Tag: travel

Some Days Are Diamonds

On By AveryIn Life10 Comments

I am a Texas gal through and through, but there is just something special about Colorado and the mountains, especially in summer (and not just because it is so hot here right now). Every time I go is different, yet it is the exact same. The last time my family went, I opted out because of my Ireland trip, so this time felt almost like a homecoming. Greeting a long lost friend. We have a strong nostalgic connection to this place.

It is the mountains for me. Everything about them. How they make you feel small, like storms. How they are always there, but always different, like the sunrises and the sunsets. I feel like we took full advantage and it made for a diamond of a week (see what I did there?).

I chose to drive instead of fly and make it into an adventure. Unlike some people, I really enjoy driving and seeing new things. Listening to music or audiobooks.

I dropped Merle off at the kennel (not all places are dog friendly in Colorado…insert major eye roll) on Thursday late afternoon and worked from the farm on Friday so I could take care of some necessary farm things before hitting the road early Saturday morning (and to sneak a ride in on my Lito. One because I wanted to/I was going to be gone long enough, but also because our last ride was not the best and I needed to ‘right the wrong’ so to speak. We righted the wrong).

I took a different route to west Texas than I normally take and made the ‘swiftest’ swing through NRS World in Decatur that I possibly could. I purchased a few things because they made me happy and continued on my way.

Texas was really showing off with some beautiful weather and showing all the lovely effects of a good spring and summer.

I rolled into Amarillo with just enough time to check into my hotel, change my clothes, and then head to The Golden Light Cantina to hear Dale Watson play.

It was a great time and I sat next to some cool people at the bar. He even played some Merle Haggard.

I called it a night relatively early as I needed my rest for another full day of exciting driving.

I am not sure if I have waxed poetic about west Texas before, but if you did not know, I really love west Texas. It gives me all the feels. The flatness and clear views. The cotton fields and pivot waterers. Good looking cows cooling off in the playas. The smell and the feel of dry air.

My second day of driving was really spectacular. All I wanted to do was stop in at one of the many ranches I was passing, borrow a horse, and ride until I couldn’t anymore. It really makes me want to do a cross country ride, to envision what it was like two hundred years ago.

If you have never taken a cross country road trip, I highly recommend it. Like, really. Words and pictures (of which I do not really have because I was driving) really do not do stunning countryside justice. Pack snacks and fuel up when you can (and have music or books downloaded…) because sometimes you do not know when you are going to be in no man’s land.

I was driving and having a merry old time when I was getting hungry for lunch. I looked around and looked at the map and wondered if there was going to be any lunch to be had. I was feeling very fortunate for the apple I grabbed from the hotel on my way out.

As luck would have it…or something else…I ‘stumbled’ upon the cute little saving grace of a town, Westcliff, in the front range in what felt like the middle of nowhere. The view dropping into town almost made me drive off the road. I was so surprised and pulled over to find the best place to eat and have a little break from driving.

The drive through the pass into Aspen was an adventure in itself as I had never driven it myself before, but it was so worth it. The weather was showing off a little as it was lightly raining on the way up and the way down, but it was not raining at the top.

I stopped a couple of times to enjoy the views…and let people pass me.

I kept my jacket on when I got back in the truck, rolled my windows down, and turned my music up as I enjoyed the cruise down into town. I did have to roll my windows up a couple of times because of the rain, but that did not dampen my mood.

We cooked dinner in my first night followed by music porch time and enjoyed an easy hike around town the first day, including stopping in at ACES and catching the Osprey (we saw them many times).

Y’all should know by now how I am about trees…

We had a lovely lunch in town followed by naps while it rained in the afternoon.

Tuesday morning we got up and out early with a packed lunch to head to Ruedi reservoir to hike around, fish, and have a picnic. We saw much bird action while there including Osprey with caught fish, Bald Eagle, Red Tailed Hawk, and fly catching birds.

Wednesday morning, after a bear tried to bust into a dumpster around 12:30 AM, dawned a bit rainy. I ventured into town with my rain coat to get my traditional coffee and muffin at Paradise Bakery (sorry, not as good as it used to be!) before having a nice hike at the base of the mountain.

I just love all the pops of color with the flower plantings all over the place.

We then hiked to a lovely and indulgent lunch outside of town.

The lunch was good, but it was the hike and the views that really made it!

I could have stopped right here with a picnic lunch!

Thursday was chilly, but we ventured out to explore the John Denver Sanctuary (a must), followed by some trails and neighborhoods before heading to lunch.

We went up to to top of Snowmass mountain for fun before coming back down for dinner. The rain quit right as we sat down outside and gave us a beautiful rainbow.

After dinner we enjoyed a fire with wine and a movie before bed.

My last day was a big one. I ran out to Louis Swiss Bakery (WORTH IT…my new regular) to grab some breakfast things and some cookies for the day. We drove up to Grizzley reservoir for a hike with long time friends. Spoiler alert, the reservoir was drained for dam repairs (!) and that seemed to make the drive up in my truck (and the drive back down) a bit more rough than it should have been. Took away a bit from the arrival that is for sure. We missed the memo on that until we were on our way there. However, the mountains put on a show regardless!

We hiked to Frenchman’s Cabin (we were on our way to the ghost town of Rubi) before we decided we had enough of the elevation, cold, and rain (and my hiking boots…I will be getting something different).

We had a very nice leisurely hike back down looking for the sun shining on the mountains.

We did have momentary breakouts of blue sky.

The sky opened back up with thunder right as we got back to the truck.

We bumped our way back down the mountain in just enough time to unload, change, and grab an early dinner. After dinner and a little packing, we had wine and porch time with music before bed.

Saturday morning dawned early but ready. My parents helped me load the truck and I set off with a big mug full of coffee and a scone from Louis Swiss. My plan was to stop at the divide to enjoy some of my coffee and scone if it was not raining. Well, it was not raining! I was again chasing the sun, but I saw some cool beams on the mountains.

I took some pictures of some people at the sign before continuing on my way. It was a much easier drive the second time, so my advice is to take it!

