Saturday, December 31, 2011 - Great 10 mile ride on the Purple Trail

 Set the alarm for 9:00 this morning, just to make sure we got out early enough for a ten mile ride today, and even then we didn’t get out till after 12:00. This time we set out in the "right" direction, following the Purple Trail, taking the long loop to get the full ten miles in. Part of the trail took us along the road, and much of the far southern end of the loop had been recently clear-cut so it was pretty ugly and the trail was sandier because of the equipment traffic chewing up the ground, but that was only for maybe 2 miles. The rest of the trail was very nice, with lots of opportunities to jog, trot and we even took a number of long canters, some of the longest we’ve ever taken. The horses have settled down nicely now that we’ve been able to ride them consistently, something we haven’t been able to do for months because of our busy schedule, so we’re getting back on track with them now. They seem to be enjoying the rides as much as we are. We took one break about 2/3 of the way around the loop for about 20 minutes, then headed back to camp, finishing with a couple of nice long canters again. We rinsed them off at a nice wash rack across from where we are camped, and hung them out to dry on the highline. Another perfect day, a perfect ride in perfect weather, exactly what we came to Florida for! What a great way to end an incredible year! We drank a bottle of wine, and shared a bottle of the sparkly stuff as we watched the ball drop in Times Square, ringing in the New Year doing exactly what we want to be doing. Life is Good!

Friday, December 30, 2011 - First Exploratory Ride at Tidewater

We haven’t been sleeping well in the last few days, so we were grateful to get a good night sleep last night, sleeping well and late this morning. We decided to take a short ride just to get a feel for the place, so we headed out Saddle Pen Road for a bit, which is where we had seen many horses enter the campground from last night when we were setting up. We got turned around a bit, when we realized that this area also only marked the trails on one side, and we were going the wrong way. We ended up cutting across along an unmarked trail, then followed along the old rail line because we knew from the map it would eventually cross a trail, but we didn’t like the gravel much, even though it was mostly covered over with grass. Eventually we ran into the yellow trail, and from there I easily navigated a way back to the campground, albeit in the "opposite" direction than the trail blazes dictated. Well, that’s what exploring is all about! The trails, again are very nice, with good footing in most places, though some have some fairly deep sand, but nothing we and our horses couldn’t handle with aplomb! A nice quiet ride with some lovely jogs and short canters, and the temperature was perfect, just what we’ve been searching for all along! A great day, especially as it is the second anniversary of the day we "ran away from home" on December 30, 2009!

Thursday, December 29, 2011 - Move to Tidewater/Shopping

Saying good-bye to our generous hosts, we headed down the road to the south end of the Goethe State Forest, to the Tidewater Horse Camp. Here we found an area a bit larger than Black Prong, with a pavillion in addition to the bathrooms, and quite a few more spots to camp. Although Thursdays are usually slow, I guess the week between Christmas and New Years is an exception, and the place was packed when we arrived. There were really only two places we could camp, and one was very close to what was obviously the group campfire in the middle, so we opted for a corner on the edge of the campground by the road, which unfortunately was right under a sodium light on a pole, but it was unavoidable. There are water spigots between every other campsite or so, so it was convenient, and plenty of trees ringing the camp for highlines. We got the RV settled in, then Hubby and I took the van with the horses and headed for the nearby town of Dunnellon where we did some shopping, had our ice cream lunch, and finally headed back, completing our setup and getting the horses settled in by 5:00, just in time for dinner for all!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011 - Group Ride to Willards Restaurant

 Today our hosts had arranged a group ride to a nearby restaurant called Willards. Well, restaurant might be a bit of a generous description. It was more of a biker bar, with a pool table and other assorted bar games. The three mile ride took us to a large backyard with a couple of highlines strung on some trees, so high up that I stayed on Apollo to hook him up before dismounting. The ride included Gregg and Julie and another couple we had met with them at Otter Creek in September, and were joined by another couple who drove there. The service was a bit slow, but the food was pretty good (burger and sweet potato fries). The ride was way off the beaten track for the most part, along trails so unmarked we would never have been able to find the place on our own. Hubby and I stayed at the back of the back, partly because the pace the others were keeping was a bit quicker than we usually do, so we had to trot to keep up occasionally. After awhile, my horse was starting to get a bit irritated by trotting a short distance, then having to slow down again, without ever getting a chance to really stretch his legs. Eventually we all trotted a few times, which helped, but then he wanted to canter, and didn’t have room for that either. He "rodeo-ed" on my once, when he suddenly leaps in the air like a bronco with all four feet off the ground just to make his opinion known (as one of our group called it), but then he settled down again for the rest of the ride. Hubby and I have come to the conclusion that we like to ride on our own for the most part, and group rides are something we’ll do only on occasions like this one, not something we’d seek out for ourselves. We’ve come across lots of people who seek out clubs and group rides, but that’s just not for us, at least not for now. That’s not to take away from the day, though, it was a nice change and we enjoyed it. Always like to do something new once in a while to keep things fresh! Headed back, taking some new trails just to keep it more interesting, until we finally make it back to the Black Prong Trailhead and back home.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 - Buggy Ride

Rather than ride today, our hostess Julie invited me to take a buggy ride with her. At the time I thought it would be a nice leisurely "stroll" through the neighborhood, but it turned out to be something entirely different. I learned that there are buggy competitions, and Julie is at the top of the game. The buggy is a one-seater, and the passenger is actually ballast to help counter-balance the buggy when speeding around sharp turns, which is the object of the competition, i.e. avoiding obstacles on the course. So my job was to stand on a platform on the back of the buggy and hold on for dear life for two hours! Not quite what I had in mind, but it was certainly different! She took me through a small section of the neighborhood, filling me in on all the details of the neighbors, before heading out past the same equestrian center Hubby and I had passed earlier, then onto another one where we went through a few obstacles, then finally out into the forest to trot and lope out there for awhile. It never ceases to amaze me what people come up with to compete in! Anyway, it was new and different, and it made for an interesting day!

Monday, December 26, 2011 - Long Orange Trail

  Decided the horses and we were fit enough for a longer ride today, so we tackled the long loop of the Orange Trail, which was about 10 miles. It began on a long stretch of the hard-packed road, which was dirt/sand and some gravel, then, after almost missing an unmarked turn, we found our way to the orange markers and never had any further navigation problems. It was mostly a truly lovely trail, wide enough to ride side by side most of the way. Lots of pine trees and some oaks, as well as scrub palms throughout. One section took us to an older growth part of the forest which was truly nice, lots of hanging moss, but most was pretty much well-managed forest. Some of the trails had obviously been part of the race, others were a bit less used, giving us a chance to see what the trails would usually be like. We had a great time, though, and the horses seemed to enjoy themselves as much as we did for the full ten miles, with lots of cantering and trotting along the way!

Sunday, December 25, 2011 - Christmas Dinner with New Friends

Slept late again, thankfully, and had a rather relaxing day today. Hubby and I aren’t much for holidays (we view every day as a gift!), so it was pretty low-key. The folks we met the other night, Judy and Ken, were having a dinner party and invited us along, so we headed over there about 6:00. Had a wonderful dinner and chatted with a number of interesting people, though the main thrust of this group is competition, which Hubby and I have little interest in. We’re truly out for the pleasure of it, and competing is just too much like work! A nice evening overall though, and we were thankful to our hosts for making it an extra special Christmas.

