Monday, April 8, 2013 - Travel Day to Mill Creek

A long day today, started early and finished, well, not as late as some days, but late enough. Fortunately it was mostly freeway here, so it was easy on the horses, albeit long. No trouble getting over the Florida border (they are sticklers for having all the right paperwork, whether you are coming or going), and the rest of the trip was, fortunately, uneventful. Arrived at Mill Creek a little after 3:00, got everyone settled in, including satellite dish, but about 4:00. A nice relaxing evening, though we're all tired from the long day of driving.

Sunday, April 7, 2013 - Rest and Prep Day

Tried to rest today, a nice relaxing day, and also to get ready to leave tomorrow. Having left South Florida so late, we don't have much time to hang about, we need to get farther north asap. Changed our plans a bit, decided to head straight up to Mill Creek Park in South Carolina, so that I can get some laundry done before we fly out for almost two weeks in San Francisco. At Mill Creek, we can get electric and water for just $10/night, and it's only a few hours from Charlotte, so even though tomorrow will be a long day, we'll only have short days after this. Plus we like the trails at Mill Creek, they're a bit more interesting than here.

Saturday, April 6, 2013 - Ride Day at Welaka State Forest

Had a so-so night sleep, a leisurely morning, then finally saddled up and headed out at around 2:00. There's only one "real" trail here, the Sandhills Trail, but then there's a number of firebreaks that cut back and forth along the forest. Not a terribly interesting trail, typical Florida, though a few rises in the grade here and there made for a slightly more interesting ride than we've had in a while. Horses were definitely raring to go, though, having been cooped up in a box stall for the last two days, although this morning I did put them out on their anchors for a while. Got lots of canters in, they were ready! We followed the trail as described in the maps, and which they claimed was 6.5 miles long, but according to my GPS was barely 5 miles. They also claim over 18 miles of trails, and I suppose if you went down every fire road and fire break you might be able to come up with that, but it's not a very interesting forest, though I guess it was a good re-entry into the trail riding life-style. Enjoyed it nonetheless, "no hour on the back of a horse is ever wasted!"

Friday, April 5, 2013 - Lazy Day

Didn't do much today, either. Worked mostly on updating my blog, which was unbelievably behind, with whole chunks I just completely didn't do, primarily because all of the days seemed to blur together into a very mundane existence. All those days without riding, or moving to a new location, just all seem too boring to bother to report on. Anyway, we're getting the rest we need before we tackle a very busy month ahead!

Thursday, April 4, 2013 - Wonderfully Quiet Day!

Spent the day doing very little except reading, sleeping in our recliners, and then solving a few logistical challenges with our upcoming schedule. Really felt like we crashed, just like after a strenuous event, so it's great that it rained a good part of the day, providing the perfect atmosphere for that we need right now.

Wednesday, Apr. 3, 2013- Finally Moving On!!

Got up with the alarm nice and early at the crack of dawn, finished packing up, said our goodbyes (although Audrey was still sound asleep, so I didn't wake her) and headed out. A quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, and another at Tractor Supply in Fort Pierce to pick up a few things, got hay at Deep Creek Stables, finally moving on to Welaka State Forest Equestrian Area, our destination for the weekend. Arrived, selected a spot from the empty camping area, then within 10 minutes felt the sprinkling of rain, which we had planned everything to work around. Quickly got the horses in their covered stalls (perfect considering the forecast rain), got the hay covered up, the satellite dish up, and before we knew it, we were settled in for the evening. We both fell asleep in our recliners, obviously a release from much pent-up anxiety over the last few weeks and months, got the horses fed and bedded down, had a relaxing evening of TV, before calling it a night, with great anticipation of a quiet night with a deep sleep, the first of (hopefully) a few before our work schedule gets REALLY busy.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013 - Airport Pickup, Lunch, Ride with Niece, Stick Shift Lesson

 Borrowed Jeff's Bronco to pickup Brother Glenn and Niece Audrey at the airport, with a few errands along the way, including putting gas in the truck, which was almost empty (and the gas gauge didn't work, so we were guessing by the odometer), then we stopped at a little place called Lucky's near the house for a late lunch. Although Audrey hadn't slept at all the night before, she was anxious to go riding anyway, so we saddled up and headed out just before 5:00. Ran into Jeff coming home from work, he still wasn't ready to commit to dinner plans, so we didn't know if we were going out or cooking in... sigh. Anyway, I took Audrey along the same path I had gone with Jeff on Sunday, down the canal (which Audrey did brilliantly, even though she is a very inexperienced rider, doing everything exactly as I told her). Along the way, Apollo spooked in the same place he had spooked on Sunday with Jeff, and I discovered why.  There was a small herd of cows across the canal!  Nothing a quarter horse should be getting excited about, but then again, he doesn't see many cows close up.  We took a break at the pavilion where she climbed the big cypress, then we headed back home, arriving right around 7:00, expecting to have dinner either ready to be prepared or everyone ready to jump into vehicles and head out. Unfortunately, my two brother couldn't resist going out for a few cocktails, so they were nowhere to be seen when we got back. Having had a late lunch, Audrey said she was fine, but I had to feed Hubby, which I promptly did. Only because I discovered the only dinner plans were to prepare dinner whenever they got home, which was likely to be hours (which it was). Meanwhile, Audrey persuaded me (easily : -) to give her stick shift lessons on Jeff's Lawn vehicle, not exactly a Gator, but kind of like that, something he got from a golf course maintenance crew.  We took a long ride around the neighborhood, and she did really well, only getting the shifter stuck a couple of times (which it does on me, too!), and managed to make some smooth transitions by the time we got done.  Didn't quite get the hang of double-clutching, but that's a pretty advanced concept that will come with time. Anyway, Audrey was practically asleep (and ended up going to be before dinner anyway) by the time the boys got home, and since I had already fed myself and Hubby, it wasn't exactly the family dinner I had hoped it would be. Oh, well, we can't have everything, can we? It was a pretty good day, especially since we have our departure tomorrow to look forward to!!