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!
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!
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