Saturday, December 24, 2011 - Short Ride with Billy

Had a better night sleep than I’ve had in a long time, but still tired deep down, hoping to make a dent in that soon. We decided to take a short ride today, but our little dog Billy slipped out the door and refused to come back in, so we decided to let him tag along (careful what you wish for Billy). We followed some unmarked trails that weren’t actually part of the forest, because we didn’t want to cross the rather busy road to get to the trailhead with Billy. We passed a gorgeous equestrian center and the backs of a few houses, but were in wooded areas most of the time. Didn’t take long for Billy to tire out, and once he did, we headed across the road to the trailhead just to see what the campground was like. The Black Prong Campground is the farthest north of the horse campgrounds in Goethe, and where we would have stayed if our friends hadn’t invited us to stay with them instead. Other than being right next to a busy road, it’s a rather nice little campground. Several small sites are there, plus a large clearing where a bigger rig could go. There are a couple of central water spigots, and very nice tiled bathrooms with running cold water, so it would have been a good place to stay. Picked up a map at the kiosk, then decided to take the short blue loop just to check out the trails. We had learned that the trails were not in perfect shape for two reasons. One, they’ve been having a terrible drought for months, so there’s no water on the trails and the sand had grown quite soft, and two, they had just had an endurance race through the forest with over 120 horses, and they had really chewed up the trail. The result was some areas of pretty deep sand on some long stretches of trail, some of which we encountered on the short blue loop. Nothing impassable, just slowed us down a bit. A nice area, though, and we’re looking forward to doing more exploring. One more thing we learned was that the trails are only marked going in one direction! You either have to follow the trail in the direction they want, or you have to constantly be turning your head around looking for markers, at least until you get to know the trails. We’ve only encountered this phenomenon once before, and it’s beyond understanding, but c’est la vie! We’ll just have to get to know the trails!

Friday, December 23, 2011 - Moved the Friends House near Goethe State Forest

 Headed south looking for warmer climes, arriving at Gregg and Julie’s house around 3:00. We met them at Sugar Hill in New York during the summer, and met up with them again at Otter Creek over Labor Day weekend. We parked in their pasture, and let the horses run around in the pasture next door. They have a great location, right next to the Goethe State Forest, and the entire neighborhood is horse-oriented. Had a very enjoyable cocktail hour (which lasted 3 hours), meeting another couple, Judy and Ken, before turning in for the night.

Thursday, December 22, 2011 - Trail Ride at Hidden River

Finally managed to get a trail ride in here. Trails were mostly narrow hiking trails, which we liked, but there was only a mile or two, so we had to repeat a few loops, going around backwards and generally just riding for time rather than destination. We finally did find a really nice loop that was a bit longer, and that filled up the 90 minute or so ride nicely. Spent a little time getting ready for our departure, actually can’t wait to leave here. There is a negativity about the environment that’s hard to describe or define, just a feeling that there are bad spirits around. Looking forward to our next stop.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011 - Workday

Spent the day working on my information database, managed to finish it by 5:00, and got out a Christmas e-card to everyone just in time. Forecast is for a warmer day tomorrow, we’re hoping to get a ride in (our first here) before we head out on Friday.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 - Meeting in Jacksonville

Drove downtown today to meet with a client this morning, then did some shopping in the afternoon, including returning an outfit that had different size pants than jacket to Burlington, but it was an incredible struggle to get that done. Apparently because I’m five days beyond the return date, they wanted to only give me about half what I spent back. After 30 minutes of discussion, they finally managed to work something out with the regional office to get the refund in a couple of weeks. We’ll see. Meantime, headed back to Hidden River for a couple more days. Weather’s been too cold to do much of anything but work inside, so at least I’ve been getting caught up.

Friday, December 16, 2011 - Move to Hidden River

Slept in late, then headed out after noon, stopping at Wal-mart, then finally arrived at Hidden River, which isn’t technically a horse camp, just a specialty campground that happens to have room for horses. The horses had a nice little pasture to graze around in, and we parked where we could see them clearly. Not a very interesting or well-maintained campground, lots of repairs in plain view, which makes it hard for us to relax. Pool wasn’t heated, too cold to use. The hot tub wasn’t working properly, so we couldn’t use it. The large pasture had a broken fence and the solar electric power source wasn’t working, so we could only put the horses in the small paddock, and the list went on. Very few people came and went while we were there, not surprisingly. Plus, the cost was much higher than we usually pay. All in all, the only good things about the place is that the horses will be safe when we go to our meeting in Jacksonville next week, there’s a good cell phone signal, and there’s an open wi-fi signal I’m able to use. At least I’ll be able to get caught up on some work over the next few days.

Thursday, December 15, 2011 - Fly back to Jacksonville, FL

Despite my apparent exhaustion, I just could not get to sleep! I had drank a lot of cold tea during the evening, and I didn’t pay attention to the caffeine level in it, so I’m thinking that’s what might have caused it. Literally tossed and turned so long I thought I would still be awake when the alarm went off. Last time I remember seeing the clock it was almost 3:00, and finally fell asleep until the alarm went off on schedule at 4:45 am. Snooze-alarmed only once, too much to do. Leapt out of bed into the shower, with Hubby following shortly, finished packing, poured a cup of coffee to go, and headed out to the airport with a stop at the gas station. In the car rental lot by 6:30. As always the Orange County TSA had to confiscate something from us (this time is was a plastic lettuce knife), which they always seem to do no matter how carefully we pack, grabbed a croissant at the restaurant to tide us over to our First Class meal on the plane : -). Terrible service there at the airport restaurant. Wheels up a bit late because people just couldn’t find a place for their carry-ons, and off we go!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - Recovery Day (Sort of)

Despite my exhaustion, I still woke up every two hours, and this time, couldn’t get back to sleep for a long time, once for over two hours. Thank goodness Hubby doesn’t have this problem, he just keeps happily snoring along moments after his head hits the pillow! I’m usually a good sleeper, but lately, not so much. I need to get out in the woods for awhile, where it’s quiet and I don’t have anything to think about except when’s the next time we’re going riding! Walked across the street to Coco’s Bakery and Restaurant and had a very disappointing brunch. Hubby’s blueberry waffle was okay, but my El Paso Benedict had many shortcomings. The eggs were too hard (probably from sitting under the heat lamp too long), the bacon cold, the muffin soggy, and the side of fruit (melons) was totally tasteless. I complained and they took it off the bill, but it will be the last time we eat there, sadly, since it’s so conveniently located to several hotels where we hold workshops. Walked over to Target to pick up a few things before heading back to the hotel. Got back into bed, where Hubby napped again, but my mind was too active so I spent time working on a chart of potential Costa Rican riding vacations which we are considering. Finally tried to sleep around 5:00, but only managed to rest a bit. Instead of getting up and going out as we had originally planned, we called down for room service, and mostly packed out bags while we waited for it. Lights out at just after 9:00, feeling really exhausted, and hoping for a good night’s sleep! Alarm set for 4:45 am.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - Work Day

Still woke up every two hours, and once couldn’t get back to sleep for over an hour. Don’t know what’s causing it, maybe the alcohol. Anyway, up bright and early again, rejoined our group for another busy but very productive day. Really excellent progress on the whole. Looks like it might open a few doors to other jobs, as well, several people indicated a need for other associates to either attend one of these workshops, or to have us come in to work with their group by itself. Either way works for us! Though we ran almost a half hour long, people still hung around to talk to us, even after the class was finished! Just can’t get enough, I guess : -). Went to happy hour again, this time we had margaritas, and were joined by two students from the class for a bit. Finally had to head off to the room, exhaustion setting in after being "on" for so long. Lights out by 10:00.

Monday, December 12, 2011 - Work Day

Arrived in the meeting room by 7:00 am. Most of what we had discussed had been done, with a few minor details remaining, so everything worked out. Students started to arrive by 8:00, and we got started just about on time. A good group, somewhat subdued and serious at first, warming up a bit by afternoon. Very attentive, and they all seem to be absorbing everything thoroughly. Went to happy hour for a change, this hotel’s cantina had a Monday Martini and Meatball special, so we decided to splurge again and had a couple of Cosmo’s and appetizer size meatball plates for dinner. Off to bed, hoping to get a better night sleep!

