Hi Darln’,
Since they had music playing again last night, I put in my earplugs and slept well again, yay! I got up early and immediately started putting things away while I was feeding the horses, because the forecast is calling for rain to start around 2:00 and I need to get out early tomorrow so I didn’t want to leave anything to be done that wasn’t necessary. I also adjusted the brakes again, I realized that I misunderstood something I read and didn’t do it right, so I had to go back and do it again, with much better results. Of course, that meant hooking the trailer up, so when I was finished I just raised the trailer up to make it level, and in the morning all I’ll have to do is drop it and put the safety chains and electric on, easy peasy. I’ve left the jiffy jack in front of the left hand wheel so that I can run up on it and get the slide in a lot easier that way. Then all I have to do is get the horses in and do my last minute cleanup and put horse stuff away and I’ll be on my way! I’m hoping to be out by 9:00 so I can get to my destination between 3:00-4:00, and of course, I have to get through the ag station, which takes a little time. Plus since it’s nearly 300 miles, I’m going to have to stop for fuel at least once as well, so I’m working that into the schedule, too. It’s going to be a long day! But then I’ll be at the same place for nearly three weeks, so I can rest, put my screen room up, and do all the longer-term things I haven’t been able to do lately since I’ve taken so many short hops lately. Then I spent the afternoon doing laundry while binge-watching the Hallmark series I’ve been enjoying, so at least the afternoon was restful. I also retrieved my macaroni salad, which I’m sorry to say didn’t get eaten too much, so I had to bag that up and freeze some, and put the rest in the refrigerator, so Lola and I will be eating a lot of macaroni salad in the coming days! I’m just about done for the day, enjoying my cup of tea now, and will be heading to the shower and bed soon! Love you sweetie! Good night!

Hey Sweetie,
Between the loud music they were playing in the clubhouse and the storm that was due to come in overnight, I put in my earplugs and ended up having a great night sleep. It was still raining when I got up, and it was cloudy and damp all day, so I decided not to ride today. In fact, I decided not to do much of anything today. Since I’ve decided to drive straight through to my central Florida stop on Monday, nearly 300 miles, I decided to catch up on some rest today so I can do everything I need to do to get ready tomorrow. Other than binge-watching a series on Netflix that I’ve been watching, and pulling out the breadmaker, I did little else but basic chores today. I had bought some bread last week, but when I went to toast some this morning, it had already starting to mold a little bit. I cut off the mold for my toast, but I had half a loaf going bad, and since I don’t plan on shopping until at least the middle of next week, I really needed some bread, so I dragged out my breadmaker and threw a loaf in. I had forgotten what a great butter-delivery device fresh, warm bread is! I made of loaf of French bread with garlic and herbs, and it came out delicious! I had one slice in the afternoon, then another with some chicken noodle soup later on, and it completely stuffed me. So good! At least now I’ll have bread for a few days. I may just decide to make my own bread for awhile anyway, since I’ll have electric for the next couple of months, and it just tastes so much better. Anyway, after an otherwise lazy but restful day, I’m ready for shower and bed, so good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Darlin’!
