Claire likes free as much as I do; we stopped for a look and stayed the rest of the day, looking at sheep and pigs and tractors and eating home made ice cream and people watching. Perhaps the best part of the day was the Air Dogs. People, regular people, train their dogs to long jump into a pool of water. Some dogs get to the edge and say, "No way!" others fly as far as 23 feet. We decided the border collie (top) had the best form, but she was way short of the Chesapeake Bay retriever. Sometimes the unplanned day can be among the best of days. Good thing there was a Wal*Mart nearby for overnight parking; the fairgrounds campground was full anyway and the overflow all followed us to Wal*Mart.