Sunday, December 11, 2011 - Recovery/Shopping Day

Didn’t get out of bed until after 10:00, but I was awake every two hours for some reason, so I didn’t feel as rested as I had hoped. We went out to Denny’s for breakfast, then to Staples to pick up a table top easel pad. The salesman at the store insisted he didn’t have anything like that, right up until we found one sitting right on his shelf, then he got rather huffy for some reason, like it was my fault he didn’t know. Weird. Headed back to the hotel. Checked out the meeting room we were going to be working in, and discovered a complete mess, everything was in the wrong place, so we had to try to rearrange as much as we could, but there wasn’t anyone from the banquet office in on Sunday, so much of it we simply had to leave instructions. Not an easy task, since the vast majority of people working at this hotel don’t speak English. Anyway, we did the best we could before heading back up to the room. Late in the afternoon, Hubby decided to steam our suits, and we discovered that one of the suits I had brought, which I hadn’t worn yet, had a different size pant than jacket, and didn’t fit properly! That necessitated another outing to a Burlington Coat Factory, which was right up the road. Not much of a selection compared to some other stores we’ve been in, but I managed to find a green jacket w/black pants that looked good. Not that I needed another pair of black pants, especially since I’ve been trying to avoid black these day (shades of my fat-hiding past), but it did the trick. Finally got back to the hotel, and got to bed early since we have an early start.

Saturday, December 10, 2011 - Fly to Anaheim, CA

Had a lousy night sleep for some reason, and woke up incredibly tired. Left the farm about 10:00, with lots of time for a nice brunch at IHOP and an easy run to the airport from there. We had accumulated a lot of frequent flyer miles, so we decided that since this was a cross-country flight, we’d splurge and go First Class. What a treat! Not only did we have the expected bigger and more comfortable seats with lots more legroom, we were served two excellent meals, starting with hot nuts, unlimited liquor (okay, just this once!), appetizers (shrimp cocktail at dinner), salad, entrees, and even dessert (cookie on one flight, and, would you believe, ICE CREAM on the other!) What an indulgence. Had more calories on this one day that we usually have over three! But what the hey, we don’t get to go first class every time (though I may start looking into how to upgrade more often...: -). You only live once! Arrived on time, picked up our little chartreuse Ford Fiesta, and headed to the airport. So exhausted we didn’t even stop to shop on our way. We certainly didn’t need an evening meal! In bed early, have to catch up before our workshop on Monday!

Friday, December 9, 2011 - Travel Day to Jacksonville, FL

Managed to get out pretty early. The ranger had told us about a manhole cover over a sewer that RV-ers were allowed to use as a dump, so we were able to get that done before we left camp (though handling the manhole cover was no easy task). On the road before 9:00. First stop breakfast, then fuel and propane, then clear sailing to our next stop, a stable in Callahan, FL just west of Jacksonville. No trouble getting over through the Ag stop at the border, the young man didn’t even come out to compare our horses to their passports! Arrived around 3:00, a bit ahead of schedule, but that allowed us to get everyone well situated. The horses are in big stalls with runs, the dogs will stay in the RV and the staff will look after them when we leave next week. Hubby got the satellite dish up, we plugged into electric in the workshop, and we’re home free! Well, not free, this place is a bit more than usual, but it will do the job nicely. Did a little preliminary packing, then settled in for the evening.

Thursday, December 8, 2011 - Preparation Day

Slept late, and tried to take it as easy as possible in preparation for our long drive tomorrow, but we did get almost everything packed up early today. Finished up the laundry, had a nice shower before going to bed, set the alarm for an early start.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - Another Ride at Millcreek Park

Got another load of laundry in, and did a few jobs in the morning before we headed out for another ride on these terrific trails. We started out going in reverse from the previous day, heading north on the Governor’s (Yellow) trail, carrying on past the cutoff and working our way through some lovely narrow, forest trails. Blazes were a bit more intermittent and the trail wasn’t marked as well as the Palmetto Trail, but just when I had my doubts, another yellow marker would usually pop up. This was a really windy trail, and Apollo really had to concentrate, which kept his active brain busy, and thus out of any trouble. We almost missed one intersection when we reached an area of private property, but eventually discovered the trail went directly across a road. A couple of guys were on the private property doing some dog training, looked like hounds learning how to follow bait that was being pulled around by an ATV. Fortunately the occasional gunshot was far enough away not to startle the horses too much, and we got by that area without incident. Then we were on sandy roads for a bit, and we got a few nice trots and canters in. We didn’t take the Governor’s trail the entire way, as we got started too late in the day, so we took a few roads back to the Palmetto Trail and headed back towards camp. More opportunities to trot and canter, and the horses behaved themselves splendidly, so we got back to camo without incident, and having finally worked the horses back to riding mode. Too bad they’re going to get a whole week or more off after this! Can’t wait until we can get back to riding 2-3 times a week consistently. Should be able to do that after this next job, our last of the year! Yeah! Managed to get another load of laundry in before the evening was out. Settled in for the evening, well satisfied with our ride today.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011 - Laundry, Shopping and Blog Catchup

Another deep night of sleep, followed by a day of doing laundry and catching up on my blog as well as other final paperwork. Sent Hubby of to the Post Office and grocery store, and naturally he got lost (our Verizon GPS pretty worthless out here), so the half hour trip turned into a two-plus hour journey. I spent most of the day trying to work on my computer, but since the cell phone signal is so weak here, it takes forever to get anything downloaded on my aircard, so I’m doing mostly local stuff. Did a bunch of loads of laundry, though, even got out my clothesline and hung some things up outside. There’s a slight breeze and lots of sun, so even though it’s a bit cool, it’s doing the job. Quiet around the park, though, no one here but us, just the way we like it!   Hubby finally got back, and we eventually settled down for the evening.

Monday, December 5, 2011 - Work, then Ride Day at Mill Creek Park

Been sleeping until 9 or 9:30 since we’ve been here, and it’s been the deepest sleep that we’ve had in weeks, feels great! Got caught up on some work, then finally decided it was time to go riding. The weather was beautiful, and it seems like so long since we’ve been out! Of course, last time Hubby took a little fall, and I was still sore from the previous ride when I fell that we were both a bit tender going out, but we worked the horses through their paces slowly, walking a long way before doing a long jog. There was one time that Apollo started to act up a bit, but I managed to stay on, then I jogged him until he was tired, than finally found a nice spot to break him into a canter that wasn’t accompanied by a rodeo leap first, exactly as I had hoped. We rode for just about two hours, just what we needed to literally "get back in the saddle again." The trails were mostly sand, mostly pretty soft with a few areas more firmly packed. The first trail we went on, the Palmetto Trail, started out along a utility line, then had a nice wooded stretch, but it soon opened up into a mostly clearcut area, so it wasn’t very pretty, but it was well marked and easy to follow with all the other horse sign. Eventually it got back to mixed pine woods. We went as far as the first staging area, then took the blue connector trail (which wasn’t very well marked) back to the yellow Governors trail (which was). A perfect ride for the task at hand!

Sunday, December 4, 2011 - Rest/Work Day

Another day of computer work, but our day of rest was shattered by a problem with an electrical circuit. We had some sort of ground fault that kept tripping the electric circuit from the supply post. It took us over two hours to finally get it working again, by then the football game Hubby had wanted to watch was over. I’ve been busy doing laundry (water and electricity, can’t miss the opportunity!), and we eventually turned to watching movies and relaxing the rest of the day. Meanwhile, the campground all but emptied out by the end of the day, with the exception of one other rig way down the hill.

