Archives for April 2024

Pix to come

Hey Sweetie!
Woke up with my early alarm, got busy with breakfast and finished packing up, got everything done and was at the dump well in plenty of time, and out of the campground by just after 8:30, on time or early according to my estimates. Made good time and would have made it to by 12:30 if it wasn't for stupid Google maps! This had to be one of the worst bit of directions I have ever seen. It literally had my destination on a stretch of the interstate, where I was supposed to stop and walk the rest of the way! How ridiculous! I had to go to the next exit and turn around, so I ignored the phone and just followed the signs (what a novel idea!) Anyway, I arrived and told them I was "on the list" and they found me and let me through. Turns out I'm the first one here! A gal named Melissa came by when she saw me filling my tank at the spigot, and was kind enough to direct me to the right spot to camp. It entailed going over a very narrow bridge, probably only ten feet wide, and with my eight foot wide trailer, it was a tight squeeze! I got settled in, put up a nice big paddock for the horses, though I'm a bit worried because it's all nice fresh, long spring grass, which I would normally only let them on for a couple of hours to avoid any digestive problems, but I don't really have any choice, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be alright. Once I got them settled in and the trailer opened up (though I left the windows closed because it's been raining off and on here for a few hours), I took a ride into town, first to a Home Depot to turn in my old battery to get a refund on the core, then to Tractor Supply to fill up the three empty propane tanks I've used up, another stop at the ABC and a Speedway to fill up on fuel in the truck, and finally back to camp, arriving around 6:00. Fed the horses and settled down for the night, though I did play with Lola for awhile, she seems very happy to be running around, though I will have to put her on a leash once people show up tomorrow. Amazingly, I'm still on my own here, I thought other volunteers would be showing up today, but I'm all by my lonesome, thoroughly enjoying the peace and quiet, which I know won't last long! This place is completely overrun by Canadian geese and their babies, there are goslings all over the place. Good thing Lola doesn't like to chase things, or they would be in trouble! Anyway, had a quiet evening, looking forward to another early night and a wonderful ride tomorrow! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin’,
Got up bright and early so I could be at the auto repair shop before they opened at 8:00, only to discover a sign on their door saying they wouldn’t be opening until 11:00! Tried calling a couple of other shops with no luck, headed back to camp hoping I would be able to get this job done today. I went down again and arrived at 10:45, they were open, but were so slammed with work there was no way they could fit me in. I called several more shops, and finally found one in nearby Bennettsville called Dr. Alex, who said he might be able to do it. I headed over there, and he was a bit hesitant because we didn’t know whether we could get a seal or use the old one, and didn’t want to do shoddy work, but he finally gave it a shot. Remarkably, he was done in barely half an hour! I couldn’t believe how fast I was able to get out of there. Thank goodness, I was really worried about that! And all he charged me for was an hour of labor $80, so I was very happy about that. Got back to camp and spent the rest of the day packing, though now I could do it at leisurely pace rather than the rushed way I thought I would be doing it. Glad it all worked out! I topped off my fuel and managed to get air in all but one tire that needed it (the nozzle didn’t fit right), but I think it will be okay. Settled down for my usual evening, watched a great movie, Money Monster, with George Clooney and Julia Roberts, directed by Jodie Foster. Great edge of your seat thriller! Getting to be early, I want an early start tomorrow, just in case. Good night, my love!

