Saturday, April 30, 2011 - Another Ride Day, plus some Sad News

Got an email from our friend Dee, with the horse-friendly B&B in Virginia, that her husband Paul passed away a few days ago, sad news. He was very nice to us when we met him a few years ago, but last year they found a tumor, they had to take an eye out, and he eventually succumbed to some sort of very aggressive cancer. Our best wishes go out to her, she’s a strong lady who I know will find herself a new passion to follow when the time is right. Meanwhile, Hubby and I had decided that instead of waiting until tomorrow to have a long ride, that we would take two short rides today and tomorrow, so after sleeping late (the cooler nights make for perfect sleeping weather), we finally saddled up and got out just before 1:00, and rode for about two hours. Once again it was very enjoyable, though at one point, Hubby took another tumble. Seems his horse saw a sharp turn in the trail before he did, and we were galloping at the time, so he didn’t quite have time to gather himself before she made the turn. Fortunately, he landed in a pile of soft sand and came out of it unscathed. I trust the experience will teach him to keep an eye on the road ahead of him in future : -). The horses enjoyed themselves again, they seem quite content to be back to our old routine, so much so they didn’t even mind being ridden two days in a row. They also seem to be loving the cantoring and galloping we’ve been doing lately, it seems they appreciate the opportunity to stretch their legs. Looking forward to another ride tomorrow. Was out about two and a half hours today, just right for a short ride.

Friday, April 29, 2011 - Fantastic Ride Day at General Coffee State Park

Wow! What a fabulous day! It started out cool after a night of perfect sleeping weather, and the morning was absolutely gorgeous (what I like to call a Tai Chi morning, because it just screams for a group of people performing Tai Chi exercises in the sun!), although we didn’t crawl out of bed until almost 10:00. After a hearty (diet) breakfast of two eggs, toast and bacon, we saddled up and got on the trail about 12:45. What a great trail! Well marked, followed the map (although the Pink trail is new, so the woman at the ranger station just penciled it in for us), wandering through absolutely spectacular Southern forest. It was a mix of deciduous trees like sassafras, sub-tropical scrub palms, an occasional cacti, and pine trees so tall they were well above 100-150 feet over our heads. Saw a deer or two, and a turtle crossed the trail in front of us at one point as well. The footing was perfect, hard sand, some with a layer of pine needles, no rocks of any kind. At a walk we enjoyed the utter beauty of the trail, at trots we enjoyed the great footing, and at canters (and yes, even a gallop at one point), the horses seemed to enjoy the ride as much as we did. A fantastic ride all around! We took the orange River trail all the way to the end and back, about 10 miles round trip, and were gone a bit less than three hours. Wonderful day, exactly the kind of day we live for!

Thursday, April 28, 2011 - Stormy Day

Woke up to rainy weather, which we had been expecting, as a line of storms has been crossing the country for some time. By the end of the day, more than 250 people had been killed as a result of the weather! Nothing we got here was anywhere near as bad, thank goodness. Spent the rainy day getting caught up on office work, then took a short trip to the Post Office in Douglas to drop off some mail. Horses were taken in and out of the trailer several times during the day, to keep them safe during the more severe storms. Finally saw a bit of sunshine trying to break through around 5:00, and the forecast is promising a perfect sunny, mild day tomorrow, which we intend to make the most of on the trail!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 - Travel Day to General Coffee State Park

Had a good night sleep, as it cooled off reasonably well overnight. Since it was going to be a short trip today, we had breakfast in the RV before we left. I also did some necessary business computer work since we had the time, so we ended up leaving a bit after 11:00. We arrived at General Coffee State Park near Douglas, GA, where we were met with some very nice hospitality (as you would expect here in the south), and we were soon settled into a spot in their newly-designated horse camp. It’s really only four campsites next to a picnic pavilion, with an open field nearby, none of which are really suitable for a satellite dish, all on a pretty significant slope. We ended up pulling sideways into Site 1 in order to get reasonably level, and soon had the horses highlined and were settled in with the A/C running (the first time we’ve had 30 amp electric to run it), enjoying a couple of movies during the evening before opening the windows up and heading off to bed.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 - Departure Day