Saturday, December 3, 2011 - Rest/Catchup Day

Slept late, didn’t even hear it when Jamie left. Spent the day getting caught up on the usual post-training camp chores, as well as some other computer work that needed doing. Hoping to have at least one or two days of total rest before we head off to Anaheim for yet another training camp soon. We can hope! We had several neighbors move in nearby, and a rousing bonfire went on till quite late, but we weren’t bothered. It was a great night for it!

Friday, December 2, 2011 - Travel Day to Mill Creek Park in SC

Got out early, stopping several times, for fuel and propane, then breakfast, and finally shopping for a week’s supply of groceries. Arrived at the horse camp in Mill Creek Park around 3:00. What a place! Now THIS is a horse camp where we could stay a long time! Over 120 campsites, all with water and electric, the entire campground has posts for highlines at pretty much every campsite, there’s a bathhouse with hot and cold water, there are several buildings of covered stalls if you prefer not to highline, and there are enough other trees around to highline as well. Several campers also put up portable corrals. This is a REAL horse camp! Can’t wait to see what the trails are like, but that’s not going to happen until we take a few days off and recover from the intensity of the last few weeks. Met Steve, the guy who looks after the place, and our neighbor Jamie, who is here for a night with her grandchildren. A few other campers arrived after us, but it’s still pretty quiet here. Just what the doctor ordered!

Thursday, December 1, 2011 - Travel Day Back to Sky’s the Limit Farm

Had another bagel breakfast at a cafe across the street from the hotel before heading down the highway back to the boarding place in Lumberton. Arrived just after 4:00, tired but satisfied. Horses greeted us with their usual nickering and whinnying, and we worked for a while getting things ready to go tomorrow. Said our good-byes to our gracious hostess Peggy, as she will be gone when we leave tomorrow. Looking forward to heading south again!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - Work Day One

Met with our client for a quick meeting in the morning before heading out to Joe Theismann’s restaurant across the quad, then started our first day of class. A good group, enthusiastic, which is good but sometimes makes it difficult to stay on time and on track. Didn’t finish up until after 5:30. Later we joined a woman I met in the spa yesterday for drinks and snacks, then headed back up to the room for an early night.

Monday, November 28, 2011 - Move/Rest/Massage Day

Slept late and didn’t check out of the room until 11:30 (after a great free breakfast, of course!), then headed across the street to Target, 1) to see if they had a Kindle Touch that I want to buy (they didn’t, so I’ll have to order one direct from Amazon), and 2) do a little more shopping for things we’ll need in the coming days. We then toured around Alexandria to get our bearings around Old Town, to check out parking and walking and where everything was. We even took a ride down to a park near the river that I found had a fenced in "dog park" in it, but it was very disappointing, little more than a patch of gravel, though there were a few other folks and dogs there when we arrived. Our dogs ran around a bit, but they really don’t get the "romp with other dogs" thing, so we left after about 30 minutes. Found an ice cream parlor where we had our usual ice cream lunch, then finally headed to the hotel to check in. Hubby had already talked to the valet on our first pass, so we were all set to check in with the dogs, and learned where the van would be parked, since that would act as their "crate" when we were at work. Turns out to be in the basement, which was perfect. Got settled into a small but comfy room, then I headed out to the spa to get a deep tissue sports massage that I had previously arranged. The last one I had in Atlanta had been wonderful, really helped my out-of-whack shoulder, and I had made a lot of progress since then, so I was hoping this would almost finish it off. Loved the steam room, that helped a lot, though the massage itself wasn’t as good as Melody’s at Bliss in Atlanta. She tried, but just never got to the real root of the problem. A few more minutes in the steam room and I headed up to the room, where Hubby awaited me with a glass of red wine he had picked up at the Managers Reception in the lobby earlier. Relaxed for the evening as we prepared for the job tomorrow.

Friday, November 27, 2011 - Preparation Day

Spent the day getting ready to move on tomorrow, and the prepare for our busy week next week.

Sunday, November 27, 2011 - Travel Day to Alexandria

Set the alarm and was out early, stopping at Waffle House in Lumberton for breakfast before running straight up to Springfield to spend the night at a Hampton Inn that I had previously arranged. Figured we’d need a day of rest tomorrow to get ready for our training camp Tuesday and Wednesday. Fortunately we arrived right about 3:00, checked in and did, indeed, have a pleasant afternoon and evening of rest.

Saturday, November 26, 2011 - Travel Day to Sky’s the Limit Farm

Even though it was a short trip today, we had much to do to prepare for our longer trip tomorrow, so we got out early. Arrived at Peggy Helie’s Sky’s the Limit Farm in Lumberton, NC just after mid-day, quickly getting settled in. Parked the RV next to the house and hooked up to electric, Hubby getting the satellite going pretty quickly, which will be great because I’d like to stock up on movies and programming, we’re down to about 15 hours on the PVR, which is really low for us. The horses got settled in quickly in a nice paddock, where they quickly stretched their legs and rolled around a bit. I swear, there isn’t much more fun than watching a horse roll around on it’s back, flailing it’s legs in the air while it tries to roll over his own withers to the other side! We met Peggy’s youngsters, then spent the rest of the afternoon packing, unhooking, and generally getting ready for our long trip tomorrow.

Thursday, November 24, 2011 - Happy Thanksgiving!

Slept late again, and today, finally, we pretty much just relaxed. Contrary to the rest of the country, we enjoyed a steak for dinner, a real luxury, as we haven’t had much since we started our diet at the beginning of the year. Thankful for our fabulous animals, thankful for our incredible life, thankful for our excellent health, thankful for each and every day we get to keep living the dream!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - Ride Day at Cheraw

At last, the weather was nice enough (it has been too cold to ride) to go for a ride. Apparently there is only basic trail with lots of criss-crossing, but all we did was stay on the main trail, which was just about a five or six mile loop. It was mostly in the woods, and the footing was good, no stones, mostly hard dirt with some sand. I still have some residual pain in my side from the fall I took, so all I wanted to do today was walk. After a couple of miles, though, Apollo wanted to do something more, and at one point he suddenly kicked up without warning and jumped a few steps. Fortunately, I managed to stay on, though my side was punished in the process. Hubby’s mare followed suite without warning, and Hubby ended up over the saddle and somehow managed to hang onto Clio’s neck, which fortunately broke his fall almost entirely. It was rather amusing, really, when I look back and saw him hanging like a monkey on the underside of Clio’s neck. Then he just dropped his legs, though he lost his balance and ended up sitting on the ground for a minute gathering his wits. No explanation from the horses as to their flighty behavior, they just stood there calmly. Well, we got back up again and carried on for awhile, until we came to a straightaway that Apollo thought would make a good race track. He leaped again, fortunately forward to I managed to hang on, then I let him run a little before reining him in again. That was it. I climbed down, found a clear spot off the trail, and ran him around in circles for about 10 minutes on the extra line on my McCarty setup. He kicked and galloped and jumped around in one direction, then I had him change directions and he kicked and galloped and jumped around in the other, until he finally wore himself out. I led him back to the trail and we set off again, much subdued. About a mile out, we did it again, not because he seemed as anxious to run off again, but just to make sure he didn’t get any ideas like that. We managed to make it back to the camp in good shape, and no one worse for the wear. Other than that, it was a good couple of hours. Trails not very exciting, they just kind of weave in and out of the trees, though they are pretty well marked, albeit a pretty short trip. Fine for what we needed, but for a long stay of riding, not so much. At least we got them back on the trail, and we both survived, which is always the goal!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - Rain Day

More computer work, more reading, more movies.

Monday, November 21, 2011 - Runaround Day

Hubby ran some errands, including extending our stay here until Sunday. I spent the day on the computer again. Looking forward to getting caught up enough to actually REST!

