Clean Run Magazine - March 2009 - 25

Cooking: If you are planning to bring your own food to save money, you will need something to cook with. My friends and I like to barbeque in the evening so I bring along a little grill to cook the meal. To make it more fun, invite everyone in the group to bring a dish to share and their own meat to throw on the grill. There are also propane camping stoves you can buy if you don’t want to mess with charcoal. They have many varieties from little grills to stoves that you can use to make saucepan items. CLimaTe ConTroL: Bring a propane heater or electric heater for cold nights, fans for warm ones. odds and ends: If you are camping alone, it is nice to bring something for entertainment like a little portable TV, radio, or something to read, so don’t forget your latest Clean Run issue. Other good items are crates for your dogs if you don’t want them running around loose in the tent. Also bring towels to use in the showers if the facility has them. hoTeLs If camping is not for you, then maybe staying in an inexpensive hotel is a better idea. There are many ways to make a not-so-nice room a little more like home. If you have never been to a particular area where you have found a great low-cost hotel, do a little research first to make sure it is in a safe location. If you use Google or another search engine on the Internet and enter the hotel name and area, you will likely find reviews of the place you are staying. Or ask the trial secretary if the location is good. If she lives in the area, she will most likely know or know someone who does. Bedding: Take your own bedding with you. This goes a long way toward making you feel more comfortable. Bring your own sheets, pillows, and blankets, then make the hotel bed with them. If you are worried about bedbugs, bring along some lice spray (Yes, I said it) and spray the mattress. Let it air and then make the bed with your own sheets. Because it kills germs, carrying Lysol with you is also a good idea. You will feel like your room is cleaner and more livable. CandLes: Susan Pardee and Mindy Lytle of Chuluota, Florida, travel with scented candles to light in their rooms. It can make any musty room smell better and make it cozier, too. Be sure to extinguish any burning candles before bed or before leaving the room. m i C r o wav e : D o n ’ t e a t o u t — b r i n g a microwave instead. Peggy Mueller from Brooksville Florida, and Nancy Walker from Orlando, Florida, bring a little microwave with them to use at the hotel. Then they can bring their own food to make and avoid the 100% mark-up at restaurants. You can make something at home to heat up or bring canned items to heat and eat. Free BreakFasTs: If your hotel happens to offer a free breakfast, take advantage of it. Lynn Sykes from Greensboro, North Carolina, takes a thermos and loads up on the coffee and other free goodies. Free breakfast bars also have things like fresh fruit , yogurt, and pastries available that you can snack on later in the day. room sharing: Find a friend to share your room with. You can split the cost and use the buddy system if you are staying in a hotel that might not be in the best area. hoTeL reward Cards: Many hotel chains now offer reward cards that you can use to add up points to earn a free night’s stay. Kathy Stabler from Colorado Springs, Colorado, found a credit card that pays her back with free hotel stays. Use the card for travel expenses and your room could be free. pros and Cons Finding a lower cost hotel can save a lot in the long run. Some hotel chains start their pricing at $35 a night. This is a major savings if you normally spend about a $100 a night elsewhere. You get what you pay for. Many low-cost chains may have unsavory or noisy patrons, not to mention small rooms with few amenities and poor areas to walk your dogs. pros and Cons Camping is a lot of fun especially if you can get a group together to camp with you. It can save you a lot of money on hotel expense in the long run and can open up trials that you weren’t able to afford to do in the past. Buying all the camping gear to get you started can be quite expensive in the shortterm, not to mention having to put up your accommodations when you get to the site and then pack them away on Sunday to go home. There have been some Sundays when I just have dreaded putting all that stuff away and squeezing it into the c a r . Yo u a r e also open to all the elements and sometimes being too hot, too cold, or soaked from a weekend of rainy weather can make you want to find the nearest dumpster to deposit your camping items. March 09 | Clean Run TriaL savings There are many ways to save money on your entry fees and lunch items at the trial as well. With a little effort, you might be able to attend with little out-of-pocket expense. ask For a Big joB: Many clubs need people to handle large jobs for them and if you ask you might be able to earn a free entry. Richard Dorrington from Painesville, Ohio, often asks if there are any big jobs to do. This not only helps out the club but also can earn Richard free entries for his dog over the weekend. Richard said there are many weekends where his expenses are just a tank full of gas. work smaLLer joBs For Free goodies: Many clubs give free lunches, cost-reduced entries, and nice raffle items to handlers who sign up to work. I have taken about $20 off my entry costs in one weekend by jumping in and working. Over a year’s time this can add up to almost a whole free trial, plus you help out the club and keep the trial moving efficiently. Bring iTems or serviCes To seLL: This idea is one of my favorites. If you can sew, bake dog treats, videotape runs, have skills as a massage therapist, have access to wholesale items, or any other great doggie 25

Clean Run Magazine - March 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - March 2009