October 3^rd and 4^th 2013 I had the privilege to visit, in my opinion, the best racing pigeon loft in the country, the legendary Ganus Family Loft!

In the late afternoon of the first visit day, after a long drive, all the way from Georgia to northern Indiana, my son and I checked into a Hotel, near Mike's place. We took a short break at the hotel before Mike came to meet us.

I never had a chance to meet Mike in person, and even though I was in touch with him many times before, I still did not know what to expect from this person when I met him in real life, and I was looking forward to it with a little dose of skepticism.

Soon after, not only did I find out that Mike would come at the proper time, but he would come with his lovely wife Debbie too, and their idea was that we all should go to a nice place for dinner. I have to admit that it was a very warm welcoming and a pleasant ice-breaking move. It really was!

So, we all went to have dinner and spent an hour or two chatting and meeting each other a little bit more. After such a pleasant evening, Mike gave us a ride back to the hotel.

The next morning Mike came back and picked us up again for his loft visit. You all can imagine, and it's unnecessary to say, that this was the highlight of the whole trip!

Arriving at Mike's place and seeing all his lofts is something really special, and I knew from the same moment that this visit would stick in my memory for years to come.

Everything is perfectly organized and as clean as it gets, which tells me how seriously the job is done around here. You would say that there is someone constantly going around and cleaning it, because I could not spot a single feather, anywhere. Just perfection, all over the place.

After looking around for a little while, Mike asked me if I had any specific wish to see and handle some of his pigeons, and, are you kidding me, of course, I had more than one wish. So, yes, I was handling some of Mike's best birds, 40 or even 50 of them. I just couldn't stop doing it. And the handling sure included "Mona Lisa" too, Mike's best breeding hen, ever!

After such a huge experience, seeing Mike's loft and his best birds, we went for a ride, for about 100 miles or so, to the Hoosier One Loft Race, to see arrivals of the 250 Mile Race, where I sent some of my birds.

When things work perfectly, they all just do. In the first drop of six pigeons of the race, there was one of mine, AU-13-AFL-0021. What a day, and a combination of perfections. Things, in these two days, just couldn't work better for me!

I had a chance to meet many very good flyers and nice people there at the Hoosier, but one person stood out for me, and that is Andy Skwiat. Andy is an awesome guy and an incredible racing pigeon fancier! He has a ton of extraordinary quality pigeons, and he proves it at the one loft races.

After the race at the Hoosier, we went to have lunch, and then back to Mike's place once again, but this time we went to his hunting property and hunting house.

I found out that Mike is such a down to Earth and regular guy. Nothing like I was afraid that he might be.

He loves hunting, has his own tractor, and does a lot of work on his property by himself. He takes very good care of it and he is no stranger to hard work. I'm thoroughly impressed with Mike's personality, I really am.

Thank you Mike and your lovely wife Debbie for your hospitality and all the kindness. My son and I had an amazing and memorable time!

I hope to see you again soon.