Sunday, November 20, 2011 - Relaxation Day

Again spent some of the day on the computer, then watched movies. Gratefully uneventful!

Saturday, November, 19, 2011 - Relax and Blog Catchup Day

Spent the day on the computer catching up on my blog. There are some boy scouts in the field next door, and we heard a generator running most of the day. Scouting isn’t just what it used to be! At one point, a stray beagle wandered into the camp. I managed to catch him and find a phone number on his collar, which I called. Turns out the dog had gone missing two weeks earlier while on a hunting trip, and the owner was happy to get him back. I asked him about any of the locals that might sell hay, and he gave me a name and number that I called later on. Looks like we’ll be able to find hay locally, which I’ve been searching for for several days. Nothing on craigslist, which is unusual. Wrong time of year, I guess. Anyway, an early night trying to relax a bit this week.

Friday, November 18, 2011 - Travel Day to Cheraw State Park, SC

Set the alarm for slightly later, still managed to be on our way by 9:00. Stopped at a Waffle House just down the highway for breakfast, then again at Wal-mart to get some essential shopping done. We were passing very close to the stable we have selected to look after the horses when we go back up to DC later in the month, so we decided to stop by and check it out. It’s a rather small, homey place, with just a few small pastures cordoned off with a run-in shed, but it will suit the purpose. Then we headed out to Cheraw State Park in South Carolina, a place we’ve been meaning to get to but hadn’t gotten around to until now. Arrived by just after 3:00, paid through Monday (just in case), then headed out to their equestrian campground. It’s really just an open field with a couple of water spigots, some fire rings and picnic tables scattered around. Around the field were plenty of pine trees to high line the horses, so we got busy getting settled in. Hubby even managed to get a satellite signal quickly, so we were done by about 4:00. Grabbed some ice cream for our late lunch, then soup later on to warm up again, and spent the evening relaxing again.

Thurday, November 17, 2011 - Travel Day to Valentine Stables, NC

With the alarm set early, we were up and on our way out by just after 8:00 with a cup of coffee in hand. Said our goodbyes to our hostess and headed south on 301, stopping once in Waldorf at a Burger King for breakfast (which oddly had no indoor restaurant, it was strictly a drive-thru, with a few picnic tables around the outside... Weird). Of course, we’re too big to drive-thru, so we had to stand out in the cold until our breakfast was ready. Drove the rest of the day in rain, despite earlier forecasts that it would clear up, with our load of hay getting soaked as we geaded down the highway. It finally quit raining about a half hour before we reached our destination, a layover place called Valentine Farms near Dunn, NC. A bit expensive but very conveniently located just 3 miles off I-95. Horses each had a lovely big stall with a run (though we closed the doors to the run after dinner because of the cold breeze coming through), and we were able to plug in the RV to an RV designated plug on the outside of the barn. We arrived by 3:00, tired from the early departure and busy last couple of days, so we relaxed the rest of the day, again getting to bed early.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - Back to the Stables

Slept late (as we had expected), packed up and headed out right at the noon checkout time. Met up with my old friend Steve at a local IHOP for brunch. He had just been around the globe in the last few weeks, first to Germany then to New Zealand, so his body clock thought breakfast at 12:30 was a good idea, too. After a pleasant meal, Hubby and I headed back to the stables where we unpacked our suitcases and prepared to pack up and leave the next day. The weather forecast had been calling for rain today and clear skies and cooler tomorrow, but they’ve been wrong about this rain for some time, and we’re concerned about getting out in the morning. We decided to hook up the horse trailer this afternoon and pull it out onto the driveway where it had better traction, but the van slipped and slid all over the place even WITHOUT the trailer behind it, so we decided to do something we had been planning on doing but hadn’t gotten around to; rotating the tires on the van. Last year, we had bought to huge honking Wrangler tires with giant tread (which look really MEAN on the van!). We put them on the front because the other tires had worn unevenly (for a long list of reasons too boring to talk about), and that made a loud thunking noise on the front, so we put the loud tires in the back and the new Wranglers on the front, figuring once the bumps were worn down that set would be quieter later on, which is exactly what happened. But the tread on the old tires, naturally, weren’t too great anymore (not bad enough to get rid of, just not great in certain circumstances, like soft, wet grass on a hill with weight behind it), so we headed out to the Wal-mart Auto Center, and two hours later they rotated the Wranglers to the back and the now smoother old tires to the front. Though it was dark, we decided to go ahead and try to move the horse trailer, since the newly revised forecast was calling for more rain during the evening and overnight hours. Fortunately, everything worked our perfectly. The Wranglers had no trouble gripping the grass, even with the added weight of the horse trailer behind it, and we managed to pull the trailer up onto the gravel driveway easily, with no damage to the yard. Moments afterward, it started drizzling again, so we congratulated ourselved on a job well done and headed inside to the warmth of the trailer and a hot meal of leftover Indian food. The rest of the evening was quiet, and we headed to be early in preparation for our early start tomorrow morning.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - Day Two of Workshop

Another great day of workshop, running right up to our schedule 5:00, then hanging around for another hour or more just chatting with some interested attendees on other matters. Had dinner with our seminar organizer at the hotel restaurant before getting to bed, satisfied with a good training camp.

Monday, November 14, 2011 - Day One of Workshop

Conducted our workshop all day, with a great group of folks from all along the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest, had dinner in our room delivered from a local Indian restaurant so we could relax for the evening, then to be asap.

Sunday, November 13, 2011 - Move to Arlington, VA



Pentagon-DC in background

After spending the morning packing, we headed out to the Sheraton in Arlington, VA where we will be facilitating a workshop for the next two days. Happily, they accept dogs here, which adds a nice element to the trip, not having to worry about dog care back at the stable. It means having to put the dogs in the van during the day when we are teaching, but at least they can come up and spend the evenings and nights with us. They’re so used to sleeping in the van whenever we travel anyway, it’s really all the same to them. Took a hot bath to soothe my still aching side (the bruises are out in full glory now, and I still have a stitch or two along my rib when I take a deep breath), watched a fun Tom Cruise movie on HBO, then got to sleep early in anticipation of an early and long day tomorrow.

Saturday, November 12, 2011 - Preparation Day

Spent the day getting ready to move over to DC tomorrow, with the added fun of taking the dogs to Petco for a bath and grooming, something they’ve never done before. We just didn’t have the capability to do it ourselves today, because it’s too cold and water is too far away, and I’m still in serious pain from my fall, so we decided to splurge and let the dogs have a "spa" day. After careful instructions to Billy’s handler (he tends to get aggressive when he gets scared or pushed or pulled around because of his abusive puppyhood), Hubby and I ran a few more errands. Came back a few hours later to some very happy, clean and nice-smelling dogs. She even managed to attach a couple of tiny bows to Marina’s short hair, which were cute and ridiculous at the same time. Job done, we headed back to the RV for a relaxing evening.

Friday, November 11, 2011 - Move to Stables near Rosaryville, MD

Set the alarm so we could get off to an early start. Spent the day running errands, first going down to the Tidewater Animal Hospital south of Waldorf, MD because all of the animals, horses and dogs alike, needed their annual vaccinations. First time ever we’ve managed to get them all on the same schedule! (Dogs were due last month, horses aren’t really due until next month, but this will make things easier from now on!) Did some shopping and made a few other stops before finally arriving at our host stable, run by Anna Solan. Very near Rosaryville State Park, where we had intended to go riding before my unfortunate fall, but still very convenient for getting to DC for our next job. Horses went into a round pen at the back of the property, and we parked the RV right next to it, getting settled in quickly. Too late for the satellite dish tonight, too cold and dark by the time we got set up, so we just relaxed for the evening with the PVR after our hectic day.

