Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - Wasted Day at Miracle Ear

For some time now, we’ve known we’ve had to get Hubby some hearing aids. He’s had them before, but they were never adequate, and with some big jobs coming up, we felt it was really time to get on top of it. We needed to get them from someplace national so they could be adjusted anywhere, rather than from a regular audiologist, which we wouldn’t keep coming back to. So we decided to go to Miracle Ear, who had an outlet in a Sears store about 15 miles away. After a good night’s sleep (though not long enough!), we headed out to Finger Lakes Mall, which was mostly like a ghost town. We stopped for ice cream first, then went in for our afternoon appointment. We walked in prepared to pay whatever we needed to get the job done, and the woman there gave Hubby the usual tests, then pulled out a book of models and one demo of one kind of hearing aid, but not the kind Hubby really wanted. We asked to see one of those, and she told us she didn’t have any other demo models. Well, we started asking more questions, and she started getting really vague on us, until finally she had the audacity to respond, "You don’t need to know that, that’s for me to know." Needless to say, that answered didn’t set well with either one of us, but it went from bad to worse. When I asked the difference between two similar models, she replied, "The features." When I asked which features, she had no other answer, just "The features," but she couldn’t tell me which features. Then she finally got on the phone and asked someone else, with the preface, "I have a client whose wife wants to know this," in a tone of voice that made it clear she was losing patience with me. Tough. Finally, after three hours of gradually deteriorating answers, we finally said we weren’t about to shell out $6000 for something we couldn’t even see and that couldn’t be explained to us, and that was that. What a waste!! We walked in ready to buy and the saleswoman managed, over time, to talk us right out of it with her incompetence. Tiresome, pointless exercise. So many other, better ways we could have spent our day! Headed back to the ranch exhausted, but we still did a few simple things to pack up in preparation for our departure tomorrow.

Monday, July 30, 2012 - Travel Day back to Syracuse

Got up bright and early (and having packed all our now clean clothing!), we said our good-byes and headed out to Washington, DC. No problems with traffic, dropped Hubby off at the terminal, then turned in our rental car (though it took me awhile to find the off-site parking, my GPS has been notoriously unreliable lately, ever since it downloaded an "upgrade" recently), but the shuttle got me back in plenty of time. Arrived to discover that our flight was delayed anything, first for half an hour, then for another hour, until the departure time was equal to the original arrival time. We settled down in a nice restaurant for the duration, had a quiet meal before heading to the gate at what was now supposed to be nearly 90 minutes before our flight departure time. Alas, they pulled a fast one, and swapped out planes, so now we heard our names being called over the PA system, apparently they were trying to get everyone on board this new plane ASAP. We heard the first announcement that our flight was actually BOARDING about the time we arrived at security! I managed to get through okay, but Hubby’s suitcase had a bunch of business cards that I had ordered scattered throughout his carryon, and they must have looked like little plastic bricks of C4 or something, because they insisted it all be taken out and re-scanned. I ran down to the gate (which thankfully was close by the security area rather than at the far end of the terminal, which is how it usually goes) to let them know we were on the way, then ran back to help Hubby re-pack everything. We arrived hurriedly, than ended up sitting on the shuttle bus for another half hour while other passengers got rounded up. Finally we set off to board the plane (from the tarmac, not at a gate, that’s how small the jet was) and got settled in, about 45 minutes after the original departure, but 45 minutes before the re-scheduled departure. That caused problems, though, because apparently the airport manager wouldn’t let them re-set the time yet again, even though we were ready to go. The pilot came on and made an announcement about it, and he sounded ticked because they were trying to make a turnaround that would get them back to Florida, but the delay was going to cause them to have to spend the night in DC, and if we wanted to complain we should write to Danielle the manager at our convenience!! I’ve never heard that one before! Anyway, something happened, and 15 minutes later we were off the ground winging our way back to Syracuse, arriving about an hour late, but still before it got dark, thankfully. We even had time to run by Country Max to pick up the four bags of Legends Senior Feed we had special ordered, if we had been much later they would have closed and we would have had to make yet another trip out of our way. So in the end, everything worked out, as it so often seems to do! Got back to happy dogs and happy horses and our happy, soft and comfy bed!

Sunday, July 29, 2012 - Rest Day with Friends and Olympics

Another day like yesterday, without the side trip, though Toni offered to take us to a few local venues, which we politely declined. Frankly, we just need the rest! They were happy to oblige. We had one short "business" meeting, which was partially the reason for the visit, which might lead to a future collaboration, but most of the day was sharing wine and food and relaxing and Olympics. Very happy to have put some deposits in our sleep bank, we’ve been running on empty lately! Thank goodness most of the beds we’ve had have been comfortable, but we’re still looking forward to getting back to our airbed!

