Spent the day really trying to get caught up, though the morning was wasted trying to help Hubby get a satellite signal, which he did even as it rained outside. He keeps getting a reading about the switch not working, but he finally gave up around noon, then headed out to do some running around, including getting our own adapter for the silly water spigot. While he was gone I got LOTS of work done (amazing how that happens : -)! which made me feel better after I was able to know out a couple of major projects done that had been bugging me. Finally managed to feel a bit more relaxed. Even though the campground is very crowded, it’s still quiet enough for me to start feeling more relaxed, though I’m still not sleeping as well as I usually do. Hoping to do better tonight, now that I have a few less things on my mind! Though it rained in the morning, it cleared up late in the day, and the weather forecast is for a couple of beautiful days ahead. There’s a hurricane (Irene) sliding up the east coast, but we’re so far inland, and on the far side of the mountains, that I don’t see it being much of an event here. Maybe a bit of rain on Sunday, but that’s about it. That’s good, because the horses will need a day off by then!
Archives for 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 – Birthday and Fabulous Ride Day
After spending several hours unsuccessfully trying to get a satellite signal (the trees are too tall for this latitude), while I tried to make some headway with the business paperwork I needed to get caught up on, we finally headed out on our first ride, my birthday ride. It was lovely! The trail were almost all dirt or sand, very little stone, excellent footing for our barefoot horses, and only a few patches of mud despite the many days of rain they’ve had here lately. A very, very nice ride. Did some of the nearer loops, went maybe ten miles all told, didn’t want to overwork the horses considering they’ve pretty much been sitting around for almost three weeks now. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Got back and joined our friends for cocktail hour, then they invited us to join them for dinner, apparently they had spearfished some grouper not long before in Florida and had brought some with them. Delicious! In fact, they let me take leftovers, which I was happy to have, saves me cooking tomorrow night! A very nice day overall, but still exhausted from the past month. Not getting the sleep I need for some reason, keep waking up, probably because I’ve gotten so far behind with all the activities we’ve been doing and the jobs we’ve been getting that it’s bothering me. Just need to get caught up I guess! One of these days…
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 – Travel day to Otter Creek, NY
Got up pretty early, knowing we had a long day ahead of us. The actual drive was only about three hours, but we had a bunch of stops to make so we knew it would take a lot longer. First stop was a campground near Wolcott so that we could dump, then we were set to go to a propane place I had found, but was told the only guy who could fill our tanks was out for the week, but she recommended a place call the 104 Store (after the route it was on). Turns out they had a dinere, so we had a nice breakfast with what tasted like real range fed eggs, maybe even locally produced bacon (one nice thing about this area I had forgotten about was how much everyone supported local farmers, everyone has a farm stand here). They also had the cheapest price I’ve seen on diesel in weeks, so I filled up the truck as well. Topped off both propane tanks, too, so in less than an hour we got just about everything accomplished. Our last stop was at the Target north of Syracuse. Hubby had bought a Kindle at a Target on our way home from the airport the other day, but we bought the Wi-Fi only version. After having some trouble hooking up to a nearby wi-fi, he decided it would be better to get the upgraded wi-fi-3G version, which we did at the Target. We also did some more shopping, and finally walked next door to a Price Chopper to get the last of our groceries before we carried on to horse camp at Otter Creek, which we had heard about from so many people we had high expectations. The folks we met at Six Nations in July were going to be here as well, and we ran into them as we came into camp. There are three different camping areas nearby each other, and as there wasn’t really room for us in the one they were in, we moved to the next one that backed up to their’s and found someone just leaving from a perfect spot in a corner. Covered horse stalls were spread out around the camping area, and a pile of sand as bedding was deposited nearby. We found a water spigot at the back of the stalls, plenty close enough for us to reach with our shorter hoses, but unfortunately it had a stupid spigot on it that didn’t fit a hose, rather it was threaded on the inside. Fortunately, one of the other campers here had an adapter he let us borrow so that we could fill up our water tank. We got the horses settled in, got ourselves settled in, spent a little time socializing with our friends (I even had a glass or two of wine!), before heading off to bed after a long exhausting day.Monday, August 22, 2011 – Four Compass Points… Done!