Set the alarm for 7:30, managed to be up and around by 8:00, and packed up and ready to go by just after 9:00. Said our good-byes to Brother, and headed on up the road. Stopped at the Flying J in Ft. Pierce and dumped (first time we had to actually pay for it, a phenomenon that started when Pilot bought them out), then went in for a sit-down breakfast at what is now Denny’s (used to be the Country Market), then headed north again. Our original plan was to stop at Tiger Bay, but we left so early and made such good time, and it was so hot outside, that we decided to get as far north as we could, so we changed our aim to Cary State Forest just west of Jacksonville, a gem of a spot where we stayed last year for nearly two weeks. Our favorite spot at the old homeside was no longer available, so we parked in another spot next to the fire tower, highlined the horses and were all settled in by just after 5:00. Still hot here, but at least we’re moving north!

Monday, April 25, 2011 - Prep Day

As promised, the day was used to get all the last minute items done. Brother’s hired help made short work of us moving the hay over the pickup. We managed to use enough hay since our last purchase so that only three bales had to be put on the extra top level, and the straps were long enough to handle the load, no worries. Around 3:00 we headed out to a local restaurant that was supposed to have Wi-Fi so that I could instruct Brother in some internet lessons (he hasn’t used a computer in years, and that one was obsolete when it was given to him. Not so with this one, it’s practically new!), and I showed him some of the basics, starting with how to read the instructions I’ve typed up for him. I even started him a Facebook page, and he was stunned to discover I could take his picture from the tiny camera and post it online then and there. I showed him another Brother’s Facebook page, and he was surprised to find our Christmas pix there. It’s a whole new world that he hasn’t had any idea was out there, I’m hoping he’ll find something new to do besides work all the time. We’ll see! Meanwhile, we’re looking forward to getting on the road again. We’ve had a great stay here, and we’ve managed to get a lot done, but the horses are getting bored with the terrain, and we’re looking forward to getting into the mountains, or at least some hills. It’s so flat here, it gets rather monotonous, and the weather’s starting to get WAY too hot and humid. Ready to roll!

Sunday, April 24, 2011 - Ride Day along the Canal

After spending the last few days resting and getting ready to leave, my brother and I enjoyed our last ride of the season together. The horse trailer is still full of hay (we’re slated to move it over to the back of the pickup tomorrow, when he has some help coming in to do some other chores around the house), so we opted to just ride around the neighborhood. This time, though, Brother wanted to go across the street to a wilderness area that he used to ride in back when he had horses. The weather was warm, but not as hot as it has been, and there was a nice, albeit warm, breeze that helped keep it from being stifling. After leading the horses across the busy road, we discovered the area he used to ride in was fenced in now, but there was an actual trail sign pointing down the length of the canal, so we headed south down there. It was like a regular nature tour, where we saw lots of turtles and all kinds of birds, with a keen eye open for alligators, as it’s supposed to be mating season. Brother wasn’t sure they would be coming in this far, though, because the water levels were pretty far down because of a lengthy drought they’ve been having here. Never saw one, anyway, though we heard a baby one on the way home (at least according to him :-). Stayed out quite a bit longer than I expected, I guess he wanted to make the most out of it since it will probably be the last time he rides until we come back next year. Followed the canal back, probably 4-5 miles, before finally turning around and heading back. We stopped a few times to stretch our legs, so we ended up being out over 5 hours. We mostly walked, but on the way back he did start speeding up, we managed to get a good number of trots and canters in. A lovely ride, and a great way to end our time here. Will spend tomorrow getting ready to go, giving Brother some last minute lessons on his new/my old computer, moving hay, and generally packing up. Ready to get back on the road again!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 - Travel Day back to Jupiter