I rolled into Amarillo upon my return with west Texas in all its glory. The sky was red with that tell tale red dirt and early sunset and the wind was blowing, the rain sprinkle was a little cold, and that smell. That west Texas petrichor. There is nothing like it.

I had intentions of going back to The Golden Light, but I was too tired (and sore! It took me a minute to get my walking legs back). It was a ‘rock star’ hotel night with wine from Pinkie’s Liquor store and local delivery pizza in bed with a movie. The rest of the drive back to the farm was good and I was very glad to be greeted by my ponies. I picked up the Merle Monday morning on my way to work.

This week began with a welcome break in the brutal temperatures. It has me thinking. Thinking of fall and baking pumpkin bread. All of it. I said it, you were thinking it. It is coming!

Walk in love, dear readers, and BE!

Tell me what you have been up to this summer, what you are looking forward to this fall!

Santa Fe, NM.

On By AveryIn Life2 Comments

R, L, and myself took a long weekend a couple of weeks ago to visit our friend V at her new place in Santa Fe. Our mutual friend K was also there which made it all the more special. R and I had never been to Santa Fe before, but this trip was more for us all to get together again and have time together as it has been years since we have been able to do that.

Spoiler alert: a special time was had!

If you ever make it to Santa Fe, we did some things that you might enjoy.

I have been to New Mexico before while I was in college, but it was a different experience entirely as we were mapping, hiking, and camping. I will tell you, waking up in the trees at elevation with the nip in the air and an elk bugling will remain one of my favorite memories. I am a Texas gal through and through, and no skyline will beat the great state for me, but I do like a full spectrum experience!

V bought her house in the historic district of Santa Fe about a year ago and it has been under construction a work in progress ever since. She has been doing a lovely job of restoring it to its glory and it was really fun to see her in her element giving us a tour of the house and explaining all of her plans.

We arrived at the house midday on Thursday after flying into Albuquerque, renting a car, and making the short drive to Santa Fe. After we unloaded our bags and got settled, we had sandwiches for lunch at the house and made a plan for the coming days.

The first thing we did was explore Canyon Road. Canyon Road is full of art galleries and shops. We began at this art store where they make their own paints and then worked our way down.

The street views were quite pretty and there it a lot to explore. It always fascinates me how different every city and town is. No two are the same even in the same state, much less the same country.

In addition to the main Canyon Road, there are little side streets and alleys with shops nestled here and there. You could really spend quite a bit of time exploring if you wanted. There are galleries of all kinds (some with live music) and shops galore.

None of these pictures show it, but the fall colors and leaves were quite pretty. If we had come a little sooner, there would have been more yellow leaves. Many of them had already fallen. On the flip side, if we had delayed our trip a little later…we could have experienced a white Santa Fe. V just sent us some photos of Santa Fe covered in snow, and it looks nothing short of magical. While I am most drawn to more green landscapes, I think Santa Fe is probably the most pretty under a fresh, heavy snow.

Rachel and I did buy ourselves some jewelry while we were exploring.

We found a wine bar in the back of one of the galleries and enjoyed some local red wine as we explored their courtyard patio. The people were very nice everywhere we went and there are dogs everywhere! You can see one here in the wine bar. As you can imagine, I missed my Merley bob. Luckily, V’s two dogs at the house made me feel better.

I probably broke a rule by taking this picture, but I wanted want it really bad. Who does this look like to you??? Maybe only long time readers will be able to name it, but this looks like my Lito as a baby! Thank you to Gregg Albracht for taking this stunning and inspirational photo! If I was made of more money, I would have purchased it to enjoy for the rest of my life. Gregg, if you’re feeling charitable, I would love this for Christmas!

The city has a strong Spanish Catholic history and there are Saint Francis statues everywhere. I even bought myself a little Saint Francis (and a Christmas ornament) at one of the consignment antique stores we went to. Do yourself a favor and see the chapels at night and go to the store called The Raven. You will wish you had a lot of money and a house to fill. This is a common problem for me.

On Friday, after a leisurely morning talking over coffee while it lightly snowed, we went and explored Meow Wolf. There is no photo evidence of this as it is meant to be experienced, but it was definitely an experience! An art installation experience. I was very impressed even though I was overstimulated and got a little claustrophobic. I would definitely recommend going, but maybe try and go when there might be less people? I am not sure how you accomplish this, but I think there were too many people there and it took away from the experience for me. Meow Wolf was started in Santa Fe by Santa Fe artists and there are now installations in Vegas, Denver, and Grapevine, Texas. There is one to open in Houston sometime in 2024.

V, L, and K had to retire early to go sit in the cafe while R and I continued on. When we felt we had explored enough, we met them in the cafe and sat for a little bit with coffee before we left to head to lunch. It was also snowing very large flurries at this point. None of it stuck, but it was a precursor for what was to come after we would be back in Texas.

We were able to get into La Choza for lunch and if you ever make it to Santa Fe, you MUST go here. The food is AMAZING. They have goofy hours and do not take reservations, but it is worth it. Go here.

On Saturday morning, we hit up the farmers market. This was my favorite part as you can likely imagine. When I went to France, my favorite day was when we went to the local farmers market. It is my scene and you guessed it, this is a must do!

I did wish we could have had a another day so I could have purchased some local foods to cook a fun meal, but alas, we did not. We will have to do this next time. About a third of the market is art and the rest is local produce and foods etc. I bought a few gifts here as well. The weather was really amazing as you can tell by these stunning blue skies.

I really loved all the wreaths made with the chilies and I almost bought some to bring home, but I did not want to have to carry them on the plane along with my other purchases.

After the farmers market, we grabbed a quick lunch before going to see the Loretto Chapel and the Plaza.

The Loretto Chapel is another must in Santa Fe. I am not going to share pictures of the inside because, to be honest, it felt kind of wrong to take them in the first place. Even still, I did get some very special ones to share with a friend who has a connection to the chapel. There are pictures on the internet to give you the feel, but you really should go and experience it in person. This is another one I would suggest trying to go to when there are less people. I am not sure when that would be though. I would have liked to sit and appreciate it more.