Saturday, July 28, 2012 - Day with Friends and Olympics

Spent the day in lively conversation with our friends, mostly watching the Olympics in between chats, with one side trip to some other friends of theirs who have a horse farm about 20 minutes away. Got to meet their very large horses (especially after being around the ponies all week!), with draft feet and thoroughbred lines, an amazing combination of breeds. Spent a pleasant hour in conversation with them before heading back to Don and Toni’s for another relaxing evening. Again, just what we needed!

Friday, July 27, 2012 - Ponies Swim Back, Departure and Travel to Richmond

 Jane and Bob were up and out early this morning, as they’re heading for their place on the southwest coast of Florida and therefore have a very long drive today. We got up in time to hug them good-bye before we quickly packed and headed out to Memorial Park for the pony swim back. We managed to find a parking space just before the parking area there was filled up, so again, we had a pretty good view. Not as close as we would have liked, but about the best we could get without being at the campground or on one of the boats on the southern end of the flotilla. I was able to get some good pix, though, which was a bonus. Oddly, the ponies didn’t run back up the marsh and soon as they crossed, I figured they’d be happy to get home after all that nonsensical activity they had endured, but I guess maybe the moms were missing their babies, wondering what happened to them and tempted to go back to Chincoteague to look for them. Must be tough for them to do through that year after year. Can’t help but feel sorry for them, even though, rationally, we know it’s best. This from someone who has a mother and colt who have never been separated in 16 years! Oh well, the trip is now complete, and we’ve had a fantastic time!! Check that one off the bucket list! Once the ponies were back, we hopped in the car and headed out of town, picking up breakfast along the way, heading out to Richmond where, four hours later, we landed at the house of our friends Don and Toni. We quickly settled in, and they were gracious enough to let me do some laundry (who knows when I’ll have time in the near future?), and we shared a fabulous evening of food and conversation and cocktails and watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics together. Just the kind of laid back evening we needed after all the excitement! Stayed up WAY too late, though still not to the end of the London broadcast, finally fell into bed around 11:00, joining Hubby who had gone at least a half hour earlier. What a day!

Thursday, July 26, 2012 - Pony Auction Day

 Another early morning, though we had a full breakfast today. Pony Auction started at 9:00, and we figured seats would be hard to come by (the bleachers had all been "reserved" by the time we left the carnival grounds yesterday, and many rows of lawn chairs had already been put in place. Lesson learned, bring a lawn chair and get it set up the day before it you want good seats at the auction!), so we headed out early enough to arrive by about 8:15 or so, with Bob driving us all in their car for a change. Surprisingly, we found a good place to stand, in the shade (as the heat and humidity had made a comeback), and soon the auction was underway! It was sad to see the babies go, and the prices were much lower than we though they would be, averaging around $400-700 for most of them except the "buybacks," ponies selected to be returned to the herd because of their superior or desired characteristics. The cost of their lifelong freedom was high, with most of them going for between $5000 and $7000, a lot to pay for a horse that you weren’t going to take home, but I got a sense it was a matter of pride among some of the islanders to continue the tradition of good breeding within the herd. In any event, we stayed and watched for several hours, until our legs just couldn’t take standing anymore. A number of people asked if we were going to bid, and I said, no, I like my horses bigger. The ponies were all very nice, but my horse is nearly 15 hands, most of the ponies were only 12-13, too small for me or Hubby! We finally said good-bye to the ponies and headed out. We decided to drive over to Assateague to see the famous lighthouse, which were giving rare tours on this day. Hubby and Bob weren’t interested in climbing, but Jane and I were game, so we paid our $5 and headed up the 175 stairs to the top, where we enjoyed incredible views of the surrounding area. A short drive down to the beach where the Pony Walk was held, but now was filled with families sunning themselves and enjoying the beach as many do in the summer. After getting a bit blown away with the wind, and a short respite at the Tom’s Cove Nature Center, we once again we headed to the Creamery for lunch, then back to the house for a bit. After a brief rest, Hubby and I rode the bikes into town to turn them back in, figured it would be easier to do that today, won’t have time tomorrow. Then we walked around town and bought some souvenir shirts, something we rarely do, but we are so enthralled with the place we just couldn’t resist! Found a nice collared golf shirt, the last one in town apparently (Jane tried to find another one later in the day, no luck!), and several other great looking T-shirts. Hubby got one with a herd of ponies galloping along the beach, I got a pink tank top with some line art horses on them, including one on the back, and another one with an iconic picture of just a pony’s face swimming, with eyes looking straight out at you, only the head above water. Classic! Bob came to pick us up, and not long thereafter, we walked down from the house to another nice restaurant with a fantastic view (or I should say, Jane and I walked, Hubby and Bob drove, though it was less than a quarter mile) called ??? Another lovely meal, a great view of the sound between Chincoteague and Assateague, and a fantastic way to (almost) finish off our incredible adventure with the ponies!!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - Pony Swim Day!