Though I woke up around 7:00 and got up around 8:00, I went back to bed about 10:00 still tired. Hubby was sound asleep straight through. We finally woke up together, with Hubby asking what time we had to check out, since the clock said it was 11:45! We leaped out of bed and started packing at once, heading out of the room just before 12:30. I got the boarding passes printed out in the lobby and we caught the 1:00 shuttle to the airport. Had a nice leisurely lunch at TGIF’s before managing to get through security, this time with no trouble whatsoever, thank heavens. We settled down for our flight, which was scheduled in another two hours, then was delayed by half an hour. The plane was filled with St. Mark’s high school kids, presumably coming back from their Spring break trip to DC, so it was rather boisterous most of the time. We left the gate even later, than were shuffled around the busy taxiways for awhile before the captain came on saying there was a technical problem and we had to go back to the gate. It didn’t take long to reset the control box, then we headed out again, finally taking off around 7:00. Arrived more than an hour late in PBI, headed straight back to the ranch, exhausted. Didn’t take long to crash, as it was past 10:00 by the time we arrived. No doubt going to sleep late tomorrow!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011 - Workshop Day Two

Another good day, managed to keep everything moving along. We had several promising leads for future business arise, so hopefully we’ll get some more work out of it, maybe as soon as next month. Had dinner with my friend Steve at a very nice Indian Restaurant called Tandoori Nights on Clarendon in Arlington, then crashed early, experiencing a dramatic wind-down as we always do after an intense event like this. Looking forward to getting back to the critters tomorrow, though I’m not enthused about having to go through the security thing again. I’m hoping tomorrow it will go more smoothly than the trip up here. Trying to figure out if there’s a way we can do our job without having to fly again...

Monday, April 18, 2011 - Workshop Day One

Great day today, big turnout, excellent group, and despite by trials and short preparation time, I managed to get into the zone, and kept them all riveted until 5:30, ending a half hour later than usual, mostly because of the large crowd, but also because I felt that I had missed out on some stuff on previous Workshops and wanted to make sure I got everything in. No one seemed to mind, and in fact I received multiple kudos on my ability to be "on" for so many hours. Good day. Had dinner with our host, then back to bed for an early night!

Sunday, April 17, 2011 - Busy Rest Day

Not surprisingly, we both had a lousy night sleep, being agitated over all of the events of yesterday. In the afternoon Hubby took the shuttle over to the nearest grocery store to pick up a few things while I worked on the outline for an audio conference we’re facilitating next month. I felt exhausted most of the day, finally taking a break to watch a movie late in the afternoon, then took some time to do some prep work for our Workshop tomorrow. I was so tired that I could only stay awake for about a half hour before I dozed off. Just as well, I need a good night sleep for our early, busy day tomorrow!