Do not hate on me, but to me the Plaza is a skip item for me. I was shopped out at this point and maybe I would feel differently at another time, but I just did not feel like it was worth it. I am also not a big shopper and especially not for big name labels. I would have rather done Canyon Road again. It looked like there was a nice place on the square with a patio to stop and sit and have a drink or a meal, but I was also very distracted and uncomfortable as a protest was going on.

After the Plaza, we went back to the house for a little rest before a very fun evening to come.

If this fits your budget and schedule, GO DO THIS.

I did not ask many questions when both V and K said this is quintessential Santa Fe. I knew I wanted to go.

The Flamenco Dinner Show was very special. Partly because it was all of us together, yes. But the food was amazing. The drinks were great. the flamenco, well, that was moving!

Drinks and a three course gourmet meal capped off by magical Santa Fe flamenco music and dancing. Now do not get me wrong, the food was fabulous and not to be missed, but this was all about the performance.

The musicians and dancers change I think from dinner to dinner according to V and K, but here is a little taste. I do not want to share too much video to take away from the experience, but I was very impressed and our whole group agreed.

I have not had very much exposure to flamenco previously. I knew it was passionate. What dancing and music and art is not? What I did not know though, was how varied flamenco dance can be. I very much enjoyed each of the ladies’ versions and feelings during their dances.

This show was more than just a few songs and some dancing. They all left their feelings out there on the stage. The performance began with each dancer dancing an introduction to a short song. Then each dancer got to tell a complete story on center stage. This is the part that really got me. I felt like I had a history lesson of flamenco in addition to a passion lesson! Each dancer’s style was as unique as their look. At this point, I thought that would be the end of the show, but there was more! The dancing was then in twos as each dancer danced with each of the others. The finale was the perfect ending of all three dancers dancing together. The audience was enthralled and completely captivated for the entire performance from start to finish and there was not an empty seat.

We were the last ones to leave the restaurant and we were sure to thank the performers on our way out. They thanked us for our attention and participation!

We were all exhausted at this point and were happy to get tucked into bed before our early departure back to Albuquerque. I myself was ready to get back to Texas and my animals.

I will be back to New Mexico one day. There is quite a bit to explore outside of Santa Fe and we all hope to have a reunion once V is finished with her house. And one day, Lito and I will go there to ride in the mountains. One day.

Walk in love, dear readers! Have you gotten your Christmas spirit on yet???

Happy Fall, Y’all!

On By AveryIn Life, Music, Uncategorized2 Comments

It is here. Finally.

It is finally fall.

I have to say, I think all of our wishing for summer to hurry up and get on out sure seemed to make it get up and go! This weekend we will have highs in the mid seventies and prayers for rain on the way there. Which, it is currently raining right now while I drink my imaginary cup of coffee. Why imaginary, you ask? Imaginary because I am just a good adult, and I am out of coffee. Well, technically, I am not out as I have a bag of coffee packed for next week, but I do not want to get into it, so I really am being a good adult. Just your average every day musings going on over here.

So, here we are, October, and there you are! If you can not tell, I am more than ready for it. If you know any Texans, I bet you already know this. I might freeze with lows in the low fifties.

Chance started growing his winter coat a couple of weeks ago, which is normal for him, and it was actually noticeably cooler on Sunday morning. My brain wanted to tell me it was even cold! It was not actually cold, we have still been having highs in the nineties and so humid, but the horses’ coats were the tiniest bit puffed up that morning and the nineties are on their way out.

The crazy thing is the timing of it all, but there is never any surprise there. I am just grateful for it. Lito and I will be headed to our annual ladies ride in the hill country for the week starting this weekend and through next week and we will be glad for the cooler temperatures, I grant you that. I think we might both be a bit fresh with it! I will have my lunge line at the ready just in case and his sheet. When temperatures drop while we travel, I always throw his sheet on for some extra comfort. It may just be for me, but it is just something I do along with giving probiotics and electrolytes every time we travel.

ANYWAY.

I have been jamming to this song and those like it these days. It will make for good driving music.

We are mostly ready to go! The trailer is mostly packed and I have most of my things ready to throw in a bag. I do have to pick up some things at the feed store after I drop my Merley Bob at the kennel tomorrow on my way out to the farm. Leaving Merle behind is one of the worst things about some travel.

I sure wish I had some real coffee right now to go with the pitter pat of the rain on the car port tin roof.

Well, it is way past time for me to get going for the day and I have lot to do before I head out tomorrow.

Have a great day, dear readers, and walk in love!

Trip Hangover.

On By AveryIn Horses, Life, Uncategorized10 Comments

I think trip hangovers just get worse with age, just like regular hangovers. Why can’t it be the opposite? Like wine and beauty?

This time, the trip hangover lasted about a good week and it felt like it took me almost a solid two weeks to get to feeling like my regular self and back in the groove, but truthfully I did/do not have time to wallow in a trip hangover even if it was obviously and absolutely worth it.

I have of course been back to riding my big boy, as per usual. He had a little two week break with my traveling which is good for him.

We ride all summer and all year, so periodic breaks are good for his mind and body. Besides the fact that I would do it anyway, riding through the summer is important around here unless you have your own covered arena…which I do not. Most people seem to take the heat of the summer (which has been about three months worth this year) off of riding in addition to winter, but you never know when in the winter or more desirable temperature months you will not be able to ride because of rain and mud. We really generally only have two seasons, summer and winter. The other two seasons kind of only pass through. Keeping a higher level of baseline fitness for them (AND you) is better and easier and SAFER to me than having to hurry up and get one legged up two different times of year in a hurry before it gets two cold/wet or too hot.

THE POINT IS (don’t worry, you did not miss anything), news flash, Lito is the best boy and acted like he did not even have a break.

Last weekend I was in Dallas for my niece/Goddaughter’s baptism.

We have been busy this year and it is not over yet! We still have a couple exciting things coming up.

Long time readers know we go on a big adventure every October and this year is no different. We will head to the hill country in about three weeks (actually, less than!) and the count down has begun in earnest. No rest for the weary, as they say, but hey, we can rest when we are in the nursing home, right?! We have good reason to hit the fitness grindstone. More riding equals a happy Avery and Lito, so it is no hardship to be sure.

