Well, the day has finally arrived. Other than work days, this is the last day on our schedule we had actually planned to be somewhere. Mary and her hubby took us to a nice little diner where we had a fabulous breakfast, then we headed out to the Stuart Horse Trials nearby for their cross country event. We had to take a detour to pick up our mail in Canandaigua (which hadn’t been there yesterday, supposedly, but had magically appeared today, even though it really should have arrived on Thursday, but some younger postal workers are unfamiliar with the concept of General Delivery), but arrived in time to see the last 8 or 10 horses jump. Seems they had a lot of scratches so the event went much shorter than usual. Then we went to an ice cream shop for a cone (it was hot enough, and that was to be lunch) before heading home to take a nap so that we would be in decent shape for the evening. Hubby and I both slept for more than an hour, which was the perfect power nap. Then we showered and got ready to go, arriving at the reunion dinner right at the appointed hour of 7:00. Didn’t recognize many people, and was glad my my friends started arriving. The dinner was actual several “food stations,” which is not my favorite kind of dinner unless there are a lot of other activities, like a band and dancing going on, which there wasn’t. Wine was late in coming, we had our first glass of alcohol since we quit on New Year’s, smelled oddly strong to my unaccustomed nose, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Spent some time talking to other people, but can’t say I enjoyed it as much as I did last night, which I figured would be the case, that was hard to top. Anyway, after the dinner, we got shuttled out of the rented room into the main bar area around 10:30, where we were joined by more of our cross-class friends, but unfortunately, the nice little combo they had playing was already packing up, as the restaurant was slated to close at 11:00, so any dreams of dancing that I had were demolished. It was closer to 11:30 by the time we were being pushed into the parking lot, and it was obvious most people wished the evening could last longer (not sure why this particular restaurant had been chosen, you’d have thought this was predictable). Anyway, we again all drifted to the same pub where we ended the previous night, and were there for a couple more hours, finally shoving off after 1:00, fading fast. We made plans to all gather again tomorrow at another good friend Sue’s cottage on Honeoye Lake for the day. Can’t wait! This is way too much fun!
Archives for 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011 – Travel Day to Victor, NY, and First Reunion Events
Got up with the alarm early, finished packing up and saying our goodbyes to Greg and Julie before heading up the road. Arrived at the Denny’s in Canandaigua with perfect timing, just finishing our breakfast in time for my conference call with a client, then headed up the road to the waste water treatment plant to dump the RV, then arrived just a touch later than expected at my dear old friend Mary’s house, who I’ve known since I was 2 ½ years old, though we haven’t kept in touch the way we should have. Nevertheless, she and her husband welcomed us, and had arranged for her next door neighbor to put our horses in an extra paddock she had, and we had a wonderful lunch and a great afternoon of catching up. Eventually we had to start getting ready for tonight, two gatherings at two pubs, one with a cross-class group that was my main “clique” as it were, on one side of the Erie Canal, and the second with just the ‘76ers on the other side of the canal (though in the end, they all merged anyway). It was a fantastic time! Lots of squealing and hugging and all the best things you’d expect at a reunion. Lots of folks came from a long way away, and it was great. It’s true what they say, it was like we had all been together just yesterday. How can 35 years feel like that? But it did. We stayed up way past our bedtime, and still felt great when we got back at nearly 2:00 am. Hope we sleep late in the morning!