Saturday, April 16, 2011 - Travel Day to Washington, DC

Set the alarm to give us plenty of time to get ready for our journey to DC today. Flight left at a bit after 2:00, so it was a pretty relaxed day until we reached the airport, then all hell broke loose. At the security line, Hubby and I always have to split up, because he has to go get a patdown because his defibrillater implant can’t go through the metal detector, and neither of us want to go through the body scanner, mostly because we don’t believe them when they tell us it doesn’t emit radiation. I’ve never had to go through the "enhanced" patdown, and frankly I believe it’s a violation of my 4th Amendment rights, inasmuch as they should have to have at least SOME cause to believe I’m concealing something before they should be allowed to do that kind of search, not when there are other options (like the metal detector) to make that determination. Anyway, off Hubby went, leaving me with all of the carryon to deal with, when I was arbitrarily told to go through the body scanner rather than the metal detector, which meant leaving all the luggage behind. First I couldn’t understand what they were asking me, so I stayed in the line I was in. When they finally made it clear to me that they wanted me to go through the scanner, I asked if I could stay with my luggage, as my husband had already been taken away to get his patdown. Well, you would have thought I had asked them to stop the world to let me get off. Next thing I knew, I was literally being ORDERED into the body scanner. Again, I protested, saying that I didn’t want to go through the scanner because of the radiation (true or not, I still felt I should have the choice). They told me no, that I had to go through. I continued to protest, so they took me over to where my luggage was, made me point out which bags were mine (by now Hubby and gotten back and he mistakenly tried to tell them our stuff was mixed in together, which now made everything we had subject to the search they were about to do). So they took all four bags to a table at the end of the line, and two people then VERY SLOWLY started to search every nook and cranny of every piece of luggage we had, taking everything out, opening everything that could be opened, sniffing everything, even using some kind of wipe to look for bomb residue or something. Now, bear in mind, nothing was spotted when the bags went through the scanner, and nothing was done to warrant the search except my rejection of going through the body scanner. They continued to insist that I had to go through the body scanner or get patted down. Meanwhile, they decided it was necessary to call law enforcement. Within minutes, there were SIX sheriff’s deputies standing nearby. Now, bear in mind, this whole time I keep asking to be allowed to go through the metal detector. That’s all I wanted to do. But no, because I wasn’t doing exactly what they wanted me to do, the TSA had decided to punish me in every way available to them. If I refused to go through the body scanner, then I would be escorted to the gate by the deputies, and they would make sure I DIDN’T get on the plane. Despite the fact they were doing their absolute best to make me late, thereby missing my plane, we had arrived in plenty of time, so at least that wasn’t an issue. By now, though, they made it clear they had no intention of letting me go through the metal detector, period, and that if I wanted to fly, I would have to do either the body scanner or the patdown. I had no choice. I went into the body scanner. Before going in, however, the woman said I may STILL have to undergo a patdown afterward if they saw fit. Well, naturally, the scanner showed nothing, but naturally, they insisted I get a patdown anyway, which consisted of a complete stranger groping me in areas no one but my husband is allowed to touch. It was outrageous and totally uncalled for, but by this time, it was all about control, and absolutely NOTHING about security. It was clear they were doing it all to teach me a lesson, to make me a good little comrade, to make sure next time I simply obeyed, and I was not allowed to be a conscientious objector to their outrageous methods. I’m a tough person, but I found this whole incident sickening. My stomach was churning, my temper was seething, and I was forced to practically laugh and shake my head at the situation, because otherwise I would have slugged someone, and then I never would have made my plane. I wondered if I had had a yellow star pinned to my coat as I let the authorities drag me away in anyone would have said anything. It truly felt just like that, though, as if I was being persecuted for absolutely no reason except that they could. They were toying with me, and enjoying my suffering. I used to be nice to TSA people, thinking they were only doing their jobs, but no more, at least not at PBI. They were animals, with no sense of decency, and they should be brought to task, but unfortunately, the laws on the books give them the right to do ANYTHING in the name of "air safety." Their stance is that flying is a privelege not a right, so if you want to avoid the hassles at security, simply don’t fly. By the time I got on the plane I was sick to my stomach. Unfortunately, that only became worse as we started to come into DC for a landing. There was a line of thunderstorms in the area, and the last 30 minutes of the flight was incredibly turulent, sloshing my already upset stomach even more. I almost didn’t make it to the landing, holding a barf bag in my hand just in case. It was almost more than I could bear. Finally, we landed (and I have to say, it was incredibly smooth, even if the weather had been fine, but with the wind it was remarkablly well done), but stayed on the plane until it was almost empty, just trying to gather our wits. Finally we left, and picked up our box of books that we had checked (it was cheaper to pay the $25 baggage fee than to ship it UPS), and caught the shuttle to the National Sheraton. I had to ask the driver to take it easy, as my stomach was still a long way from being settled, and he did okay, but I was still churning by the time we arrived at the hotel. I turned out to be quite a nice place, only a few minutes from the airport but not in the midst of Crystal City, which made it quieter. Being on the 12th floor helped too. We settled down for the evening, ordering Chinese delivery for dinner, and crashed later, exhausted but still irritated over the events of the day.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 - Hanging Around Day

Worked and hung around, horses hung around too!

Saturday, April 9, 2011 - Car Show Day

Brother told us about a big car auction and show today down at the fairgrounds, so Hubby and I decided to check it out after we went computer shopping.  It's a huge event, only held a few times a year in various parts of the country, with the auction being broadcast live on Speed network all day.  Some incredible cars of all kinds, many of them just like the cars we grew up with, from early 60's Cadillacs to all the GTO's and other muscle cars.  Of course, the Batmobile is a standard at this show, called the Barrett-Jackson car show, as well as all the usual classics.  Enjoyed the day, temps were a bit warm, but the tents provided enough shade to make it comfortable.  Brother met up with us later in the day and we toodled around together for a while before heading back to the ranch.  We sure have been seeing our share of sights since we've been here!  Makes for a nice change, particularly since we're still able to ride a lot in between all those events.  The only trouble here is that I don't have a very good broadband signal, so pix are being loaded up later.  A small price to pay for all the perks we're enjoying, though!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011 - Ride Day