Well, today’s the day I’ve been waiting for for 45 years! Got up bright and early to a perfect morning! A cold front had moved through and the heat and humidity of previous days was gone, leaving it absolutely picture perfect for the big day! We quickly had an abbreviated breakfast of fruit (Hubby’s been making brilliant bowls of mixed fruit ever since his doctor convinced him he shouldn’t eat grapefruit with his statins), with toast and coffee. Sufficiently fortified, we walked over to the marina across the road from the house, and were assisted in getting the canoe we had rented. A bit small for four of us, but we managed to balance well enough. With Bob in the front and me in the back, we paddled our way to the gathering flotilla, attaching ourselves to a pylon and another group of boats similarly attached. We had a nice chat with the folks next to us as we waited for the pony swim to begin. It wasn’t too long a wait, the time had been set for between 9-10 am, and by 9:30 the orange smoke signal from the fire company boat was set off. Before long the Saltwater Cowboys became visible, slowly crossing the marsh to the crossover point. First, the ponies waded to a nearby island, then they were pushed to swim the next stretch toward the southern half of Memorial Park. They were magnificent! We were further away than we had hoped, but we still had a pretty good view. If I were to do it again, I’d certainly want to be on the southern flotilla rather than the northern one, the Coast Guard kept us much farther away then was necessary, though I guess I understand they’re concerns for safety (but I do so get annoyed at the government trying to protect me from myself and my decisions!) There was one foal who tried to turn back (funny, it kind of looked like the one who did the same thing on the Pony Walk on Monday!) but the firemen swept her out of the water and carried her over on the boat. Everyone else made it over safe and sound! It didn’t take long for the all clear to be given, and we paddled over to the Memorial Park and dropped off Bob and Jane so they could walk down to the fairgrounds while we returned the canoe. Once done, we hopped on our bikes once again and headed for the Memorial Park, where the horses were just getting sufficiently rested to head out for the parade to the fairgrounds. We waited while they passed, then slipped in behind them and followed them the entire way to the fairgrounds, having just one collision with a girl who got a little too close, but she backed off after that. At one point, one of the ponies slipped out of the parade and headed across someone’s yard, the Saltwater Cowboys in pursuit. One of the locals on the back of a pickup commented, "Yard adventure!" which made us smile. A minute later, the pony was still not rounded up, and actually started heading AROUND the house, when the same fellow said, "Back yard adventure!" which made us laugh out loud! I also noticed some blood along the way, embedded in hoofprints, so one of the ponies evidently got a little hurt along the way. Before long we were at the fairgrounds where the crowd was REALLY packed in. We followed them all the way to the pens, then I called Jane to see where they were, and evidently they were right at the turn into the fairgrounds. They had seen us pass by and shouted to us, but we never heard them in the throng. We met up, watched the ponies for awhile, wandered around the carnival to see what was there before we were finally ready to leave. We headed over to the Island Creamery again, where I just HAD to have the flavor Pony Swim Tracks, a fabulous combination of vanilla ice cream, fudge chunks, creamy fudge and creamy peanut butter in an almost caramel like consistency. I had the very last of the barrel, and apparently someone had left the freezer open and the replacement batch had melted, so I got the last of the last for the day. All that wonderful stuff had sunk to the bottom, so there was really very little vanilla ice cream, it was all just peanut butter and fudge and chocolate! Fantastic! I just hope all the bike riding will prevent me from gaining TOO much weight while we’re here! Meanwhile, Jane and Bob had caught one of the shuttle buses from the fairgrounds, and the driver was so nice that he actually dropped them off right in front of the house! They picked up their car and met us at the Creamery, where they, too, enjoyed what we now consider to be some of the best ice cream we’ve EVER eaten (and we are getting to be quite the connoisseurs!) At last we headed back to the house, exhilarated from the day, thrilled that we got to see the pony swim from a front row seat, and looking forward to the pony auction tomorrow! Another evening of lively conversation, and bedtime before we knew it!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - Misty Movie