Thursday, July 14, 2011 – Prep Day
Busy day today, packing up and getting everything ready to move out tomorrow. Had to move the hay that we had bought locally from the horse trailer into the back of the pickup, after which Hubby adjusted the brakes on the horse trailer. Washed the dogs, cleaned the house, kept busy all day, then joined our neighbors Greg and Julie around the fire for an evening of swapping stories, finishing the evening off with a bit of Shakespeare. Off to bed later than we had expected, have a early and long day tomorrow!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 – Last Long Ride Day
Though our original plan had been to ride with our new neighbors Greg and Julie, I let Hubby sleep a little late because his back was hurting a bit, so we encouraged them to go ahead without us, and ended up getting out about 11:30 or so. We had two main trails, D & E, that we wanted to do, so that we would know them all, so that next time we could start exploring some of the many unmarked trails that riddle this forest. We headed out the Mohawk trail to the A trail, passed the E trail entrance to get to the D trail, some 3-4 miles from camp. We really enjoyed the E trail, as it once again wound through a great mixed forest and varied terrain. Once we reached the end, however, we had a lot of trouble trying to pick up the D trail. The trail that seemed right had a sign saying it was temporarily closed, so we looked for an alternative. Signs led us along the snowmobile trail that paralleled the road, but soon that became obvious that it hadn’t seem much traffic, and soon after it led to a “bridge” that was so rickety I would walk across it, much less take a horse across, and there was no way around it, so we knew we were in the wrong place. We took a number of other false starts, including crossing the road where the D trail was clearly marked, but that just took us around to a road that led us back to the same intersection. After stopping for lunch and once again trying to find another trailhead, we finally decided the only logical answer was to take the “closed” trail, which we soon discovered was, in fact, the right trail that we needed. We soon discovered why it was supposed to be closed, though the reasons no longer applied. A long portion of the trail was essentially a creekbed. No doubt during the spring it’s too wet to traverse, but it was fine now during mid-summer, at least as fine as trying to walk on a creekbed goes. The rocks were sharp and insecure, and the ascents and descents were pretty treacherous in places, making this our least favorite trail here. We were both happy when we finally reached the end of it and were back on the A trail again. We didn’t arrive back in camp until after 5:30, with both us and the horses thoroughly exhausted. Got everyone settled, had some leftover Chinese for dinner, then visited with our neighbors getting caught up on all the day’s activities, and sharing ideas for horse camps and equipment and other horsey stuff. Learned that Greg is a retired veterinarian, and learned more about Julie liking to ride in endurance races, more for the challenge than the winning (she’s been riding a Gypsy draft horse, so speed isn’t her priority). As the sun went down and a full moon came up, it got quite chilly (forecast is for mid-50’s overnight), so we headed back to the bungalow for hot cocoa, a movie and to bed!Tuesday, July 12, 2011 – Solution Day
After weeks of trepidation about where we were going to stay after the weekend, I finally managed to secure a place about 30 miles east of Rochester, which will actually be a great location as it’s close to both the city and to the place where my brother has rented a cottage for a week around the dates of the family reunion. Can’t tell you how relieved I am! I was really starting to worry we’d get stuck, but I think this will work out just fine. Spent the rest of the day washing all four vehicles, figured since we had free access to water here, this may be the last chance for a while, and it was much needed, since we were still carrying mud that we had churned up back in West Virginia when we had trouble getting out of our campsite after several heavy rains. That took most of the afternoon. This morning, our long-term neighbors were packing up to leave, and Hubby and I thought we’d have the place to ourselves for a few days, when, just before they left, another convoy came in. Turns out to be a snowbird couple that has a place in Ocala for the winter, and a place nearby here in NY for the summer. They had a motor home, plus a pickup truck towing a horse trailer, much like our setup. We ended up chatting with them for much of the evening, seems we have much in common. They’ve been on the road much longer than us, so it was nice to pick someone elses’ brain for awhile, rather than having mine picked. Compared notes on places we’d both been, and took suggestions for places we’d like to go. Could be the beginning of a very helpful network! Stayed up late catching up on my blog before turning in, having made plans to go riding with our new neighbors tomorrow, which should be interesting as our horses aren’t used to being around other horses. Hope that works out okay!
Monday, July 11, 2011 – Shopping Day
Decided that we’d go shopping today, as the weather forecast was calling for hot temps and a possible thunderstorm. Never got more than a tiny, momentary sprinkle, but it was pretty hot, though nothing like what we’ve experienced in other areas of the country. Left about 11:00 and didn’t get back until after 6:00, ended up going a lot farther than we had anticipated, but did managed to get most of what we needed, including cotter pins from a fastener store in Elmira (for the horse boots), new sandals for me (for my Friday reunion outfit), pants and a shirt for Hubby, groceries and a bunch of other stops. Glad to get back, horses were fine in our absence, though the number of neighbors had diminished somewhat. Down to just us and one other motor home, a couple that had been here almost as long as we had. Didn’t speak with them much, just to say hello occasionally, but it was always pleasant enough. We may ride tomorrow, or we may wait until Wednesday when the temps are supposed to be cooler. Busy day, so we relaxed again in the evening.
Sunday, July 10, 2011 – Rest Day
Another Sunday of rest and relaxation, though I still spent many hours on the computer and phone still trying to solve our accommodations problems, as well as tackling some other client related chores.