Thursday, November 10, 2011 - Move Over Day

Didn’t sleep too well last night, probably too much caffeine from the hot cocoa and Excedrin, so we were up a bit earlier than usual. Good thing, too, because the ranger came by and told us we had to move back up to the lodge because tomorrow is the beginning of gun-hunting season and hunters were coming in to camp in the campground. We had originally planned on moving out of here and going to Cedarville State Park in Maryland earlier this week, but we discovered they had already turned off their water, closed up their bathhouse and their dump, but didn’t reduce their prices accordingly, so we decided to just stay here. That and the pain I’m in made the decision for us. They don’t seem to mind us being here at Redden, but I imagine we’ll hear gunfire early tomorrow morning. Just as well, we need to get out of here early anyway, lots to do and several places to go. Spent the day getting future trips organized, including flights from Jax to Anaheim and stables all along the way down I-95 for later in the month and through December.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - Laundry Day

Despite the aches and pains, laundry duty called, and since we don’t have easy access to water and electric, we headed out to the nearest and only laundromat in Georgetown. What an awful place! By far the worst laundromat we’ve been to in our many years on the road. Machines were filthy (our first hint), the place was empty (our second hint), the prices were high for the size of the machines, the dryers only gave you 6 minutes per quarter, and the temps on the dryers were so low that even on high the laundry wasn’t getting dry! After 4 quarters, I was still taking out clothes that were wet and cold. We finally gave up, packed up every damp thing we had (not one thing had dried completely), and drove to the next nearest town south, found another very nice little laundromat, and in two more cycles, everything was completely done. The place was also clean and there were other people there, so that tells the rest of the story. The whole afternoon was in painful slow motion, but at least everything got done, which was the most important thing. We had stopped at the pharmacy on the way and loaded up with stick-on heat pads, Excedrin (which I’ve now decided is the best painkiller) and an Ace bandage to wrap my ribs, so by the time we got all that going, I started to feel pretty good about the time I needed to start folding laundry. Got back just after the sun set, got the horses fed, and settled down for the evening.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - Recovery/Work Day

Despite the painkillers, I’m still in some agony every time I move, so everything is in slow motion right now. I did manage to take a much needed and long overdue shower, then did some paperwork before settling down to get caught up on my blog. Hubby ran into Georgetown to drop off some mail and get some propane (which we’ve been going through a lot of trying to keep me warm in my vulnerable state and through the cold weather). Not sure whether I cracked a rib or not, but there’s nothing to be done about it anyway except be careful. Doesn’t look like we’ll be doing any more riding any time soon. Can’t afford not to be at my best next week, so I’m not likely to take any more chances until I’m at 100 percent again.

Monday, November 7, 2011 - Ride Day at Last! But...

Finally woke up to a beautiful day, feeling well enough to venture out. Since the horse trail here is only a bit over 4 miles, we decided to give it a go. Everything was going fine for about the first mile or so, the horses were frisky after having been standing around for the past week, and I was feeling better, though still not 100 percent. We came to a nice stretch and did some trotting and a little canter, then walked a bit more, then came to another stretch where the horses’ ears picked up and they decided to canter. Unfortuntately, my horse likes to be in the lead, and when his mom passed him and started to pull away, he decided to play rodeo and pitch a fit. One second he was under me and the next second he wasn’t. I was up in the air and then I was hitting the ground hard. Probably hadn’t quite recovered enough to think that quickly to compensate, but whatever, I landed on my hip. Now that I’ve lost 40 pounds of fat, I don’t have as much cushion as I used to, and it was a hard landing. I completely had the wind knocked out of me, which was awful for about a half dozen breaths, especially considering I was still pretty congested from the illness. For a minute, I wasn’t sure I would be able to catch my breath at all. It was pretty scary. Finally I managed to pull in some air, which made my ribs hurt. I sat there for a good ten minutes just getting my wits about me before trying to climb back on board Apollo. Once I was up, though, my head starting swimming and my eyes got really sensitive to the light, everything seemed suddenly brighter. I had to climb down again, it was just too dangerous up there for the moment. I sat on the ground for another good 15 minutes or so before I finally felt well enough to get back up. It was better this time, at least my head wasn’t swimming, but I had aches and pains all along my right side. I gave Hubby my lead rope just in case (we have a McCarty setup), and we headed back the way we came at a walk, though both horses were still a bit frisky, which didn’t help, but they behaved themselves for the most part. Once we got back, I barely managed to make it inside, once more having to leave all the work to Hubby, for which I had already been feeling guilty about all week. I grabbed a few painkillers and lay down in bed again, and later when I struggled to the recliner, started alternating between heat and ice for the rest of the evening. That helped some, but there’s a possibility I cracked a rib. I’m certainly in for some bruising on my hip. Compouding the matter is that the right side is the one that has been screwed up for nearly three years, and I’m afraid it wrenched in even stranger ways, though I may get lucky and this wrenching will fix the old wrenching (one can hope : -). Anyway, this was the last thing I needed, to be laid up even longer! Now the occasional lagging cough of my cold/flu is just enough to send shooting pains all along my rib cage and right side. I’m just going to have to take it easy, considering we have a workshop to conduct next Monday!

Sunday, November 6, 2011 - Shopping Day

Well, finally, I woke up feeling well enough to get out today. After a late breakfast (I still slept late, in keeping with best practices for conquering illness), we dressed and drove out to the nearby Wal-mart in Georgetown, DE. Didn’t have too much to buy, but we got the essentials, and it was great to get out of the house. A bit tired by the time we got home, but feeling much better than I had in what seemed like ages! Didn’t push my luck though, still went to bed early!

Saturday, November 5, 2011 - Another Sick Day

Spent yet another day in bed. At least I’ve started coughing up some mucus that’s finally loosening up a bit, and the fever seems to be improving slightly. Managed to help Hubby with the horses for a few minutes, which took a Herculean effort. He’s been so wonderful, picking up all the slack for me since I’ve been sick. It’s a miracle that in almost 26 years together, we’ve never both been sick at the same time, one of us has always been well enough to look after the other and the animals. Amazing! Nice to get outside, even for a few minutes, though. Progress is made, albeit slowly!

Tuesday, November 1 - Friday, November 4, 2011 - Sick Week

Every day the same. Slept late, struggled out of bed for breakfast, crawled back in bed for the rest of the day until dinner, cuddled with a blanket in the recliner watching TV in the evening (we managed to pirate an electrical plug to an outlet in the lodge so we didn’t have to run the generators), then to bed early and sleeping late again. No noticeable improvement in my condition despite all the sleep. Struggling with a fever that’s been ranging from 99.3-102.9. Didn’t even have the energy to read, which is my one solace when I’m sick. Really strange, I seldom get sick, and this is the longest I can ever remember being sick without my condition at least progressing. But we had to move today, so I struggled out of bed to do my best to help Hubby (which, I’m sorry to say, wasn’t much), filling up with water and moving everything over to the campsite area. Took Hubby a long time to get a satellite signal, but it seems that had more to do with a bad wire than a bad sight line, though that contributed as well. He managed in the end, stubborn man that he is, and we spent the evening watching TV before once again getting to bed early.

Monday, October 31, 2011 - Happy Halloween! Travel Day to Redden State Forest

Skies were clear and cold, hard to get started, but we forced ourselves to get going pretty early anyway. Nevertheless, it was almost ten by the time we were departing the RV dump. The drive was a pretty easy one, with no problems getting lost. Fortunately Gracie (my GPS) got us here without any incidents, though a little later than we had hoped, around 3:30 or so. I felt terrible the whole drive, really under the weather, with the same symptons I’ve had all weekend. I let Hubby do all the running around to decide whether we were going to start in the campground or out by the lodge, which was more convenient to water. He ended up decided to the lodge, because of the water and because it had an easier shot for the satellite dish, so we filled up with water and headed up there. The ranger said we could stay there until Friday, but that since the lodge was rented for the weekend we would have to move then, which is fine with us. Our plans are in flux at the moment. So we parked behind the lodge, found two nice trees to highline the horses, and got settled in. I was in slow motion, though, I wasn’t as much help as usual because of how awful I felt. Finally got everything set up and settled in, hoping my health improves so we can enjoy our time off!