The local one-screen movie theatre here on the island, the Roxy, has an apparently annual ritual of showing the movie Misty of Chincoteague at the early matinee, offering it free for the tourists this one time every year. I didn’t even know they had made a movie, though I was an avid fan of the books when I was a kid (which is why I wanted so much to achieve this 45-year old dream!), so we had planned on attending. Jane and Bob decided to join us, and met us at the movie theatre (we rode our bikes, they drove their car), which, not surprisingly was quite full. Apparently, even though the movie is available on DVD, this theatre owned one of just a few original copies of the film version, which, alas, was showing it’s age, but was very enjoyable nonetheless. Lots of "aaaaws" and a few tears later, we took pix of Misty’s hoofprint (which was embedded in concrete outside the theatre door), then headed over to Mullers for ice cream. A cute place in an old Victorian house, which had decent ice cream, but no where near as good as the Island Creamery! Afterward we stopped at the town’s only grocery store to pick up some things. We had all agreed to eat meals at the house, except for Thursday (our last night) when we would go out once more to close out the week. Bob and Jane even wanted to try our ice cream and soup diet! Why not? It works for us, and has worked for everyone else brave enough to try it! So we had our evening meal of soup that I doctored with onions and curry, which everyone seemed to enjoy, and spent the evening once again in lively conversation.

Monday, July 23, 2012 - Pony Beach Walk Day and Friend’s Arrival

Set the alarm for 5:00 a.m., jumped out of bed, dressed, than jumped onto my rental bike and rode to the Pony Walk over on Assateague Island. This is the day when the Saltwater Cowboys bring the ponies they’ve been gathering for the last week down from the northern end of the island to the pens on the southern end of the island in preparation for the pony swim. Figured the ride would take about 20 minutes or so, ended up taking closer to 35. I thought from the research I had done that the Walk would begin at 6:00, but it turned out that they meant from the north end of the island, so they didn’t arrive at the spot where the crowd had gathered until after 7:15. There were several hundred people gathered along the beach’s edge, but from the conversations I was having with some of the regulars, the numbers were down quite a bit this year. Still, I saw a lovely sunrise over the Atlantic, had a number of interesting conversations, and then, when the ponies finally emerged from the mist on this beautiful morning, they were gorgeous! So many babies, though the Saltwater Cowboys kept between them and the crowd so they were kind of hard to see. I and many other bikers fell in behind the herd as they traversed off the beach and down the road to the pony pens. One older foal kept trying to break away, I guess he lost track of his mother and wasn’t interested in doing anything but finding her and going back home. It was kind of sad to realize that for many of those babies, this would be their last walk of freedom, and their last walk, except the swim, with their mothers. But it’s also obvious that the resources of the island would be quickly overrun if the ponies weren’t auctioned off annually, and the consequences of that would be even more unthinkable. After spending some time watching the ponies in their pens, I headed back home at a somewhat slower pace than I took earlier. Arrived back around 8:30 and discovered Hubby was still sound asleep! He soon got out of bed, we had breakfast and relaxed for the rest of the morning. Later we took a bike ride over to Mr. Whippy’s on Maddox for our ice cream lunch, then relaxed as much as we could through the afternoon, though I was still compelled to do some computer work, settling some logistics for our upcoming busy month. Later in the evening we were joined by our friends Jane and Bob, whom we had invited to join us for the week, and we went out to dinner at a fabulous restaurant on Main Street called Don’s Seafood, or should I say a little family restaurant with fabulous food, thoroughly enjoying the company. Once we got back to the house we had a nightcap and continued talking until bedtime at about 10:00. Having gotten up at 5:00, I was ready!!!

Sunday, July 22, 2012 - Mostly Rest, and ride to Island Creamery

Slept as late as we could with the daylight shining in, had our usual breakfast and then just relaxed, reading most of the day. Took one ride out on our bikes to the Island Creamery, one of the three ice cream shops we’ve found on the island. Absolutely fantastic! Some of the best ice cream we’ve ever had! Hubby had something called Marsh Mud, which is as dark a chocolate as he’s ever found. Mine was delicious too, though I can’t remember what kind it was now. They make their own waffle cones right in front of your, a whole row of them where you can watch while you wait. Weather is turning hotter, and the ride home was a bit sweaty, the first of many hot days to come, according to the forecast. A well deserved rest day overall, followed by a quiet evening.