Saturday, July 9, 2011 – Another Long Ride Day
Once again we headed out the Mohawk Trail, this time following it all the way down to the same parking/camping area for lunch again, then afterward heading up the other half of the A trail loop that we had missed last time. Our original plane had been to include the D and E loops, but the first part of the ride seemed to take so long we decided it was too late in the day, and we’d have to come back and do those again on another day. Once again, a lovely, varied terrain, still different from other areas of the forest. After leaving our lunch spot, we made a small diversion on the wrong side of the creek, only to return and cross the creek to the right side. One of the few areas where there was water on the trail, but the horses didn’t seem interested in taking a drink. Not long after that, we headed up a long vertical climb under the power lines, all grass but practically straight up for half a mile. The horses took it all in stride, though they did take several breaks along the way. Then it was deep into the woods once again, winding our way from one gorgeous section to the next. At one point, unfortunately, a couple of teen dirt-bikers came up from behind us on two very loud, unmuffled motors. We heard them coming from a long way away, and pulled the horses off the trail to prevent any accidents. The youngsters almost didn’t see us, we had to yell to them before they spotted us. One of them had the good sense to turn his motor off, the other one had to be told, though not before Apollo had to be calmed down. They walked quietly past us, and I told them to go another 50 feet or so before I said they could start up again. By that time, the second kid’s overly large shorts were hanging halfway down his overly large behind, and we had the unpleasant view of an overly large crack that no one should ever be subject to. I know I sound like my parents did, but I really don’t understand these fashions these days. At least I saw the point of a miniskirt in school, I don’t see the point of exposed bra straps and shorts hanging down to the knees, courtesy of no waistband. Oh well, it’s just a sign of the times I suppose. Anyway, not long after that we came up to a road, and while comparing it with the map, the park ranger came by in his truck, and I asked him if motorized vehicles were allowed on the trails in the summer (it’s a snowmobile trail in the winter, but that’s not the same, right?) And he said absolutely not, but I suspect he knew who the kids were. In any event, they were long gone, so there wasn’t much to be done anyway. Other than that, it was a great ride, and it was still a good five hours minus the lunch break. Once again arrived back in camp, tired and hungry, but satisfied at another wonderful day.Wednesday, July 6, 2011 – Short Ride Day
Spent a good part of the day on the computer. Having trouble finding a place to stay near Rochester, never thought it would be this hard. There are scores of stables within a 50 mile radius, but for some reason, I can’t seem to find one that will say yes to the horses and the RV. Lots of show barns, so I can sort of understand it, but even farms with hundreds of acres of property claim they can’t accommodate our RV, which seems really weird to me. With all the times when we’ve had to find a place, we’ve never had such a hard time before. It looks like an old friend of mine might be able to take us in for the weekend, her neighbor has pastures, so she’s checking to see if they can take in the horses, while we park in her driveway. I hope we can work something out, this is getting so frustrating! Later in the day, we decided to take a short ride just to keep the horses occupied (it’s amazing, they seem to just be begging to go for a ride after a day or two!), so we saddled up and headed out the Seneca Trail, a fairly short loop that took us just over 90 minutes or so. Another nice ride, with a lot of unmarked trails and roads going off of it. Hubby and I are looking forward to a time when we know all of the main trails well enough to feel safe venturing off on some of these smaller trails. Had a few nice opportunities to do long trots and even a few short canters, and it was mostly through woods, with only a few grades. Several road crossings, but no big deal. Enjoyed it, just the right length to keep the horses, and us, in shape!
Monday, July 4, 2011 – Independence Day Ride, Nothing Like Freedom!
What a fabulous ride today! Another good night sleep, another leisurely breakfast, and finally got on the trail a bit after 12:00, having packed snacks for us and oats for the horses. Headed down to the Mohawk trail, then turned left to follow the A trail clockwise. Lots of varied terrain, forests both pine and deciduous, ascents and descents, rocky sections, muddy sections, perfect dirt and pine needle sections. Coming downhill near the southern end of the A Trail it got very muddy, and at one point Apollo stepped right out of one of his Easyboots, not an easy thing to do! Had to stop and pick it up, but it was so muddy I couldn’t see me being able to put it on again until I found some water to clean it up a bit. Shortly thereafter, we came to the halfway point, a lovely parking and horsecamping area with tables, fire rings, two sets of two stalls each, right off a road. A half hour later, we were back on the trail again, heading back up the Mohawk Trail, which would connect back up to the intersection where we first took the A Trail. A really wonderful ride, arriving back in camp tired and happy at about 5:00. Got everyone settled in, including ourselves, for a much deserved relaxing evening!