Then in November, I will be headed to New Mexico for a long weekend with good friends to visit another good friend. You will hear more about this later.

The even more good news is that we have had a bit of a shift in the weather. Knock on wood, but I think we are finished with triple digit temperatures for the year. Hopefully. It was beginning to feel like it would never happen and we were going to be stuck in a perpetual August. That is really how it feels. Like it is never going to change, even though your brain knows better. We still have highs in the nineties, but we are trending in the fall direction. I can feel it.

AND, we got some rain. At least and inch and a half. I will pause here for you to do a happy dance on my behalf. Then I will do one for you, just give me a reason to! You can count on me, dear readers!

We still need quite a bit more rain for the grass, the pond, and to start to bring down the drought deficit, but we will take any we can get. Lito and I rode the pastures Monday morning after checking the cows and calves and I can see some grass growth and some greening up. There was still barely any standing water and there are still a few cracks in the ground, but again, we are trending in the right direction.

The rain and the ticking down of temperatures really put me in good spirits after Ireland. As if the trip of a lifetime was not enough! I treated myself to a pumpkin spice late while I did some grocery shopping AND I made pumpkin bread. Ya, you heard me. We are all in the ‘ber months and fall is HERE. Get with it and get ready! It is time for baking and the season!

Tell me, have you started to celebrate fall? Have you decorated yet? Pulled out your sweaters? Indulged in anything pumpkin? Baked anything???

Walk in love, dear readers!

Ireland, The Best Part.

On By AveryIn Horses, Life7 Comments

I know what you are probably thinking.

That we are not even half way through the trip story and this is the last installment. Also, why can’t you put a week long trip into one post?! Just pick the highlights and move on!

OK, fine, maybe you are not thinking that, but I am.

That is part of my point. How does one pick their favorite part of something like this? How do you accurately describe it?!

But who cares, let us get to the good stuff. Buckle up and have a whole pot ready.

Even if I feel like my pictures do not do the countryside justice, this is where the views really kick it up a notch. For me, this is true especially on Wednesday and Thursday. Not to discount Friday though, just wait till you see. This is also my favorite part of the trip because Wednesday and Thursday night we stayed in two different villages in B&Bs and hotels. Staying in any village means one very important thing: PUBS. Pubs mean sessions. MUSIC! We may have only had two nights, but we had to make them count. Thursday night really did not disappoint! We also raced to see the Cliffs of Moher up close and personal right before sundown, so there is that too!

So…

Here we are packed and ready on Wednesday morning, ready to throw our bags in the van and drive to the horses.

The field the horses were in for the night was somewhat split level. Naturally, they were all at the top. We looked at each other and started to climb the hill. I am not sure if these pictures really show the level of incline or size, but we were all winded by the time we got to the top.

The horses did seem to enjoy watching us climb the hill. They know what they are about. Just look at them.

Like I said, they know what they are about. After I grabbed Bulmers, I turned around and saw.

Only a horse such as Bulmers could add to a view like that.

It is like he has a sense of humor or something.

It is like a post card.

So this was one of my favorite days. The views were spectacular before we even started riding and we got to ride in some of the more open country off the roads with no power lines. It was really special to see after we climbed the hill the junction of the forest, the heather, and the green fields.

I am not sure if you can really see it, but where you can see the purple flowers is a little creek/drainage/riparian area. This farmer had it electric fenced off to prevent damage by the cows.

Electric fencing us used primarily everywhere we went in conjunction with the walls and hedges. Interestingly, we also saw quite a bit of barbed wire which was a surprise to me. Four pronged and most of it looking new.

Before this trip, I did not realize the nature of the hills here. I thought gentle rolling hills. While they do look like that maybe from a far or in pictures, the hills are quite steep.

Should I mention again how much I love the heather? No? OK.

The reward at the top of the hill!

This is my favorite moment of the trip. I think Bulmers quite liked it too.

I thought this is was a cool little shot at the top of the hill. While in the wild and free heather, you can see the dark green forest there with the old and new timber and the stark contrast of the soft, light green field.

This country side here to me you really can not capture in photographs.

One more for good measure because you can not get enough!

Some cute horses we met on the road.

A farmer baling haylage or silage.

After a long and great ride, the horses were loaded up in a lorry to take them across some more populated areas to their field for the night. We would meet them there the next morning on Thursday.

A big lorry for big horses. The nice driver Declan said to me, “You only have to say goodbye until tomorrow. Not long.” Did I have hearts in my eyes or what?

Our drive into town was interrupted by the diary cows by the looks of it going to be milked.

We were dropped at our B&B’s in Corofin (I think that is where we were, don’t judge me. We were moving a lot!) and basically ran to a pub. We only had so much time and we needed to make the most of it!

We found this charming place which looked to be the best around! Also almost the only around, but it was only Wednesday and the village was quite small.

I found it interesting the Coors was on draft everywhere. No, I did not have any, I stuck to Irish. I should have asked the bar tender what it is about Coors that is so popular. Alas, I will just have to go back.

I enjoyed my first ever glass of Guinness. It was worth the wait. I liked it a lot more than I though I would. I did not have three by the way. I had two. Not that anybody should be counting when on vacation in Ireland anyway. I also moved to Irish whiskey later…so…there.

Spot the pup in the pub! We moved to another pub called the Yellow Submarine where we would actually be having dinner. They opened up just for us. It was arranged again for us to have a three course dinner there. I had a salad which was good, but I should have gotten the veggie soup, it was really good. I had a ham and tomato toastie with chips (and vinegar!) for the main. Basically a grilled ham and cheese with tomatoes. They had a choice of apple or rhubarb pie for dessert. As a group we all decided to share so we could all taste both. They were both amazing (I need to learn some new words), but I think the rhubarb was particularly wonderful. The crust was perfect and one of the best I have ever had.

After dinner we went back to the first pub for music and drinks.

We walked back to the B&B and hit the hay to do it all again tomorrow! Our group was split into two B&B’s. I can not remember the name of the place we stayed at, but it was really nice. The rest of the group stayed at Lakefield Lodge which was reportedly also lovely.