Saturday, July 21, 2012 - Exploring the Island

Turned out the bed was quite comfortable and we enjoyed a good night sleep, but the windows only had the barest of blinds, no drapes, so the light ended up waking us pretty early. Headed out to the grocery store for supplies, then found a place to rent bikes at a very reasonable rate, right on Main Street. Other rental places over on Maddox, which is essentially the tourist strip of the island, wanted twice and even three times as much, so we were happy to get them at the better price. Hubby rode the bike back to the house while I drove the car with another bike in the truck, could only fit one at a time. Had our lunch of ice cream at Mr. Whippy’s and explored the island a bit to get our bearings. A very cute little town, everyone was very nice, the roads were busy with tourists, so many bikes it looked like China! Some scooters and trikes as well, of course. Wore ourselves out before heading home to a nice soup dinner (determined to stay on our diet!), then enjoyed a quiet evening, though watching commercials on TV is hard when you’re not used to it, and we aren’t! A lovely day!

Thurs.-Friday, July 19-20 - Work Days with Client Then Drive to Chincoteague,VA

Once again, worked with our client’s second group, then on Friday morning we checked out of the hotel because we had to head straight down to Chincoteague after we finished for the day. Grabbed some food on the way as we made the four hour drive in decent time, only had a couple of short delays. Arrived after dark, though, and had a hard time finding the house. Turns out the mailbox out front didn’t have the same number, so we ended up finding the place only based on the description that is was on a wooded lot and was set back a bit, and the landlady left the light on for us. Finally found the end of the driveway after several drive-bys, found the key in the lock so we knew we were in the right place, and proceeded to move in the bare essentials for the night. The house wasn’t as plush and luxurious as we had hoped, but it was clean and functional in a very austere and sparse sort of way. Only had basic cable, no movie channels, so it wasn’t long before we were off to bed, just long enough to wind down a bit!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012, 2012 - Rest Day

A much needed day of rest.

Monday-Tuesday, July 16-17, 2012 - Work Days with Client

Made the short drive to our client’s and spent the next two days working with their first of two groups for the week, relaxing in the evenings after a couple of long hard days.

Sunday, July 15, 2012 - Rest Day

Slept as late as we could and still leave time to get the free breakfast buffet in the hotel, which was fabulous, then spent the day relaxing, with just one trip out for our ice cream lunch to the Cold Stone Creamery in the Short Pump Mall, to which our hotel was attached, and to a grocery store to pick up essentials. The hotel room had a full kitchen, so we prepared to spend the week adhering strictly to our diet, so we bought our usual soup, rice cakes, Bakers chocolate and diet drinks before relaxing the rest of the evening.

Saturday, July 14, 2012 - Travel Day to Richmond, VA

Headed out early enough to stop for breakfast on the way to the airport, arrived in plenty of time to relax before getting on the plane, which we had been able to upgrade to First Class for a modest fee, and enjoyed all the perks that go along with it. The flight was short, less than 1 ½ hours, and arrived on time with no problems. Had to grap a shuttle out to the car rental place, then we hit the road down to Richmond. Arrived at dusk, checked in, then discovered an Indian Restaurant immediately behind the Hyatt where we were staying. As that’s our favorite food, we headed out and had a fabulous meal. Tired by the time we finished, ready for bed shortly thereafter!

Friday, July 13, 2012 - Shop and Pack Day

Headed up to the Carousel Mall in Syracuse to fine a new suit for Hubby, and after looking in a number of stores, ended up back at old reliable, Macy’s, where he found a nice light gray suit, just what we were looking for. I also got a few pairs of shorts for the second half of our trip, a week on Chincoteague Island for the famous Pony Swim, an event I’ve been wanting to do since I first read Misty of Chincoteague about 45 years ago! Once we finished shopping, we headed back and spent the afternoon packing and preparing for our travel tomorrow.

Thursday, July 12, 2012 - Travel Day to Skaneateles, NY

As we were leaving Brookfield, we discovered another campground area next to the one we were in, and realized that the area we were in was apparently the group area, as opposed to the actual individual camping area, and were surprised that no one we had spoken to had mentioned that previously. Oh, well! It was much more set in the woods, so we probably wouldn’t have been able to get a satellite dish anyway, so we were probably better off. Pretty sure the water situation was the same anyway, so it wouldn’t have mattered. Found a nice place along the route for breakfast (though it was miles away from where my GPS has said it was, surprise, surprise), before heading out to the new stables. Found it without any trouble, and was warmly greeted by our hostess Sharon Tanner. It didn’t take long to get the horses settled, and got ourselves parked and situated as well. Quite a nice barn, with an indoor arena and numerous paddocks, though it was on a pretty busy road, so the dogs will have to be confined on a leash unfortunately. Very dry here, apparently they haven’t had any rain in the past 6 weeks. Weather pretty good today, but it’s supposed to warm up considerably this week, so we’ll be leaving the fans on when we leave! Glad to have electricity for that!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 - Work and Change of Plans Day

