Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - Prepare for Departure

Much as we’d like to spend the day recovering from our exertions, we have to get ready to leave tomorrow, which entails more laundry, cleanup and packing. Hubby had to run some errands, including dropping off our taxes at the post office, while I tried to get all the business stuff out of the way so we could take the weekend off. We’re so exhausted, we feel like we need a week off! So far, the extent of using our brainpower has been to decide where we wanted to go, and that is to White Cedar Horse Camp near Bland, VA. We went there last fall for a few days and really enjoyed it. It has corrals so the horses will have some room to move around instead of being on a highline, and there were numerous trails we didn’t get around to trying out last time. There were several water spigots throught the campground, and now that we upgraded our hose system so that we carry one of those 150 hose reel boxes on the back of the RV, we can easily reach one. Glad that decision is made, now we can let down!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - Day Two and Dinner with a friend

Left early again today, ran into a lot less traffic, but still got bogged down a bit near the freeway. Day two went find, then we ran home to feed the animals. We had made arrangements to meet a friend down in Woodbridge for dinner, someone we hadn’t seen in years, and who now lived in Washington state. He was here visiting family and friends, and we managed to work it out to have a very pleasant dinner together. Of course, we were having such fun, the evening went longer than our energy could maintain, and we were thoroughly exhausted by the time we got home, but were too wired to go to bed right away, and it was after midnight by the time we finally crashed.

Monday, April 12, 2010 - Day One of the Training Camp

Though we got up early, we still got out about 10 minutes later than I wanted, and then ran into horrific traffic that slowed us down even more. We did manage to arrive just after 8:00, but would like to have gotten there earlier. Didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, however, and the first day of the camp went well, which is all that matters!

Sunday, April 11, 2010 - Not the Rest We Needed

Had planned to try to get some rest today, but laundry needed doing, housekeeping was calling, I felt it necessary to do some preparation for the workshop tomorrow, since it’s been a long time since I had done one, so we didn’t really get the kind of rest day we were looking forward to. After all the running around yesterday, we could have used one. Normally we’ll drive to the venue and check it out the night before, but we were just too tired, so we pledged to get up early so we could arrive early. In bed by about 8:30!

Saturday, April 10, 2010 - Travel Day to Pohick Bay Park

Out of the campground by 8:45, but then spent a good 20 minutes trying to pay at the ranger station. Whatever happened to just getting a price and paying for it? Now everyone wants your name, phone, address and every other piece of information just to pull a price out of the computer! It’s ridiculous, a huge waste of time. Anyway, we got on the road, and as we went, I found a battery place in Richmond, because we needed to replace the two golf cart batteries we use for auxiliary power. When we first bought the RV, we installed two excellent Trojan batteries, which lasted about 6 years. Then last April, we replaced them in Maryland with a brand the Battery Plus store swore would be just as good. A year later (actually, less than that, as they haven’t been holding a decent charge for months now - we’ve had to run the generator every day we haven’t been on electric this entire trip and before), they needed replacing. The good news (?) was that the place I called was another store of the same franchise, and they honored the warranty, so it didn’t cost us a dime. Just to thank them, of sorts, I noticed they replaced watch batteries, and as Hubby needed his replaced, I asked them to change it out. After a bit, they came back with the watch with the back still off. Apparently, they had the batteries for it, but not the equipment to put the back of the watch back in place (it’s a rather large watch). So they referred us to a place in a mall ten miles away, so we had to divert there to get it fixed. It was going to take them 20 minutes, so we discovered a creamery and treated ourselves to a nice little cup of delicious ice cream. Afterward, we hit the road and finally made it to Pohick Bay about 5:00, after some traffic delays. What was supposed to be a short driving day has turned out to be a long slog! Got set up, the horses on their highline, and ready to relax for the evening!

Friday, April 9, 2010 - Travel Day to Occoneechee State Park

Packed up and got ready to go. Before we left, we had to change out the tire that Hubby had picked up earlier this week. Had a few problems with the levelers sinking into the ground, so we had to move down to the gravel to get it right, but it didn’t take long and we were soon on our way. A few brief stops on the way, then we arrived at Occoneechee just before 5:00. We’ve been here once before, but we’re not particularly fond of it. It’s nothing more than a large, unlevel gravel parking lot with electricity on each aisle (yes, they’re aisles like at Wal-Mart), but they have very nice stalls. No one else was there when we arrived, but another rig showed up a while later, though we never had a chance to speak to them, like two ships passing in the proverbial night. Uneventful, just tried to relax in the evening.

Thursday, April 8, 2010 - Final Ride at Woods Ferry

The weather was a bit cooler and cloudy this morning, with the forecast saying that rain would arrive around 2:00. We were out by 10:00, with plans to finish off the rest of the trails that we hadn’t been on yet, and to hopefully find a towel that Hubby had lost on the first ride. Started out on the blue trail again, and sure enough, we found the wayward towel. We took the yellow trail, then came back on the green connector, which had some very pretty sections. Actually, every trail had it’s own character, and ranged from sections that were quite narrow, to wide dirt roads.
Very little gravel, so we weren’t quite sure why there was a notice on the kiosk saying horses should be shod, because there really was very little to be concerned with. Also, I should note that it’s practically impossible to get lost here, as there is a placard at every intersection with a mall-like "You Are Here" map, probably one of the best marked trails ever. Also, there was a stockpile of maps at the entrance to the campground, which is more rare than you might expect.
At about noon, it began to rain (another excellent weather forecast :-). We pulled out the ponchos and carried on. The horses were particularly slow and ploddy today, even with the slightly cooler temps, but after the rain, they seemed to be a bit recovered. In fact, toward the end of the trip, there was a long fairly gentle climb up a dirt road. I decided to trot up, and set out at a moderate pace. Hubby’s mare decided she wanted to race, and cantered, then galloped by. Of course, my gelding (her son) wasn’t about to be left behind, so he chased after her. Both started to gallop faster and faster, until we were at breakneck speeds. There were berms every 10 yards or so, and every time we reached one I thought they would slow down, but instead they seemed to use it as a launching pad, getting ever faster all the way. It was incredibly exhilarating, but also a bit hair-raising, as these were speeds we’d never experienced like this before! We never expected that so late in the ride! Just goes to show what good shape the horses are in now! When they finally slowed down, I was just thrilled there were no crashes, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Whew!
Got back all in one piece, then started getting ready to leave tomorrow. We were hoping it would rain again, and a bit harder, to get rid of the thick layer of pollen that had collected over the week. It did a bit more later and overnight, which helped, but at some point, everything needs a bath!