On vacation...kind of...

So I know I've once again been lack since my last update but life got a little out of control.  I'm currently out of town and have been since 2 Aug - this was a planned trip but since I love to procrastinate, I left all the getting ready to the last possible minute.  SuperMom is taking care of Charlie with some help from Nadine (BO) and superDad.  She calls him my mighty steed (that makes me giggle!) and says that he's been foot perfect since I've been gone.  Good pony!

I did ride a few more times before I left but nothing serious.  I think I need to enter something to reboot the motivation.  I'm contemplating an event for the last weekend in September in Tryon... Charlie and I made the trek to Aiken on the Tuesday before I left for some new kicks.  Bruce really likes how his feet look and wants to go 8 weeks before he sees him again.  We'll see if he can go that long without his toes becoming trip hazards.

 

View from Charlie the morning I left - not a great picture I know but I was riding bareback!  I wish someone had been there to video me getting on him.  All I had to stand on was the chair I usually use to get on but with no stirrup, it was a little low to the ground.  I had no idea how he would react so I tried draping myself over him to see if he cared (which he didn't) but I'm not sure it was really effective because I wasn't high enough for him to really feel any weight - it was more like I was leaning against his side than anything else.  Finally I bit the bullet and launched myself, superman style onto his back and proceeded to claw my way up by grabbing his flank on the opposite side.  Now, you might be thinking my green, chestnut, ex-racehorse got a little bit nervous with my antics but you would wrong.  Not only wrong, but dead wrong.  He stood there, stock-still except to look back at me to say, "would you get on already?  I've been standing here for 5 minutes while you've been fooling around."  After I got myself situated, we took a leisurely stroll around the property and he was a perfect gentleman although he is a bit uncomfortable to sit on - maybe I need to invest in a bareback pad...

So for my trip (which is Navy related), I spent the first three days in DC attending a conference which was horribly boring.  Then I hopped on another plane and came to PA - I've been here a week now and leave on Friday.  Now the last time I came here, I came home with Charlie.  This time, I'm coming home with some stuff for Charlie.  Yesterday was spent driving all over eastern PA - first to the Dover store in DE (which was having a tent sale) and then to a huge used tack store in PA near where my friend Cherie lives.  I didn't find much at Dover; just some bell boots, blue electrical tape, and elastic leg thingys for blankets (his are all stretched out).  They had some really good deals but nothing really jumped out at me.  Onto the used place where I made out like a bandit (at least that's how I felt!).  I found some side reins for $15 and a Rambo blue fleece striped blanket that looks like it's never been used for $80.  I've wanted both of these items forever!  I also picked up a high-tech wicking show shirt, some brushes, and a lead rope - all of which were new.  Ironically, the point of this whole trip was to save money.  Oh well, easy come, easy go.

 

Random house on the drive from Dover to the used tack store - google maps took all over the backroads.  I love the architecture in this area.  All the houses seemed to have this kind of eclectic style and most are built at least partly of stone.

 

Random barn on the same drive as the previous picture.  Tons of these as well.  I so want one!  They've had a decent amount of rain - everything is green.  So, so pretty.

I spent today going to Gettysburg.  I'd been there about 20 yrs ago and don't remember the museum being as nice as it is.  It was very interesting to see and definitely a little sad when you think about how many people died and conditions they died in.  The area is wonderfully preserved as a living memorial and below are a few pictures from drive through the battlefields.  Highly recommend a visit if you happen to be in the area.

This doesn't really do them justice, but the mountains you see in the distance are the Blue Ridge and they are absolutely gorgeous.  The day was so pretty and clear so view was out of this world.  Lots of hills in this neck of the woods.

I get home on Friday but I'm hoping to sneak in a visit to Cherie's on Thursday afternoon.  I really wish I'd been able to bring Charlie with me but maybe I can make that happen next year.  I definitely miss my pony and my puppy!