Slept late, had a nice breakfast, and spent the day working on various jobs on the computer. It was mostly a restful day though, with the horses grazing quietly. Our original plan had been to go to our the stable where we’re booked on Friday, but decided that we really needed to get there tomorrow so that we would have time to go shopping for a suit for Hubby and some other items we needed before our trip. A quick call to our hostess and things were set. From what we saw in our ride yesterday, there didn’t seem to be a lot of variety of terrain here, so we didn’t figure we’d miss much, and frankly, the handpump is a pain, and the stones and inclines weren’t sitting well with the horses. They’re ready for a rest! And we need some time to regroup before a very busy six weeks!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012 - Ride Day at Brookfield

Nice and quiet here, yeah!! Even though we’re very close to a road, it’s a quiet road with almost no traffic, which was great. Took our first ride today, with a plan in mind, but ended up doing a different route in the end. The horses seemed quite tired (understandable, considering they did over 35 miles last week, almost all of it straight up and down), and, naturally, we started climbing first thing. Lots of rocks here, too, though there were a few sections that were really nice. We had been told that the farther from camp you go, the less used the trails were, and that was exactly the case. Trails were well marked, including a watering hole, and we only missed one turn because the marker was set back into the woods a ways, and a bit overgrown. The map was very comprehensive, a nice change, can’t remember the last time we had a good map! Nevertheless, after several miles in, the horses were really displaying signs of being tired, so we shortened our planned trip and headed back to camp. The full ride was just under 7 miles in the end, quite enough for our first day out. Put the horses out on the anchor for awhile so they could graze before we put them away. Settled in for the evening, both of us feeling tired as well, looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

Monday, July 9, 2012 - Travel Day to Brookfield Trails, NY

Headed out by 9:00, with a stop at the dump near the ranger station, which took some maneuvering because of the tight circle, but we managed, as always. Grabbed breakfast at McDonalds (I had forgotten they do a decent egg and cheese bagel), stopped at a Tractor Supply for oats, another quick stop for brandy, then found our way to the Moscow Hill horse camp, one of the Brookfield trailheads. A bit dismayed to discover that the only water here is a hand pump, but some folks across the street were kind enough to let us fill up the RV so we didn’t have to struggle with that. Still a pain to water the horses. Hard to believe how often this place has been recommended, with no one mentioning the water limitations. Anyway, no one was here, so we spread out, found a good spot near the lower corral where Hubby could find a satellite signal and settled in.

Sunday, July 8, 2012 - Last Ride Day at Bear Springs Mountain

Still had music late last night, but not as loud because it was further away. Still wore earplugs just to be sure of getting a good night sleep. Planned a trip today to get in one more trail on the books, even though it’s named the "box of rocks" trail, and everyone warned us it was really rocky. Turned out, not so much. There were a few short sections where it was pretty rocky, and it was more rocky than many of the other trails, but on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the rockiest, this would only be about a 7. It was a more interesting trail than all the others we’ve taken here, because it was more of a trail than a road, which the other trails were, albeit lots of grass, they were still wide like a carriage road. We liked it though, one of the better ones here, even with the rocks. When we got back, we put everything away before settling down for the night, early morning tomorrow as we set off for our next horse camp, Brookfield.

Saturday, July 7, 2012 - Rest and Laundry Day

Slept late (thank goodness for earplugs!), had a leisurely breakfast, and spent the day doing laundry, which I hung out on a line I had strung between two trees (love the smell of fresh-dried laundry!) and worked on the computer. Good news, I think I may have finally found a place near Rochester to stay for the events we have there! That would pretty much take care of all of the logistics for the next month, yeah! More good news, most of the noisy group left today, so we’re looking forward to a much quieter night tonight!