Sunday, October 30, 2011 - Sick Day Again

Snowy back yard at Byrne

Felt no better this morning, spent even more time in bed today, though when I did get up, I helped Hubby with some preparations for our departure tomorrow. Very cold, lots of snow to the north of us, record levels in NYC and New England, millions of people without electricity. Another nice thing about having our own generators! Not looking forward to leaving, but we’ve already outstayed our maximum time here, and we need to start moving southward, albeit just to Delaware. We had made several plans over the last week, most of which got blown up for one reason or another, so the final plan is to head to Redden State Forest in southern Delaware. They don’t have a "horse" camp, but they do have 5 or 6 campsites and a lodge with a water spigot, and some horse trails and roads. The best part is that it’s free, and after having had to spend so much time in stables and full price campgrounds, we need to conserve for a while. Fortunately it’s only about three hours’ drive, with luck. Spent most of the day in bed, but it doesn’t seem to be helping, I still feel pretty awful.

Saturday, October 29, 2011 - Rain/Snow/Sick Awful Day

Woke up feeling under the weather today, and the weather was pretty awful to be under. It rained and snowed off and on most of the day, cold and damp all around. My head felt like it does after a long fever has broken, that kind of achy, shrinking feeling, except I haven’t had a fever. I have a dry cough and apparently some chest congestion, though no sore throat, no runny nose, none of the usual stuff a cold starts with, so this is weird. My eyese seemed a bit senstive to light, too, which I can’t remember ever happening before. Let myself sleep late, got up long enough for breakfast and went back to sleep for most of the afternoon. Had dinner and spent the evening watching TV, but was ready for bed. Not looking too good right now.

Friday, October 28, 2011 - Sunny and Cold

Quite chilly today, though the sun outside was brilliant and made it look warmer. Stayed inside and did some more office work, then relaxed for the rest of the day.

Thursday, October 27, 2011 - Rain/Shopping Day

Started raining early and kept it up off and on all day. We decided to take the opportunity to go do some more shopping. Lots of people out today, likely getting ready for the Halloween weekend. Nice to get back to our cozy little house on wheels, snuggling in for the evening.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - Another Ride Day before Rain

Since the weather forecast is calling for rain and colder weather tomorrow, Hubby and I decided to take another ride today. This time we managed to find our way along the whole horse trail in reverse, as we had intended yesterday, and it was lovely again. This is really a nice place for horses, and I hope the locals encourage the forest service to open up camping to horses more regularly, particularly during the off-season. It’s been really perfect weather since we’ve been here, just a bit cool on a couple of days, but mostly fine. Being the end of October, though, we can’t expect it to last much longer! Another relaxing evening, still catching up on our rest as much as possible.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - Ride Day

Took another ride today, this time trying to reverse our 8.1 horse trail from last time. Had some trouble though, lost track of a couple of turns and ended up getting lost somewhat. We eventually realized that the trail markings are only on one side of a tree rather than the standard both sides, so it was easy to get messed up. Spend more time on roads that we normally like, and the ride ended up being shorter than we had planned, but it was still an enjoyable day. Any day spent on the back of a horse is a good day!

Monday, October 24, 2011 - Catch Up Day

Spent the day catching up on paperwork, bookkeeping and phone calling. Have to pay attention to business every once in a while, seeing as we’re not exactly retired! (and probably never will be, this is too much fun!)

Sunday, October 23, 2011 - Rest Day

Relaxed today, again trying to recuperate from all our recent exertions. Made it a movie day! Vegged out in front of the TV, that was about it!

Saturday, October 22, 2011 - Hay Day

After several false starts and not too much help from craigslist this time, I managed to find a place nearby that sold nice grass hay mix for $5.50/bale. These were nice heavy bales, though, some of the heaviest we’ve seen in a while. We’re glad to be done with the last batch, that ended up getting really dusty from getting wet the first day out. New stuff is nice and green, just cut within the last few weeks, though of course, fall grass won’t be as nutritious, so we’ve been supplementing them with senior feed and oats anyway for the last month or so. Nice seller, helped us load up, we got 30 bales in the horse trailer to keep it dry until we finish up the old stuff and get ready to move on. Having such a good time at Brendan T. Byrne, we’ve decided to stay awhile.

Friday, October 21, 2011 - Fabulous Ride Day!

Made the full 8.1 mile loop today, and it was wonderful. One or two places were along gravel road stretches (not our favorite), and along tarmac road, but most of it was lovely footing through beautiful pine barrens (though I’m not sure why they call them barrens, they seem pretty full of stuff to me!) Got in some lovely trots and canters, and really enjoyed ourselves. Starting to feel like things are getting back to normal! Another quiet evening, restful after our lovely ride.

Thursday, October 20, 2011 - Shop a bit

Took a quick ride into town to do some shopping. Found a great dairy bar and diner with FABULOUS homemade frozen custard and ice cream. Tried their pumpkin flavor (‘tis the season!) and it was delicious! Taking everything at a nice slow pace while we recover from our busy September and prepare for our somewhat busy November.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - Sleep and Work

Slept late again, which is actually an agenda item (1. Make multiple deposits in our sleep bank). Also got some much needed paperwork and phone calling done. Relaxed in the evening.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 - Great Ride Day at Brendan T. Byrne State Forest

 Took our first ride today, and it was great! Got a bit turned around because we didn’t want to take the whole 8.1 mile loop (still too tired for that), but we did want to get out for a short ride since it’s been so long. Out about 90 minutes or so, some on gravel road, some on lovely sandy, piney trails. This looks like a great rest stop for a while!

Monday, October 17, 2011 - Sleep, Sleep and more Sleep

Slept late, laid around all day, first layer of exhaustion nibbled into, many more layers to come.

Sunday, October 16, 2011 - Move Over to Real Campground at Brendan T. Byrne State Forest

Called over to another nearby state forest, the Brendan T. Byrne, and although they don’t technically have a horse camp, they agreed to let us stay there, since the campground would be mostly empty by the end of the day. There was some kind of motorcycle "enduro" race for the day, so they asked us not to come over until they had left, which would be about 4:00. A very gracious welcome when we arrived. We filled up our water at the ranger station, because we were sort of let do believe that the water in the campground was a handpump, which didn’t turn out to be true, it was actually a spigot, but the kind with a handle you had to lift up. Threads and everything! That will make life easier! We found what Hubby deigned the only spot possibly capable of receiving a satellite signal, which also happened to be right across the road from a spigot, and we got set up. A nice quiet spot with an 8.1 mile horse trail and miles of dirt roads where horses are allowed, so we’re looking forward to a nice quiet stay where we can finally get a chance to recharge our human batteries! So exhausted after everything we’ve been through lately, seems like it’s been non-stop for ages!

Saturday, October 15, 2011 - Travel Day to Wharton SF-HUGE disappointment!

Weather was fine and travel was good, right up until we arrived in the vicinity of the "horse camp" in Wharton State Forest. The "road" that turned off the tarmac was more like a sandy trail, lots of low branches and deep sand that had me greatly worried about being able to get in and out. Hubby tried to scope it out with the horse trailer, and ended up getting stuck twice, so that obviously wasn’t going to work! We persuaded the ranger to let us stay in the day parking area across the street for the night, which had easy access and would have been the perfect campsite except there was no water, and they were adamant we could only stay the one night because it was an emergency. Very disappointing, we were really looking forward to this place! Not sure where we can go now. Yet another challenge!

