National Doodle Romp 2016 in Walla Walla?

[Adina P]

I've wanted to do this for a loooong time.  I think perhaps next year might finally be the time to try it out. 

My town, Walla Walla, Washington is way on the other side of the country from many of you.  But it's a quaint town with culture and a bazillion excellent wineries. 

So I was thinking...it might be fun to host the first annual Doodle Kisses National Doodle Romp here.  Super convenient for me, but would any of you travel for it?  After next year we can move it around to different locations.

How many of you would drive over with your doodle(s)?

How many of you would fly over doodle-less?

How many of you are thinking "No way, crazy lady!"?

If enough people are interested...I can get started planning.  I would most likely aim for May when the local wineries host their Spring Release or June when they do some other thing or another.  BUT that means it would be crowded and hotels booked long in advance.

We have the option of a dog park in College Place (the neighboring town) and there is a nice park next to it.  So we could meet at that park and then those that want to let their dogs off leash could meander over there.  The park has benches so we conceivably have a picnic or get catering. 

What sounds best to others?  Would you prefer a more out of the way park without an official dog park?  A hike/walk?  Take over downtown and visit wineries? 

2/19: UPDATE:  I was going with the tentative date of June 9/10 with the option to stay the whole weekend for those who want to, but no official plans for the weekend.  That seems to conflict with one member who REALLY wants to make it.  So now I'm looking at June 23/24.  The previous week is Spring Release weekend for local wineries and while that doesn't actually conflict with us, it might be really crowded.  Please argue with me over this if you need to.  I don't mind. 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I'm going to be in Seattle the week of July 10-14. If you could just push it back a couple of weeks. Of course, I won't have my doodles and what good is a doodle romp without doodles. On the other hand, if I come you would have to rename it the International Doodle Romp (assuming they let me in your country).

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

:-}

[Adina P]

There is a building that holds 40-50 humans at the fairgrounds we can rent (indoor would be off leash) with a grassy area out front for  ON Leash potty.  I'm not sure if that would be "better" than just the dog park, but it is a possibility. 

The other easy option is the dog park which is just under 2 acres but half of it is a downhill slope so you can't really see that half from the other half.  Usually it is not particularly crowded.  I personally am not a fan of dog parks, but it works.  Next to the dog park is some other park area as well as a covered picnic area and perhaps we could hire a food truck to feed us.

There are also numerous nice parks that would be nice as well as The Whitman Mission which has some walking trails and picnic tables. 

So is a daily meet-up or two enough?  I still am not counting too many hands raised.  Anyone want to go through these 17 pages and count?  I know I can pull together more people in neighboring towns perhaps but they aren't DK people.  Which is fine, but I want to see my DK friends :-)

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

I just looked through all the replies. I counted roughly 40 positive answers, including the maybes. Maybe you have to start a new discussion to get a better idea of the number.

[Adina P]

Wow that's a lot if they all came.  We might need to stagger ourselves in the dog park!

[Lee Carstens]

I don't know if a building is necessary. As was mentioned before, that most of these are held at a park or dog park, and I think that we can all assemble in one area. If you have a 2 acre park I think that is great. I think we could put together a banner for the side of the fence that announces to others who we are. In your count do you have any Canadians coming down or from any other country? It would be fun to announce that this is an International Doodle gathering. I also agree to get a firm idea of numbers, we may want to set a date which will allow for those to plan...it seems that with the date not set we are all excited on attending, but when the date is set, we may have some fall out and some additions. The weather in later June is pretty nice in Walla Walla, but if you think that the sun would be an issue then we can adjust. I know that I have at least two pop-ups that could be used for shade.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Here is what they have done in Las Vegas:Park is not rented; its open to public like normal, but sign guides people to correct section.  I don't think there is any event insurance - you are taking your dog to the public dog park.