Monday, July 18, 2011 - Ride and Travel Day

Not surprisingly, we felt a bit more tired today, though still have more energy than we thought possible. Shared another great breakfast with Mary and her family (though they’ve been more like brunch considering how late we’ve been getting up!), then packed up the horses in the trailer and headed out with Mary and my other reunion friend Donna who joined us, out to Mendon Ponds Park to go riding. I took them each for about an hour ride, which they both thoroughly enjoyed. Donna went first, as she had to head out for home in Cleveland right afterward, then Mary and I had a spin around the park. We used to hang out at a local stable together, which is where I learned just about everything I know about horses. She was sure she was going to fall off, but I told her it was like riding a bicycle, and before we knew it, she was trotting away, and I even got a little canter in. It was fabulous. Trails were great, though a bit sunnier and thereby hotter than we normally like, but the footing was all grass and dirt, so no worries there. A good time was had by all! Then we headed back to Mary’s, finished packing up the RV, then headed out for our next landing zone in Marion, a stable owned by a quarter horse breeder. They’re only about a half hour away, and we’ll be staying with them for several weeks, so I expect we’ll see some of our local friends over that time. Our new landlord Jody welcomed us warmly, and we had the horses out in their paddock and the RV settled in in no time. During the evening, we gradually came down from our adrenaline high from the past few days, and crashed into bed exhausted.