The next morning our breakfast table was set very nice and we even had the treat of French press coffee. I am a sucker for French press! After a nice visit with the owner, we drove out to the field to meet the horses.

The morning started out stunning and blue, but got rather Irish and rainy pretty quickly!

There is only one other kind of rain that is more pretty. You guessed, Texas rain, especially after you have not had any for a while, but this sure is pretty! Especially with Bulmers’ ears in it. I finally brought along an extra hair tie, so he got a braid to last the day. I stuck some fern leaves in it to dress him up for the day and set out with the goal to build a bouquet in his braid through the day. You all know by know I am just a horse girl kid at heart. The adulting of the world has not beat it out of me yet.

We were riding through the Burren landscape this day through to the coast on Friday.

After riding for a while, we stopped to explore a cool Celtic ring fort!

I am sure you’re not surprised by now to know that I was clearly the photographer of the group. I do not like to generally share pictures of other people for protection and privacy reasons, but it is hard to see details in this picture for the landscape.

It was a very dynamic weather day. It rained enough to soak through my breaches, but the sun was still there to play.

Bulmers’ bouquet growing! One of the other horses kept trying to eat it! The horses there eat mostly everything around. From grass, to flowers, to hedges. There is not much they do not touch. Apparently there are no poisonous plants in Ireland. In Texas, we have not only poisonous plants, but sticky and pokey plants that practically jump out to bite you!

The peat is everywhere! I do not think we got to enjoy a peat fire once though.

It was fascinating to watch the landscape change as we trekked west.

Before we knew it, the sun full on with blue sky and we could see the blue Atlantic!

Like I said, colors. This was only a taste of what was to come tomorrow on our final day.

On this night we stayed in the village of Lisdoonvarna. We were again split between the Bellview B&B and the Rathbaun Hotel. Dinner and Breakfast for us all would be at the Rathbaun.

We did the same thing of drop and run to a pub. This is a cute village that has a bit more going on that where we were the previous night. We were also missing, by a day, the famous match making festival that happens annually here. It is apparently quite a ‘scene.’

We walked around for a few minutes to take it all in before heading to the pub in The Ritz for a drink.

We had dinner at our usual time of 7 at the hotel, another three course meal with many options to choose from. There was no lack of food for us! I had the veggie soup for my appetizer. For my main I had the traditional lamb stew. I wish I could have this all the time or at least taken the leftovers! Ice cream for dessert with some sort of chocolate fudge sauce was the perfect ending to the food portion of the meal. We had to get a move on from the table if we wanted to catch the Cliffs of Moher before sunset! We took our Irish coffees (not as good as the ones on the farm!) to-go as we hopped in the taxi van to head to the Cliffs.

When we arrived at the Cliffs, we decided to divide and conquer. Half of us went right, and half of us went left. I went with the left group. It was nice and quiet. No other people there and light winds.

We had the taxi driver John drop us at the best pub in town. He knew what he was about.

We started with four playing and singing and ended the night with six. It felt like all the stories you hear about what Irish pubs are like. This was obviously my favorite evening of the trip.

I went for the good stuff and had a good conversation with the bar tenderess.

I could have stayed there for hours. Just tucked into the corner with the stayers of our group. Listening to music and lilted conversation. Conversing with the locals and hearing stories. One day, I will be back for more horses, pubs, and people, but not everything lasts forever and we had one last full day of riding to rest up for!

Friday morning brought us another good meal at the hotel for breakfast before we made our way to the horses for one final time.

Another day and another adorned braid for Bulmers! His flower is what they call a butterfly bush. Beautiful color and an even better fragrance. I should have saved my butterfly shirt to wear on this day!

We stopped to explore this chapel ruin and grave yard. While I enjoyed being up close to it, it felt wrong when I was inside. Like I was invading someone’s privacy.

It was very beautify though.

And the horses really were a compliment to the scenery. Which I do not think will surprise anyone.

We also saw a lot of happy cows everywhere we went.

The clouds really cleared for us to show off the blue sky, green grass, and wildflowers when we started to climb some hills on our way to the coast. Yes, hills, plural. Two very large hills that by the end felt like mountains.

This was the first reward for the first climb. We dismounted and led the horses down a steep gravel road to have lunch in the valley.

After lunch, we then led the horses up another very steep hill with smooth, slick, old rocks. It does not show, but we did some serious hike climbing. At some point during our climb, I was doing quite a bit of thinking about my paddock boots. We were all pretty winded by the time we made it to the top.

BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!

This was at the very top and look at the flowers. I mean the picture does not show anything like what it looked like in person. Nicola the owner and one of the guides we had part of the week even exclaimed at the particularly special and unique beauty.

The Cliffs of Moher are there off in the distance.

For such a small island, it sure is big!

After a spectacular final day of riding, the horses were again loaded on the lorry and taken back to their starting field for a well deserved week of rest.

We had a long quiet drive back to the farm that evening.

I know for me, I was feeling very grateful. Grateful to be blessed with this trip and to experience a beautiful culture. Grateful for time with friends and the people we met. Grateful for the horse I got to ride and who took such good care of me and for being able to spend so many hours in the saddle. We rode a solid five and a half active days with almost half of it trotting and cantering.

I was also grateful to be heading back to a home a love and to be coming home to my own animals that I love.

This whole trip was an amazing experience. Every horse you ride has something to teach you and Bulmers was no different. As a lifelong and frequent rider, I would not consider myself to have low confidence or registerable fear. It is however a nature of the game to have some level of healthy fear. They are horses after all and even professionals have some level of fear and anxiety. All of that said, I found Bulmers a lovely confidence builder that I did not know I was needing. It was surprising to me. He reminded me to ride the horse you have. I was not even feeling scared, but before I even put a foot in the stirrup he almost grabbed my hand and said, “I got you, let’s go have some fun.” You can call me crazy, but long time readers know by now I am into the woo of life. That is where the carry descriptor for Bulmers came from. He carried me I felt like. He was so naturally uphill feeling when he moved, it felt very literal.