Friday, July 6, 2012 - Long Ride Day

     Set the alarm for 8:00 to make sure we got out earlier, we have a good 14.5 mile ride planned today, and the forecast is calling for about 91 degrees, though since we’re riding up the mountain today, it should be a bit cooler up there anyway. According to Hubby, the music and noise went on until at least 4:00 this morning, though I don’t know how they have the energy after all their drinking and partying every night! Anyway, despite best laid plans, it was after 11:00 by the time we hit the trail, heading clockwise on the longest perimeter trail the park has to offer. It began wooded, and though it did climb, it was a fairly gentle climb with a couple of long switchbacks. We passed a couple of guys logging, and they immediately put everything in idle to let us pass, the kind of courtesy we’ve come to expect from loggers, who, despite the scars they leave behind, do exhibit respect for others in the forest. The first part of the climb was almost entirely through beautiful forest, the trail footing was mostly dirt and stones, a lot of shale rock that is prevalent throughout the area. As we reached the top, it opened up into an area that has obviously been clearcut previously, so it was wide open, and the sun grew hot as we passed through it. It wasn’t too long before we were back in the woods, on a trail that was mostly grass, wide enough to be a carriage road, and fairly level all along the top of the mountain. As we neared the north end of the west side, there were some intersections that created a little confusion, as they had trail maps posted, but then they had a "You Are Here" mark that indicated you weren’t on a trail (even though we were, it just wasn’t on the map!) When my GPS made it clear we were headed "off the reservation" we turned around and went back, picking up the trail at the previous intersection. This eventually took us to the maintenance buildings which were across from where I had been parking to check my email, and two young men were just getting ready to leave when we asked them if we could get some water for the horses (there hadn’t been any active streams, not surprising on the top of the mountain), and they gladly pulled a hose out of the building for us. We were glad we caught them, as they were just leaving, and there was not outside faucet, which we had expected. The horses both took a long draw, and we thanked the men and headed on our way. We almost stopped for lunch at a big rock along the way, but decided to press on until we crossed the road, signaling the true halfway mark. There was a fork in the trail just after we crossed East Trout Brook Road (which wasn’t marked on the map), so we started up the left trail (it was indicating it was shorter), but after a bit we didn’t see any markers, and decided to jump ship for the parallel trail which WAS marked. After about a mile, Hubby’s horse stumbled, and when he looked down he noticed she’d lost one of her Boa boots. He got down and started to look for it, thinking she’d just lost it and that’s was caused her to stumble, but no luck. So I headed back down the trail, thinking I would come across it fairly quickly, but again, no luck. I got all the way down to the road and still, no sign. Just as I was heading back, I heard Clio whinny nearby, and Apollo answered. Hubby had given up and headed back towards me (and Clio was anxious about not seeing her "baby"), so we joined up and kept backtracking. I remembered we had cantered across a field between the maintenance buildings and the road, so we kept going, as Hubby was almost certain she still had both boots on when we stopped for water. Sure enough, right at the beginning of the field where we started to canter, there lay the Boa. Well, since we had put off lunch to find the boot, and it was now about 3:00, we decided to stop there and eat lunch before we pressed on. After trail mix and granola bars for us and oats and feed for the horses, we headed back up the trail again, though we decided to shorten the route a bit by taking the shortcut we had done the other day, and skipping the "Box of Rocks" trail that everyone had warned us was, as the name implies, very rocky. We need to tackle that when we’re all not so tired. The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful, and by the time we reached home at 7:00 we had actually gone 17.5 miles. We struggled through putting everything and everyone away before we sat down to cool off enough to muster the energy for a shower and dinner. Watched a PBS movie before crashing into bed around 11:00, again with pounding music and loud voices yelling in the background. I finally convinced Hubby that no one was going to mess with the horses, and he put earplugs in for the night. It truly is the only way one could get a decent night sleep!

Thursday, July 5, 2012 - Noisy Night and Shopping Day

OMG, what a night! The crowd that moved in during the day put on loud music, loud voices and get both going until the crack of dawn this morning! They were doing fireworks throughout the night as well, upsetting Marina for hours. Absolutely no concern for anyone else, or the rules, or even just plain decency! Kids were running around on bikes like wasps since about 8:00 this morning, and the adults were back up and at it by about 10:00. Unbelievable! We only hope that this is going to be the only night this happens, we’re willing to excuse them the holiday, but if this carries on, I don’t know what we’ll do. I actually had to put in earplugs for the noise, something I usually reserve for the heart of a downtown! Anyway, at least I was able to sleep, though not long enough, but Hubby was worried that as they got more drunk they might mess with the horses, so he didn’t put in earplugs, and thus he didn’t get a very good night sleep. We were both tired when we got out of bed this morning, so we decided that it would be foolhardy to attempt our 14.5 mile ride we’d planned today, so instead I went into town and did some shopping and internet work that needed doing. Hubby took a nap while I was gone, and managed to deposit 2.5 hours of sleep into his sleep bank in my absence. When I came back, we read for a while before settling down in the evening to TV, which we had to turn up to hear over the loud music, which, again was still blaring when we went to bed at 11:00. Earplugs again for me, but Hubby was still worried about the horses, so he braved it out without them. Still heard fireworks going off late, though, really upsetting Marina. Wish these people would call it a night! We’ve never been ANYWHERE where there was so little respect for others, or the rules about quiet time. Yes, there have been occasions when somebody would run a generator all night, usually for medical reasons, but never this kind of noise for the entire night! We’re beginning to understand why there are no other horse people here, this is obviously the kind of place people come once and never come back again!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012 - Independence Day!