Hi Babe,
Took awhile to get to sleep, like it so often does when I have a rest day, laid in for a bit as well, but finally got in gear, dressing in riding clothes, as I was planning on taking Flash out on what they call "Nuke's Trail" here, but the best laid plans, as they say. I decided to do a pre-trip check on my truck, found the tires were about 10 lbs. low so I started to fill them up, and, of course, that stupid little compressor did one tire then quit. I had to wait an hour for it to work again, even though it didn't even feel hot. I managed to get a second tire done, but gave up after that, since another issue arose that will make me have to go out tomorrow and I'll just stop somewhere and have someone with a real air compressor fill them up. I checked my oil, and water and belts and brake fluid, like I usually do, then started the truck up to check the transmission fluid. After I pulled out the dipstick, I heard a clanking sound, and when I went to put the dipstick back, I discovered the tube that it goes into had broken and fallen to the ground! I spent about two hours messing with it, trying to JB Weld it together, using a variety of different methods, none of which worked, until I finally gave up. I did some research and discovered this wasn't uncommon. I also discovered it was a relatively easy fix, but still not something I wanted to try out here, because once I took it apart I wouldn't be able to drive it anywhere if I couldn't finish the job for some reason. No one had the part in stock, but Autozone in Cheraw said they could get it for me by tomorrow at 4:30, so I ordered it, figuring at least I would have the part. I'm hoping the repair shop where I got my tire will have time to do it early Monday morning, since I absolutely, positively have to leave here on Tuesday. I can also refill Lola's prescription for antibiotics, which we finished off today, along with the last of the leftover hot dogs, thank goodness. By this time is was too late to consider going riding, so I settled in to read for a few hours, did a little bit of packing, had dinner and a rather depressing movie ironically called Better Days, which was SO not what I thought it would be. Patsy coming by in the morning to ride, so I'm heading to bed early. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Well, not surprisingly, I paid the price for last night's martinis, and woke up with a hangover and a cottonmouth. Laid in bed until I felt better, finally got up and did my chores, then spent the rest of the day in my recliner working on the computer, planning my travels for the next month. I have most of May to knock around the Carolinas, so I decided after Biltmore, I'd go back to Canebrake, where they have water, electric and a dump station. We went there a couple of times, didn't ride the first time, only got one ride in the second (and that was the week they were installing electric!), so I figure it will be a good place to spend two weeks, considering it's only $17 a night with my senior discount. From there I decided to go back to Woods Ferry, mostly because it's about the only place that has availability over Memorial Day weekend, and I figure it's been long enough since our last debacle there. Plus it's only $3.50 a night with the discount, so I can keep my costs down. Then I'll be heading over to Nathalie's house where I'll be leaving the horses and Lola while I fly off to my Red Rock Ride. I made reservations for all of that, then worked on the trail system at Biltmore, getting everything on Google Earth so I can put it on my GPS when the time comes. Watched a couple of movies, including a great one about a healing horse called Adeline, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Glad I had a nice day off, I sure needed it! Heading to shower and bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Woke up at 8:00, laid in until after 9:00, then got busy! Did three loads of laundry, a whole bunch of deep housekeeping, then once all the laundry was on the line (it was a beautiful morning and a beautiful day!), finally headed out at 2:00 to pick up some hay. Went into Society Hill and cleaned out the hay guy's trailer of his last eight bales, which I stored in the back of the trailer. I was hoping he had ten to get me through, but eight is all he had! Once I got that put away, I took down the laundry, finished up just before 5:00, which was time enough to celebrate a final day of work, so I mixed myself a martini or two (having indulged myself into buying some gin at the ABC store) and finally getting relaxed for the evening. I'll probably regret it in the morning, but I'm definitely enjoying it tonight! Watched a rather strange Matthew MacConaughy movie, and now I'm ready for shower and bed on fresh, air dried sheets! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Had a great night sleep, now that the camp is all but empty, but of course, I still felt tired since I'm crashing from all the recent activity. I got up long enough to do my chores and have breakfast, then crawled back into bed where I spent the day reading, napping, and generally trying to stay warm. All that rain brought in a cold front, so it's a bit chilly this morning, down into the forties, but tonight is going to be even colder, down into the thirties, so when I finally got up in the afternoon, I put a blanket on Apollo (Flash already had his on), when I fed them. I took a walk over to visit with Chelle and to return a nozzle she left on the hose she borrowed from me, and we chatted awhile, but then I got back to camp and settled down for the evening with dinner, a Northern Exposure and a little Hallmark rom/com. Won't be long out of bed though, I've steeped my Sleepytime tea and am looking forward to crawling back into my warm bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Today would have been the perfect day to have a rainy Sunday, but alas, it was not to be. I was up early with the alarm, over to the clubhouse by 8:30, breakfast, awards ceremony, then on the road with Patsy all day picking up most of the signs. There were still a few left we couldn't get to, and at one point we got stuck and had to be rescued by one of the other volunteers, Calvin. We were climbing a hill on clay that turned out to be as slick as ice, and Patsy fishtailed until she got stuck along the side where all the rain had been guttering down. Took almost an hour to be rescued, but fortunately, it only took a little tug from Calvin's truck to get us out. We carried on our merry way, picked up a bunch more signs, finally got back to camp at nearly 4:00. Helped myself to leftovers in the kitchen (I have enough hot dogs to last a month!), got the horses fed, including some good handfuls of wet alfalfa that was leftover at one of the hospitality spots that we picked up, and finally settled down for dinner and a movie, with George Clooney and J-Lo. I can feel my body doing it's usual crash after the exertion of many days of exertion in a row, and now I'm crashing. Not sure what's going to happen this week, but I'm definitely not doing anything tomorrow but the bare minimum. Can't wait to get into bed, the temps, which yesterday morning were pushing the upper 80's, have plummeted, with temps forecast in the mid-40's overnight, so I'm looking forward to a hot shower and a good, long night sleep, especially now that the camp is practically empty, and no generators around. Whew! What a day! A quick Spanish lesson and I'm off to my shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!