The whole week was a truly special experience.

I was sad to say goodbye to Bulmers, but I was also happy to be coming home to mine. I will carry Bulers and his feeling with me.

Dinner that night was late, but it was still festive. Sweet potato sliders for the appetizer, coconut chicken for the main, and brownies for dessert. Really good brownies! We had an after dinner champaign toast of thanks and gratitude with the owners and staff.

We stayed up late and packed late. We would have an early and long day on Saturday beginning with an 8 AM departure to make our way back to the airport.

Thankfully our travel was safe and event free. I got home in time to have a hot bath before jumping in bed. I think I was asleep by 11 PM and I slept all the way through to about 6:15 AM Sunday morning Texas time.

I was feeling pretty good! I figured I had escaped any jet lag.

That is what I get for thinking! It hit me hard by Sunday afternoon and the hangover lasted almost week! The good news was, I was at the farm by Sunday midday and would pick up my Merley Bob on Tuesday morning (thanks the Labor Day).

I hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride on my trip to Ireland! Thank you for letting me share this all with you. Sharing this with others is almost as good as going for me. Not everybody can go and do this for any number of reasons. Just another reason I feel grateful.

Walk in love, dear readers! Where should we go next?!

Ireland, Meeting Bulmers.

On By AveryIn Horses7 Comments

You can take the horse girl out of Texas, but you can not take the Texas out of her, even with a time change.

Between the general excitement of the trip, excitement over meeting my horse for the week, and being the Texan that I am (i.e. early riser to beat the heat and a morning person to boot with a deep seated need to be early on time), I was almost twiddling my thumbs waiting for breakfast, fully dressed and hopped up coffee. Breakfast was any of what you wanted of coffee, tea, orange juice, yogurt, cereal and granola, fruit, and a traditional Irish breakfast of fresh brown soda bread, bacon (ham), eggs, tomato, and mushroom. A few days we also had a choice of sausage, black pudding, and beans.

Breakfast was served at 8:30 and meeting/departure time was 9:30 I think every morning. It seems so long ago now that I am back home and recovered from major trip hangover. The trip hangover was great indeed.

The good news is, pretty much the whole group was ready to go and chomping at the bit before 9:30, so at least I was not alone! We apparently became known as that American group that is always early. I will take that. We were all waiting at the meeting point for the van to take us out to the field to meet the horses.

Most of us went out to help catch up the ones needed for the week. This cute bay was super sweet and really wanted to be called on. She followed us all the way up to the gate. I secretly wanted to ride her!

BUT, I was assigned to Bulmers! This handsome Gypsy Vanner gelding here. He was named after the Irish cider. Long story short, he was THE BEST. Just amazing. In my humble opinion, he was the best of all the horses that week. I think a couple of my friends would say that about the horses that they got to ride too.

Bulmers was kind, gentle, smart, and a nice mover. It was not work to ride him from walking to galloping. The carrying sort (not to be confused with a packer). He politely carried me along all week and I will say I was sad to say goodbye to him. Don’t tell my horses that! He was just a really good boy that knew he was loved and cared for and knew his job well. All the horses there did. It was really lovely to see. And they all get to live out like horses should. I really enjoyed speaking with Nicola, one of the owners (she was also one of our guides for part of the time) about the agriculture industry in Ireland and in particular horse keeping.

Bulmers greeted me every day with pricked ears and happy for a little loving. Not too much though! He did not fancy much cuddles! He humored me though and allowed me to pamper him as much as I could. And after I dismounted for the day, he was the same way.

As you can see, this first morning was a bit of a rainy one. After grooming them as best we could we had to scrape the water from their coats before saddling up and heading out. I really wanted to give Bulmers a good scrub and use all my grooming tools and products, but a curry comb and one brush would have to do.

Our first ‘between the ears’ shot of the week! Bulbers has very nice ears. He was having a little snack while we waited for everyone to mount up. Get ready for many BTE shots!

This first ride was just a half day ride to get to know the horses and for the guides to get to know us. On this half day ride, we were going to be riding from the field to the farm where the horses and ourselves would stay the night.

Our guide was named Luna and she was riding a Connemara/Appaloosa cross mare. Our group rode primarily Gypsys, but there was one Connemara and one Irish Draft cross as well.

This country/island is so verdant. It makes me wonder what it would look like if it was wild and without civilization. The places my brain goes to?! If you look up the road there at what Bulmers is looking at, you will see an escaped cow going for a stroll. She gave us all wide eyes like we were out of place when we passed her.

As wet as it is, and I think we were told that this is a particularly dry year, it is a bit of a wonder to me how agriculture works here. It just seems so different than how we do things. Every environment has its challenges though. I am sure they would wonder about us and the heat in Texas alone! It is amazing to me how we adapt to so many different climates and environments.

The visibility on this day was clearly very low, but the eye can see much more and better than any picture could.

There were a couple loose horses in this large field that wanted to play while we made our way up to the dolmen to have a closer look.

Just a mystified dolmen. No big deal.

The first of many peat bogs we rode past. Unfortunately, we did not see any of the actual cutting of the peat which would have been cool. Everywhere we rode smelled of either haylage/silage and peat.

As it started to clear a bit, you can really see the heather start to shine and the water of the Lough Derg/Shannon in the distance.

I was very fascinated with the timber here and the industry. We rode through so many big and beautiful trees. The size of them is a wonder to me given the top soil, winds, and how easily they fall.

It really turned out to be a beautiful day!

We arrived back at the farm around lunch time. We fed the horses their well deserved grain after untacking and Bulmers made sure I knew what was going on before we were even told just by the look on his face.

He was very grateful.

We all went inside and enjoyed a fireside lunch of fresh bread (fresh bread and butter was at every meal), cheese, salad, soup, and pound cake while the sun was shining and glittering outside. Everything seems to stay so wet that it glitters.

Naturally, after we ate, some of us had some more hanging and walking around the farm. It was made extra special by some of the horses, Bulmers included, being turned out right next to the house. The rest were in the arena by the barns.

He was a friendly dude!

My afternoon drink to try something new!