Our last item on our checklist for our trip here was to finish off getting the horses’ feet wet in the four water borders of the USA. Having done the Atlantic on Assateague Island in Oct. 2009, the Pacific in several places along the Oregon and California beaches during 2010, and the Gulf of Mexico on Padre Island near Corpus Christi, TX in December 2010, we finally finished off it off by taking the horses out to Chimney Bluffs along Lake Ontario. It’s changed a lot since I grew up here, much of the original parking area has been swept away by the waves, and the bluffs have eroded dramatically over the years, leaving a much less dramatic landscape than I remember as a kid. They’ve made it into a State Park, so naturally they’ve civilized it, with stairs up the trail and a fence along the edge where we used to climb, with warning signs about NOT climbing. Government sure knows how to take the fun out of everything for the guise of “safety.” Regardless, we did take the horses along the beach, though we couldn’t go very far, as the rocks and downed trees made it difficult to get around. The wind was strong so the lake was pretty rough, which didn’t make the horses very happy, but it wasn’t as bad as some of the seas we’ve seen, and they eventually settled down. They’ve been cooped up in a paddock for so long, I think they were just glad to be out somewhere, anywhere! Point is, we rode along the beach, finished off our goal of going to all four borders, and now we can check that one off the bucket list! On the way back, we stopped at a Perry’s Dairy Store (they make fantastic ice cream!) and got ourselves a cone on the way back. Did a few more chores in preparation for tomorrow, and hit the hay early, with the alarm on.
Sunday, August 21, 2011 – Prep Day
As we figured, the day was busy getting ready to leave, getting the RV clean, picking fleas off the dogs, hooking up the horse trailer to the van and everything else that needed doing. This has been a great stay, but we’ve been here too long, our gypsy ways are too strong and we’re desperate to get into a horse camp and go riding. Seems like forever since we’ve gone riding! Here’s a couple of pix of what our “backyard” has been for the last five weeks. Nice folks, been great the whole time despite our crazy schedule, hope to see them again next year!
Saturday, August 20, 2011 – Day with Friends
Slept late, though still somewhat fitfully. Travelled down to Cayuga Lake to visit with one of my high school friends and her husband at their cottage for the day. Chatted all day, then lit a fire of dried (sort of) seaweed on their little beach for a bit of a bonfire. Got home around 10:00, having had a great time. To bed right away, though, wishing for a day off but knowing it will be busy tomorrow as we plan for our departure on Tuesday.
Friday, August 19, 2011 – Travel Day
First half of our travel was uneventful, but then we sat on the tarmac at National for about 90 minutes, just under the mandatory “return to gate” rule, waiting for weather along the route to clear. Apparently since the passenger Bill of Rights passed in Congress, airlines have to pay a $75,000 per passenger fine if they go over a certain amount of time on the tarmac. Anyway, we got in just under the wire, so we still managed to get home just before dark, with a stop for ice cream, of course! Glad to be back, but ready to move on next week!
Thursday, August 18, 2011 – Work with Client
Another so so night sleep,then headed off to work with the client again today, again made great progress. Powers that be have big things in mind in the future, trying to work up to the task. Finished a bit earlier because of other obligations, so we headed out to another ice cream place for our “dinner” before heading back to the hotel. Still feel tired, looking forward to getting back to our old routine!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 – Work with Client
Had a so so night’s sleep, got up at 7:00, had breakfast and headed out to meet our client. Worked straight through from 9:00-5:00, with just a brief sandwich break. Client came a long way, worked hard and applied everything. Love it when they soak it up like a sponge! Found a little ice cream place downtown before heading sraight back to the hotel to try to rest for the evening, feel like we haven’t had a break in such a long time!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 – Travel Day
Woke up early as we readied ourselves for the day. Brothers (and niece) arrived right on time (ten minutes early), but I had gotten a bit behind printing boarding passes (both ours and my brother’s, who called while driving here to see if I could do that for him), Last night, our seats hadn’t been assigned yet, but this morning they had, Row 3 next to each other, thank goodness. At last, the front of the plane! The rest of the flights are further back, but what can you expect when you book less than a week in advance! Thankfully, the rest of the flight was uneventful, even with a stopover at Reagan National. Not surprised, considering it wasn’t Delta! Flew USAir this time, and had no problems. Arrived right on scheduled, picked up a rental car, which the gentleman at the counter was nice enough to upgrade to a Nissan for free, but when we got into I immediately realized that despite numerous stickers to the contrary, the car had been smoked in. Sorry, but as an ex-smoker, I really couldn’t take that, so we changed cars, getting a cute little Ford Focus hatchback that had really jazzy lines to it. Got a little lost on the way to the hotel, but stumbled upon a grocery store where we were able to get everything we needed for the duration. Stayed at the Hampton Inn in Southside, which was about the closest hotel to where we would be working, plus we like the free breakfast : -). Room was comfy and we were ready for an early night.