Friday, October 14, 2011 - Rainy Day on Staten Island

Rainbow over Staten Island

The plan had been to leave today, but there was a constant drizzle of rain most of the day, so we decided to go do laundry instead, so the day wouldn’t be a total waste. Afterward we went shopping for suits locally, but no luck. Had a cup of coffee and some frozen yogurt in a little cafe that we found, where, strangely, some young people were smoking on a large water pipe, Turkish style. Not sure what that was about, haven’t seen anyone smoking inside a building in so long it seems completely incongruous, especially in NYC where it’s against the law to even smoke in a public park! Go figure. Anyway, the weather is supposed to be clear though windy tomorrow, with the rain petering out tonight.

Thursday, October 13, 2011 - Late Sleeping, Paperwork, Dinner with our Hosts Day

Slept late again, happy that someone else is looking after the horses for us (though the stalls are somewhat dark with no windows), did some computer work, then had a delightful meal at a local diner with our hosts Cherryl and Tom. Chatted away for quite a while beyond dinner, swapping stories about all kinds of things. A good time was had by all.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - FANTASTIC SHOW in NYC



Hubby on Staten Island Ferry

South end of Manhattan

Lincoln Center Sculpture

Famous NYC Library Lions

New "Twin Towers" are Lit - not the same :-(

Day Two in NYC was rainy, but we had managed to get tickets for the matinee of the show War Horse, which had won 5 Tony Awards including Best Play. We had originally planned on seeing the show later in the week, but tickets were pretty hard to come by, so we had to take what we could get. It took two hours to get to Lincoln Center, taking the Staten Island Railroad, then the ferry (which we missed by two minutes while getting a Metro card, so we had to wait a half an hour for the next ferry), then the subway up to 66th Street. We picked up our tickets with about an hour to spare, so we walked over to a rather nice Chinese restaurant where we shared a House Special fried rice, as usual. Headed back to the theatre to claim our loge seats, which were fine except the gaggle of teenage girls behind us, who quieted down for most of the show, except at the beginning of Act Two when their behavior warranted a stern warning from their chaperone (after a few caustic words from the patrons next to us). Despite that minor disruption, the show was INCREDIBLE!!! I could never have imagined a show like that being successfully staged as a play. The puppetry of the horses was fantastic. At worst, you had to be in awe of the incredible job the puppeteers were doing, at best they became invisible and all you saw was the animals themselves. Fantastic! The story was compelling, the suspense put you on the edge of your seat, the occasional humorous relief was delightfully welcome, just a great show overall. Again, worth every penny of it. Afterward, Hubby wanted to look for a new business suit, since most of his didn’t fit anymore with his weight loss, so we headed over to Fifth Avenue (grabbing a subway to avoid the rain, which had been pretty constant all day), then found a little shop on the second story that had a suit he almost instantly fell in love with. It needed some altering, so we arranged for them to make the changes, and we would get back in touch with them to have it shipped UPS once we had an address where they could send it. We stopped for coffee and ice cream in a puny little shop, then we headed down to Macys to look for suits for me, as I have the same problem. Stopped at several other place along the way, but didn’t find anything worthwhile. We finally gave up and headed back to Staten Island, getting back after 10:00. Plugged my ears and crashed once again!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - Ride Day on Staten Island

Had nice weather today, so we decided to spend it checking out the trails at the Clay Pit Pond Preserve. Turned out to be pretty disappointing. A lot of the trail ran a perimeter around the park along a road and even behind a dilapidated apartment building, with great piles of trash along the way. Some of the more promising trails turned out to be closed, so in detouring around them we ended re-doing some trails, including one that veered behind a shopping center. Weird to be riding in such an urban area. The trails were pretty poorly maintained as well, with junk all along the way. We only ended up being out less than two hours, but frankly, that was enough. The noise of traffic was a bit unsettling. Looking forward to getting back into some real woods!

Monday, October 10, 2011 - Travel Day to Staten Island

Headed west on a few backroads, having decided to dump at a Rest Area on I-91 south of Hartford. About ten miles before reaching there, one of the tires on the RV lost all of it’s tread, so we had to pull over, change the tire, then find someplace that had a replacement that was open on a holiday. Fortunately, all was accomplished in relatively short order, delaying us less than 45 minutes or so. We found the dump as well, and flushed out our tanks. Eventually we arrived in Staten Island just a little behind schedule. One shock though was the cost of going over the bridge from NJ. $52.50 and for the RV and $32.50 for the horse trailer!!! Just to get on the island!!! Didn’t have enough cash, and they didn’t accept credit cards, so the woman just said that a bill would be sent to me, as my tags had been recorded when I pulled up!! Really?? I guess the reason the tolls are so high is to pay for all the high tech billing apparatus! Is that the face of redistribution of wealth? Charging a fortune to pay for all the bells and whistles of collecting that fortune? How many times does that money change hands? I don’t know why I’m surprised, our whole complicated federal tax system is the exact same thing. Well, enough of that rant, suffice it to say that we made it to our designated stable, Richer Farms at just 5:00. We set up next to the barn with a not so glamorous view of their truck parking area, but at least it’s NYC and they’re on the edge of a park where we can ride, weather permitting. Had to sleep with earplugs in because of the noise, not surprisingly.

Sunday, October 9, 2011 - Prep Day

Once again spent the day preparing for our departure tomorrow.

Saturday, October 8, 2011 - Ride Day in Rhode Island

At last we managed to plan a ride day. Headed off the farm across a field, then down a road till we finally came across a sort of trailhead. That led us through pretty dense forest, past a couple of small lakes, behind some houses in a neighborhood, and generally everywhere the park had trails. This is officially a state park, but apparently the lands were acquired by not yet developed, so other than a few campfire areas, not much has been done. More trash than we’re used to seeing, but not surprising in such an urban area. We were only out for about two hours, but at least we got our ride in! Yeah!

Friday, October 7, 2011 - Change of Plans Day

After much discussion, we decided that we needed to stay through Monday, just to get everything back in order, and to try to catch up on some rest before tackling NYC. We still have some shopping and other stuff to do, so we informed our hostess and she’s quite happy to let us stay. Besides, we haven’t even ridden here yet!

Thursday, October 6, 2011 - Preparation Day

Spend the day alternating between resting and preparing for our departure tomorrow. Did some cleaning, moved the hay back onto the truck, the usual.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - Travel Day to Providence, RI

Early breakfast, turned in the rental car, a blisfully uneventful flight back to Providence, a wild cab ride back to the farm where we found everyone delighted to see us again. Tired, looking forward to getting a good night sleep. Disappointed to discover that the circuit breaker had blown a few days after we left, so all of our New Season recording never happened, so now we’re going to be playing catchup for the next few weeks, darn it. Plan is to leave on Friday, weather permitting.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - Cirque du Soleil

Slept late after all the exercise we had yesterday. Lounged around again most of the day before heading out to an early performance of the new show at Cirque de Soleil. Again, this was something we’d been wanting to do for many years and have never taken the time, and again, this was quite an experience. It was a new show called LaNouba, and we managed to score some pretty good tickets for half the usual price. The 6:00 show wasn’t quite full, but the crowd was enthusiastic and the show was impressive. Rather dark in some places (typical French, I guess), but had some delightful moments. The juggler was particularly good, and there was an act with four little Asian (probably Chinese) girls using strings and what looked like oversized thread spools doing incredible things, even while jumping and leaping. Very impressive, and again, thoroughly enjoyable. I think we’ve made the most out of our mini-vacation, while still pacing ourselves so as not to over-exert. What a blast! Back to reality tomorrow!