Cujo showing us this very big and old well.

It goes pretty far down there! I neglected to get a picture of the opposite fourth, far outside (where there is no rail), but under the growth is solid rock wall. I love ferns even more than I did before.

The start of what we named the fairy trail.

Of course we had to walk through! You tell me there are not fairies in there!

Are not those uprooted trees pretty spectacular!?

Dinner was another lovely three course meal, again by candlelight. We began with a smoked salmon puff (that I actually ate most of. I do not care for smoked salmon generally). I will be honest, I do not remember what was for the main. I know there were roasted potato wedges and veggies. This is not to say it was not good or forgettable. It absolutely was not, all the food was good. For dessert we had a fabulous blueberry cheesecake. I always laugh when people describe cheesecake of any kind as light. It is decidedly not light, but I suppose that is just my opinion. However, this particular cheesecake was light! It had a lovely crust that was the perfect thickness and texture and the filling was velvety smooth and felt very light! I think this was due to the use of yogurt to cut the cream cheese. It made me feel like a kid again eating blueberry yogurt (a large part of my kid diet), but in a grown up way. Hard to describe, but the point is, the cheesecake was amazing. I ate mine and part of somebody else’s. You only live once and you do not eat cheesecake in Ireland every day, OK?! We also had Irish coffee to finish everything off. This became a theme for the week. These were literally the best Irish coffees I have ever had. I think this was because of the coffee. I might have to order some online, but a quick amazon search is not looking overly promising.

They had this cool paining of the general ride route beginning in the Whitegate area by the Lough Derg of the river Shannon through the large and dense forests, stone wall lined fields, stunning Burren, and ending in Lisdoonvarna by the Cliffs of Moher and the Atlantic.

The adventure would really start the next morning and we were all ready. Five more whole days of riding!

Stay tuned for the next two installments of this epic riding adventure through western Ireland!

Walk in love, dear readers!

Ireland, The Arrival.

On By AveryIn Horses7 Comments

A place that goes by many names. Some you know, some you do not.

I am not going to go down the rabbit hole I almost just went down on all the names Ireland is or has been known by. That was a close one. We are all safe though.

I will however share a name by which it is now known to me.

‘The Place Where The Term, “Photos Do Not Do It Justice,” Was Coined.’

Good, no?! OK, fine, we will work on it, but here is why I think this. I think this is also where I might finally break WordPress’ photo capacity. Just blow it up. Wish us luck, I have many, many pictures. This whirlwind trip will be broken up into a few posts letters. The point is, dear readers, I was disappointed in most all of my photos! Now, I can anticipate y’all telling me I am full of IT. However, if you could have seen it all with your own eyes and felt it all with all your known and unknown feelings, you would feel the same. I would look at my pictures at the end of the day and just wonder what exactly it was I saw with my own eyes. It was more…everything! The pictures simply do not do the place any kind of justice.

My trip I suppose technically began two Thursdays ago. I was fully packed on Wednesday and my house was about one hundred percent clean by that point. I may have stayed up super late one night (like 1 AM), fueled by anticipation and super strong coffee to get there, but I got there! It felt amazing to only have to wake up Thursday and put clean sheets on my bed. I am not sure what feels more accomplished than that. I know, that sounds somewhat sad, but adulting is sad sometimes! It feels really good to come home to a spotless house. It also gives you a good reason to procrastinate on unpacking and laundry upon your return. Who would want to undo all that hard work!? Anyway, I digress…

Fortunately for both Merle and myself, we had a quick 12 hours at the farm scheduled after work on Thursday. He was really in a dither with the packing and energy and general change. I always feel guilty when the dogs get upset knowing you’re leaving and not wanting to be left behind. We had just enough time to let him have good run and for me to check on everyone in addition to getting a few things done before we had to leave Friday morning. I said a sad goodbye to my boy Merle at the kennel at mid morning on my way back home to grab a quick shower, throw my bag in the truck, and head to my friend’s house. I left my truck safely parked there and we hopped in a car to the airport.

I was feeling pretty good by this point, but I would still not feel like I was actually on vacation until we all arrived on the Emerald Isle WITH our bags. There have been a lot of airline travel mishaps recently as I am sure you have heard and it was definitely something that was causing me some slight worry. BUT, as they say, try not to worry for naught!

Getting through bag check and security was a blessed non event and we headed straight to find a mimosa and lunch! It is vacation and travel after all! Mimosas are the first call of duty on any trip and we had plenty of time before our 4:45 PM departure.

There are blessedly no airplane pictures for you, at least not for the flight over. If you have been around here a while, you might well have been expecting some of those. I did it both when I went to France and when I went to Hawaii! I feel it shares the whole experience. The truth is though, I always feel so silly taking pictures out the window of the wings or of the flight trajectory while in flight. Ha, normally it does not stop me, but this time it did. I was more restless while in the air than I normally am.

All that said, the travel went off just fine! We landed at 10:30 AM Ireland time and so did our bags. The fun could really begin now. We were picked up by one of the farm owners and we stopped at a shop in Bunratty on the way for a coffee and a snack. In retrospect, we should have also made a quick souvenir run through here as well, but we did not.

You already know the Ireland is very green. They call it the Emerald Isle for a very obvious reason. I was expecting it, but the stark difference to Texas at the present moment deep in a very brown and crispy drought was a bit shocking! I could also mention the starkness of the difference in temperatures, 100+ deg. F to 60 deg. F, but we do not need to go there. However, the flowers there! They are stunning. Flowers everywhere. Not just landscaped flowers, but wild ones as well! These beauties along with the hydrangeas literally everywhere were just lovely. I have never seen so many hydrangeas and of such size and so many colors. Funny thing is, I think I only have one hydrangea picture from the whole time and it is a bad one through the window of a bead and breakfast. Oh well, live for the moment! Anyway, like I was saying, the colors. All kinds and colors of wild grown flowers. The fuchsia bushes and hedges and the purple heather in the fields are just stunning against the green. It brings complimentary colors to a whole new level. It really makes me want to become a master gardener.

We only stopped for half an hour before making the rest of the drive to the farm which would be our home base for the next four nights.