Happy Thanksgiving! I spent most of the morning in the kitchen cooking, making macaroni salad and deviled eggs for the gathering this afternoon, then relaxed a bit in the afternoon, chatted with two of my three brothers, then went over to the pavilion with my offerings, and met some folks and talked with them before and during dinner. Spent most of the time with Jeff and Beth, a couple that lives north of here but are originally from New England. There was plenty of food, and I’m afraid I may be eating leftover macaroni salad for the next week, though they kept it there so that they could put it on a lunch buffet for tomorrow. We split up after dinner to feed horses, then reconvened around their campfire for a few hours with their camp neighbor before coming back for tea and a short program. A nice way to spend Thanksgiving. I’m hoping to get a long ride in tomorrow, though I’m having some problems with my knee today. I’m hoping it’s related to my shoulder, which I’ve been working on a lot the last few days, maybe one of these days it will all straighten itself out. Anyway, I’m hoping Lola won’t be too restless tonight, she’s gotten so little exercise this week. I’ve had to keep her cooped up since there are so many other dogs around. One woman who came in yesterday with a whole bunch of little yippers actually packed up and left early today, I think because she felt guilty her crew would never shut up. I heard they were the last few of a bunch of rescues that came from a puppy mill or something, I don’t know if she’s fostering or she adopted them all, there were at least five of them. Doesn’t matter, there are still a few more yippers left in camp, though they seem to be a bit more quiet most of the time. Anyway, time for shower and bed and read and probably ibuprofen for my knee! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Not the best night sleep, but I’m pretty sure I’ll sleep well tonight after all the physical labor I did today! It started after breakfast with me putting the newly mounted tire back on the trailer, then adjusting the brakes, then struggling to try to put the spare tire back on the spindles where it gets carried, though I never could get in on there. I’m not sure it will even fit if I get help to put it on, it just doesn’t seem to be able to be lined up properly. I’m wondering if it’s because there’s too much air in it. Remember when I took it off it was down to 60 lbs., half of what it should have been, and I’m thinking maybe that’s the only way to make it fit. So now I have to decide if I want a half-flat spare, or if I want to put it in the back of the truck fully inflated. I think when I get down to brother Jeff’s I’ll see if I can find a shop that will buy it from me, it was more expensive than the tires I’m using now, and it’s got less than 200 miles on it, but it’s just so much thicker than the rest, I really need to match them up. Something to think about once I get down there, just another thing on the long list of chores and repairs I’m going to have to do once I get down there. Sigh… Next I scrubbed down the canvas skirting that goes around the gooseneck, it’s been getting pretty grungy, then I climbed up on the roof of the trailer and scrubbed it down, than I finished washing the rest of the trailer, then I washed the truck, then I climbed back up on the roof to put some sealant around a seam on the front of the gooseneck that looked like the panel was starting to come a little loose at the top, and I certainly don’t want any leaking, especially since they’re calling for rain most of the day tomorrow. I also did a load of laundry in between, just for variety. I did a final scrub of the skirting (Lola decided to leave some footprints on it for me) and hung that up, then I had to rinse the outside as well. Finally, since there’s rain and some possible wind, I put the chairs under the gooseneck inside the skirting to keep them from getting wet overnight. I’m hoping it won’t get so windy I have to pull the awning in, fingers crossed. Oh, and I almost forgot, I started the morning packaging up three books and walking them down to the mailbox. I started a “no shipping” special of the book for the holidays on the Facebook group page, and was delighted to see some orders start to come in. Tomorrow, it’s all about Thanksgiving. I’m starting the day cooking, I’m making my curry macaroni salad and some deviled eggs, and hopefully relaxing a bit before the dinner at 4:00. Hopefully, Friday I’ll finally get a ride in! I was thinking about staying here another week, but they’re calling for temps in the 20’s at night early next week, so I’m hitting the road to go south on Monday. I should probably go on Sunday to beat the weather, but you know how I hate to drive on Sunday, hard to get service if there’s any problems on the road. Anyway, it was deep dusk by the time I finished everything, so I set about getting dinner, an early shower, a couple of programs, now I’m off to bed with my kindle, hopefully I’ll get a better night sleep tonight. Can’t see how I can’t, as tired as I am right now! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Slept a little later this morning, a good start to a day when my plan was to relax, which I did for the most part, until I got a notification from Fedex that the replacement tire I ordered was due to arrive today, rather than the original delivery date of Friday. I watched it’s progress online, and when it arrived at the tire store, Duncan’s downtown, I headed down there and dropped off the wheel so they could replace it for me. I ran over to Tractor Supply to get a couple of propane tanks filled, then Walmart for a few last minute things for Thanksgiving. Went back to the tire store and picked up the tire, and when I went to pay for it, they wouldn’t let me! Said it was no problem, loaded it up on the truck and sent me on my way! Wasn’t that nice? A lovely holiday gift to me. Love that Southern hospitality! Got back to camp, got my groceries in, fed the horses and settled down for the evening. Not quite as restful a day as I thought it would be, but with a good night sleep, hopefully I’ll be up to doing some heavy lifting tomorrow, like getting the tire put on and adjusting my brakes while I’m at it. We’ll see if I have the energy, I still feel a bit tired from my busy week last week. I did manage to do one load of laundry today, but I have a bunch more to do in the next few days. Not sure how much riding I’ll be doing while I’m here, though there are enough trails for a couple of rides. They charge a $10 a day trail fee here in addition to the camping fee, I still haven’t figured out whether or not it’s worth it to join, I need to do the math and decide if I’m likely to come back here much in the future. But that’s for another day! Right now it’s time for my shower and an early night. Good night darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
A good night sleep, a morning of the usual last minute prep, and before I knew it, I was off and on my way right on schedule! First stop was Central GA Equine Center to get the horses’ Extended Equine CVI, which I’ll need to get into Florida soon. I’m sorry to say they charged me nearly three times what I’ve previously paid for the GlobalVetLink EECVI, so despite my initial plan to use them each time I’m on my way to Florida, I’ll be looking for someone else that doesn’t tack on such a heavy premium. Ouch! Then it was another hour to Mingo Trails, all uneventful, thank goodness. Probably the right choice to change the spare out, at least I wasn’t worried about it. It feels like my brakes need adjusting again, so I’ll do that at the same time I switch the spare out. I arrived at Mingo Trails at just before 1:00, and proceeded to get set up. I considered a number of camping spots, but it turned out the best one for me, with the easiest access, was the same one I parked in last time I was here. It didn’t take me too long to get the horses on their highline, get the rug down and the awning and chairs out. I’m going to wait and see about the screen room depending on the fly and bug situation. It’s supposed to get down to the upper 30’s tonight, so I don’t think they’ll be a problem right away! It’s nice to have water and electric for a change, I’m luxuriating by my electric fireplace, and I intend to take a longer shower than usual as well, just for fun. I’ve had a pretty busy week, so I’m thinking of mostly taking the day off tomorrow, though I did have a book sale that I’ve got all ready to go, and fortunately they have a mailbox here so I’ll just walk down and put it in tomorrow morning. Relaxed the rest of the day, settled down for the evening, now I’m off to that long shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe,
What a busy day! Lola was quiet last night so I slept pretty well, woke up once and read for awhile, then got back to sleep, fortunately. I decided to change the tire out for the spare, so even before breakfast, while the horses had their feedbags on, I was loosening the lug nuts on the tire, just to make sure I could get them all loose, which I did manage to do, taking down the skirting around the gooseneck, getting out the spare, and generally getting ready to hook up the truck. As tough as this job is even in a quiet campground, it would be much tougher if I had to do it by the side of a road, so I figured better safe than sorry. After breakfast I finished the job, hooking up the truck and rolling it onto the Jiffy Jack, switching the tire out, and getting the old tire in the back of the truck. When I checked the air in the spare it was way down to 60 lbs., so I had to disconnect the truck again and get out the inflator and pump that up. Since I could only run the inflator for 10 minutes, with a 25 minute break in between, I went on to the next chore, which was sewing up Miss Lola’s bed, again. It was a lovely morning so I did it outside. Once that was done, I got out her bed in the back seat of the truck, she’s been tearing into that and pulling the stuffing out of it, so I gathered all the stuffing I could find (which was scattered all over the back seat!), put it back in and sewed that up. Meanwhile, I was topping off all the rest of the tires, which were all down at least 10 lbs., and each tire took the same 10 minutes to do, with a long break in between. After the second dog bed was done, I started mending Flash’s winter blanket. It had a lot of rips and tears in it, so I tackled that. By the time I got done with all of that, the afternoon was almost spent. There were several groups of day riders that came and went, and I spoke a few minutes to most of them, usually because Lola ran out to meet them and teach them how to throw for her. Eventually, I rolled up the awning, put away the chairs and the outdoor rug, and pretty soon had everything put away that I could. I got the truck lined up so that all I have to do is drop the trailer on the hitch in the morning. Other than the horses and their stuff, there’s not much else to do, which is good because I have an appointment with a vet at 11:00 in Fort Valley about two hours away, so I have to get an early start. Another reason I didn’t want to have a blowout on the road. Finally I was finished getting ready around 5:00. Daniel from the barn came by later and I paid him the trail day fee, and a little extra for Christian who ran the ride I tagged along on. Took my shower early so my hair would dry before bed, which is where I’m off to now! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Another good night sleep (sans wine again, darn it!), woke up a bit before my alarm. After chores and breakfast I headed out to a place west of LaGrange, the nearest city, to pick up ten bales of hay. They’re light bales, not exactly fresh and green, but that’s not easy to find now that the growing season is over and I’m heading south into coastal country. I’m sure the horses will be fine with it. After picking that up I went to Tractor Supply to get three bottles of propane filled, then Walmart for the rest of my shopping, then finally, Moss Feeds back in Pine Mountain. They are a Nutrena dealer and happened to have a couple of bags of hard-to-find Balancer, so I stocked up with that. I already had two bags from the previous Tractor Supply, so I’m set for quite a while on that now. Got back to camp just after 2:00, grabbed some lunch after putting all the groceries away, then moved the hay and feed out of the truck into the trailer. By then I was pretty worn out, so I called it day and started my evening early. Finished watching the charming series Last Tango in Halifax, you would have like that for the most part. Anyway, I’ve got a few repairs to do tomorrow, and I’d like to get another ride in tomorrow, so I’m off to shower and bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Darlin’,
Finally had a great night sleep, woke up just once and fell asleep again right away. See, no wine last night! Sorry to say that’s the problem, guess I’ll have to cut out the wine, sigh… Was up and at ’em at 8:00, had a quick bowl of cereal and finished packing up. Stephanie helped me with the slideout, it’s really starting to give me trouble now, I’m going to have to do some research to see if there’s a way to fix it without having to take the whole trailer apart. Managed to get out before 10:30, and since it was only about 60 miles away, I arrived just before noon. Turns out the “horse camp” is really nothing more than a parking area, and fairly small at that. There are a number of highline posts around the edges, so I pulled in front of the most level ones I could find, that also looked like it would give me some sun for my solar panel. I got the horses on the highline and got partially set up, then after I unhooked I drove over to the park office, thinking that that was where I had to pay, and after standing in line for 15 minutes, found out they had nothing to do with it, I had to go to the stables. So I drove back down to the stables, and even though they weren’t open for trail rides today, there were people around, and boss Daniel arrived a few minutes after I got there and got me signed in. He suggested I ride along with one of his groups tomorrow at 10:00, a two hour ride, and I think I will, just to get a lay of the land. It seems the trail map isn’t terribly accurate, so it might help to do that, so it’ll be Apollo tomorrow, since all their “ride” horses are quarters, and I’d spend the whole time trying to hold Flash back. Guess I’ll have to leave Lola home, too, but my plan is to take the long “Cowboy Trail” trail the following day, so she can come with me and Flash then. Got back to camp, decided not to put any chairs under the awning for now, since the days seem like they’re going to be too cool to be sitting outside anyway. The horses are just outside the door for a change, kind of nice to be able to see them out my bedroom window. Decided to just take it easy the rest of the day, so I watched TV and read. I had to run the furnace today, it’s getting that cool, and it’s low 40’s tonight so the horses have their winter blankets on again. Glad the drive was uneventful, though I’m looking forward to warmer weather and longer stays as I get further south. Moving every week is not my favorite thing anymore, can’t believe for a while there we were moving twice in one week! There has to be enough trails to make a longer stay worthwhile, and I’d like a few amenities for a change, I’ve been doing primitive too many weeks in a row. Water is a challenge here, I’ll have to transfer from the truck tank into the trailer, which is kind of a pain. Bobby had suggested getting a small pump to put on the tank, which would make things easier, and I may look into that. I can get more water at the barn when I need it, though, so it’s not too bad. Anyway, time for bed. I may even skip my shower, since I didn’t do anything to work up a sweat in the cold weather today. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Baby,
Another morning where I woke up too early, read awhile, then drifted off for a bit before getting up. That seems to becoming a pattern. I was determined to take a day off today, so after feeding the horses I left them out to pasture, but after a couple of hours, for some unknown reason, they decided to go on walkabout in the woods at the far end of the field. Why they would leave ten acres of lush grass to wander in the woods is beyond me, but fortunately I saw them doing it, so I hopped in the truck and got after them, hooking up Apollo and having him follow by the side of the truck back to camp. I put them on the highline after that, I didn’t want any more distractions. I also took the time to fill up the water tank in the truck, and put a new windshield wiper on. Soon after the rain came in, and it did rain quite a bit all afternoon. I read and watched movies and ate too much and generally did manage to get some rest in. I’m still tired tonight though, so I’m off for an early shower and bed, and hopefully my energy will be recharged. I’m really looking forward to riding tomorrow, the trails look pretty nice, I just hope it’s dry enough! It’s supposed to be nice, I hope the weatherman’s right this time. Heading off to do my ablutions. Good night, sweetie! Love you!