Slept SO late this morning, Hubby even got up ahead of me and fed the horses and had breakfast waiting before I even crawled out of bed. Obviously I needed it, I haven’t been sleeping too well lately, but I sure got caught up today! Did some laundry, then ran out for a couple of hourse to the top of the mountain so I could do some computer work. Came back to find several campsites taken down the road, looks like a large family or clan here for the holiday. Wasn’t long before we had dinner, settled down to a movie and went to bed.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012 - First Ride at Bear Springs Mountain

Well, par for the course, many of the assumptions we made about this place were wrong. We thought that since it had a reservation system that it would be crowded, but that hasn’t turned out to be the case. No one here yet for the holiday week, it’s been nice and quiet, which is just the way we like it anyway, just unexpected. We also thought that the trails here would be well-marked and well traveled, but after seeing how little the horse camp is actually used for horses, we were beginning to wonder about that, too. I had three different maps of the place, and when I overlaid them on to Google Earth, they all showed the trails in different places, so I didn’t see the point of downloading them to my GPS until we did an exploratory ride, and that we did today. And what an exploration it was! We headed north out of the campground along the creek, which had two different numbers depending on which map we used, and none of them showed the trail so close to the creek. Nevertheless, it seemed to be marked in a few places, so we continued along. We lost our way a couple of times at the first intersection, not much to go one, finally found an old weatherbeaten sign on a tree so overgrown you had to duck under the limbs to get close enough to read it. From there we thought we determined a path, but it ended up being a circle back to where we had come from. Finally pressed on, figuring maybe that wasn’t actually the intersection we were looking for, and that turned out to the be case. We finally got to a bridge crossing and a trail number, 8, but we didn’t know if it was the beginning, middle or end of 8, as this was the first time we’d seen a sign. We kept heading north, looking for a left turn, took the first one we came to but that just took us to a meadow full of turkeys that made the horses jump. We circled back, then took the next left, which had a much more recent roadsign pronouncing it as the "New Trail" but we weren’t sure whether it was on the map or not (it wasn’t), but it did take us a lot further north, still paralleling the road, until we reach another parking area and a trail to the right that went up the mountain. Since we knew we had to eventually get to the top, we took it, and it was very nice, pretty steep, but it took long sweeping switchbacks as we went, and we could see Turkey Meadow again along the way. Just when Hubby was getting anxious, we finally came across another trail that went further up the mountain, and I persuaded him that it would lead us to the trail we wanted, and fortunately, that turned out to be true. Finally, we seemed to be back on track, so we stopped for a snack and to let the horses graze in a clearing before carrying on with the Figure Eight route I had planned, though we skipped one short leg because we wanted to see where we had gone wrong on the way out. It seems the old trails aren’t too badly marked once you know what they look like, but there are a lot of other trails that either aren’t marked, or are poorly marked, or aren’t on the map at all, which is crazy, it wouldn’t take anything to make a new map! Once we got back to the center of our Figure Eight, we debated whether we should just head back to camp along the creek on the trail we came out on, or finish the loop we had intended. We decided to try the new trail, but once again, the markings betrayed us. There were horse markers along the creek on the other side, but they only went about 50 yards before the trail was impassible, so we went back again, until I found the trail on the other side of the main park road. We took that, and then we started climbing, and climbing and climbing, almost straight up it seemed, actually a 500 feet ascent in less than ¾ of a mile, pretty hard on the horses considering they’d already done several major climbs today. We finally leveled off at the top, which didn’t last, because then we started descending again. Not quite so steeply, but pretty much straight down, no switchbacking at all. At least the footing overall wasn’t bad, and the last stretch was obviously an ancient carriage road which had mostly grassed over. We did run into a few rocky areas, but not too bad. Apollo had on his new Cavallo Simple Boots, and they were holding up well (though I had to trim his toes a bit so they would fit), he didn’t seem to mind the stones as much as usual. Anyway, we finally made it back, everyone very tired but happy our explorations had been so revealing. When I transferred my GPS data to Google Earth, what a surprise! Almost none of the trails we were on matched up with anything on the map, even the ones we KNEW were supposed to be the ones marked! Very few stretches coincided, really, really bad maps, even though the shapes of the trails sort of seemed the same on all of them, they’re relationship to what’s really out there is remarkable off. It almost seems like one map was drawn from the other, then the other, when the basic information was wrong to begin with. Oh well, by the time we get done, we’ll have a copious and complete map of almost all of the trails here, on the print maps or not! Exhausted, we got everyone settled in, had dinner and crashed!