Trailered the horses out to DuPuis and took a nice long ride with Hubby today. It was going really well, the horses were having a great time, the weather was perfect, until we started a nice long canter on a really sweet spot of straightaway, with nice grass footing. Hubby and his mare Clio got a little ahead of me, and, right on cue, saw something off to her right that caused her to veer suddenly to the left. Unfortunately, Hubby was out of the saddle at the time, so one second he was enjoying a nice canter and the next there was no horse between him and the ground. He took a tumble, which fortunately was on pretty soft ground, so after a few minutes of getting his breath back, I packed a cold pack from the first aid kit on his hip where he fell, and soon we were off again, albeit at a somewhat slower pace (darn!). The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, and the icepack helped Hubby make it through okay, and we did manage to get a few more jogs in. We were on the trail almost four hours, and it was a lovely day. We had inadvertently taken the same trail that I had taken with my brother on Sunday (I had planned to do the same trail in reverse, but got started off wrong somehow), but it was new to Hubby, so that made it worthwhile. A fabulous day, just the kind we live for!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 - Shopping Day

Took a run out to town today to do some shopping. Otherwise a quiet day.

Monday, April 4, 2011 - Rest Day

So tired from my long ride yesterday, I tried to relax most of the day today, just doing a few chores and working on the computer, until we quit about 4:00 and settled down for the night.

Sunday, April 3, 2011 - Ride Day with Brother at Dupuis

Having already let his friends know he would be leaving early today, Brother and I left with the horses around 12:30, finally taking him out to Dupuis, a place that despite the fact that he lives less than 30 minutes away, he has never been. We saddled up and headed out, me with my saddlebag packed with my usual; first aid kit, thermal blanket, matches, Swiss army knife, extra Gatorade, etc. Brother, of course, packed his saddle bag with his usual; beer. What can I say, it's just the way he is. Anyway, we headed out on the yellow trail, most of which I hadn't done yet, and it was a lot more wide open than previous trails had been. After an hour, Brother needed a break, so we stopped for awhile. Then we headed out again, for about another half hour, till he needed to stop again. While we were resting, we saw TWO bald eagles, one perching in a tree so quietly he looked like part of the tree, and another that came swooping in, landing near the one perching for a few minutes, making some sort of overtures of some kind (not sure if it was mating play or something), before taking off and circling away. It was truly a beautiful thing to watch. We then carried on, and finally got one pretty decent canter in (he doesn't like to trot because he hasn't really learned to post yet, so we've been plodding along at a walk the entire way), which went well. Then we took a third and final break next to a small pond where the horses were able to get a much needed drink before heading out again. By now, even my butt was getting tired from doing the same pace all day. The trail is just under 9 miles, and I had figured about 3 hours, but with all the stops and lack of trotting and cantering, it took us almost 4 � hours to complete. It was after 6:00 by the time we got back to the trailer, nearly 7:00 when we got home. It was a beautiful day, though, a bit hot in the sun but a nice breeze kept us from overheating. It was a great ride which I look forward to doing again with Hubby on another day. Crashed for the evening, watching the very compelling movie "2012" before going to bed.

Saturday, April 2, 2011 - Hang Out Day

Spent the day just hanging out today, though Brother spent the day getting his house in order, as he had guests coming to spend the night later on for a bonfire he's planning for this evening. A pretty relaxing day overall. His friends arrived around eight, and we joined them about 9:00 for about 90 minutes before heading off to bed.

Friday, April 1, 2011 - Busy Day at Dupuis

The time has arrived for us to dump the RV, and our plan had been to go out the Dupuis and spend the weekend, but we decided that we have it so easy here at my brother's that we would just take it out and dump, return, then take the horses out there for a ride, so that's what we did. Once again, the ride was spectacular. Today we took the Red trail, part of which we had done before, but most of it was new. We really love this place, it truly is on our Top Ten list in terms of spending quality time with our horses. We were out for nearly four hours, with lots of trotting and cantering. At one spot, we saw a group of small deer and a wild turkey all gathered together, though they skedaddled once they saw us coming. It was a wonderful ride, and a great way to start off a new month!