Like I said, GREEN! Made also even more green by the lovely weather we had. We did have some rain too, do not you worry!

The drive was…I am not sure of the word to use here. Harrowing seems like it should be a bit strong, it is not like we did not know the whole opposite side of the car bit, but I think it just might be accurate! Put eight Texans in a van hip to hip and drive it on the left side of the narrow, non shouldered, not quite two lane road with fast oncoming traffic…not sure what else to call it. I think Bertie was laughing at all of our gasps. It was an experience!

We were all ready to get out and scretch our legs, at take a deep breath, by the time we arrived.

We were immediately greeted by the magical wonder and charm of the farm and the house, but the best part was being greeted by Sneachta, or Snow, the sweetest lab (and a good looking and behaved one too!).

Have a walk through the house with us!

So many things to see and experience here. So many nooks and crannies. So much history and magic. I bet I could come ten times and still see something new.

After arriving at the farm mid Saturday, we had the rest of the day to rest and be leisurely. We got a tour of the whole house and got settled in our rooms two by two. We had to have another toast after getting settled! I chose a Bulmers light Irish Cider. Little did I know I was toasting to my horse!

After grabbing our drinks, we went for a little walk around the farm. In addition to Snow the Lab, there was also a Border Collie, also named in Irish/Gaelic, but I can not remember her name. It sounded somewhat like snickers and nothing like Cujo, but we called her Cujo as she was a typical turbo intense BC. Very sweet though!

The house and barns were completely surrounded by a magical forest. A magical forest glade! I have no doubt that there were ferries in amongst the trees.

Cujo trying to tell us dense humans where we should go with her by luring us with her stick.

An Sibin is the name of the farm/riding center/outfitter. The name apparently means speak easy and/or/with homemade whiskey. We booked our trip through Stacey with Active Riding Trips and we had a lovely booking experience with them. We came for an eight day riding adventure from Whitegate to the west coast complete with six riding days. It was an adventure to be sure and we really covered some country!

Once we had our little walk around the farm with our drinks, we retreated to our rooms for a little nap. While I did not think I would be able to sleep, I am glad that I got a little bit of a nap as I could not sleep on the plane.

After our naps we all got a little restless and dinner was not until 7 PM. We had some time so most of us took another little walk down the road and hooked up with the walking trail before dinner.

Loyal snow stayed with us the whole way and back again.

We went a little ways down the trail before the ground got a bit soft and wet, so we turned around to stroll back for dinner.

We had a lovely candle lit three course dinner with wine of cuscus stuffed roasted tomatoes followed by succulent slices of pork with potatoes and veggies and a finale of apple and berry crumble topped with fresh, soft whipped cream.

I went to bed full of anticipation and dreams of meeting my horse for the week the next morning! This is what we came here for, to ride and see Ireland by horseback, between the ears.

The story continues! Come back soon for the next chapter!

Walk in love, dear readers!

Drowning In Sweat.

On By AveryIn Horses, Life, Music7 Comments

At first I typed ‘Drowning.’ Just…Drowning. So dramatic!

Have no fear, I am not DROWNING. Other than in sweat.

I have been drowning in sweat.

Happy 3rd August, Texas!

Do you remember that time I made a comment about it being ‘real’ hot when you have sweat in your eyelids? No? Well I do and I am here to tell you we somehow skipped that phase and went into full on deluge. This is very reminiscent of the awful summer of 2011.

Yes, I know the heat is old news (I am so tired of getting heat advisory warnings every day!), but I needed to set the scene for what I had got to do on Monday.

This is the end result and I am thankfully not sore:

Thankfully for all of us, there are no progress photos! Ain’t nobody wants to see that! The amount of sweat was surprising to me. I have never sweated that much in my life. It felt like a spigot had been turned on. I started a little after 6 AM and finished before 10. All still morning and in shade. I was not in any hurry other than to finish before my shade ran out. I took many hydration breaks.

84 bales of hay unloaded and crammed stacked into the feed room for winter feels like winning. Anybody who cares for livestock in the winter knows how great this feels. Even if you were completely soaked through with sweat when you were only half way finished. Exhausting work, but it is the most satisfying work at the same time. It is a joyful chore for such a blessing. An even bigger blessing given the drought situation. Hopefully I will not have to use any of this hay before December.

Actual footage of me when I turned around after the last bale was loaded in:

You know it really is dry and HOT when the weeds and trees even look hot.

Anyway, I feel like a kid on the last day before summer or winter break and it is not just because I finally got this important chore off the list.

Why, you ask? Oh, I dunno, because I get to do something exciting soon. Go somewhere exciting soon.

Way to bury the lead, huh?!

You will just have to wait and see!

Walk in love, dear readers! More to come!

E Hele Aloha.

On By AveryIn Horses, Uncategorized14 Comments

Aloha, Hawaii.

Or, ‘A Plenty More Huger Hawaiian Adventure.’

…Or, ‘That Time My Photos Almost Broke The Blog.’ This one is pretty apt as it has taken quite a bit of time to get all of these up and I was worried I was going to lose the draft from crashing! As in, it did crash at one point.

If you follow all the goings-ons on Instagram and Facebook, you probably saw (a little while ago now) some of the play by play action of our trip, but I did not show everything! It has been crazy busy over here ever since I got back…so here we are looking back at my amazing trip. Texas is currently doing crazy winter things down here and I am sitting here with my second cup of coffee trying to get warm after feeding, watering, and mucking. We had frozen in shards falling from the sky yesterday and it is still stuck to the ground, fences, and deck. I am not going to lie, I have been having flash backs to last year’s winter-pocalypse. Anyway, enough of that. Let us dream of a tropical paradise by horseback, shall we?

Here is the thing. I know I have shared this before, but life is about taking advantage of the opportunities that come your way. You have no way of knowing what will still be available or what will happen tomorrow, in a week, next year, or five years from now. I have been kicking myself ever since Cousin A and R moved back to the states from Germany. Lost opportunity!

I love to travel and want to do more of that and experience local life, food, drink, and music. I love to ride horses and I want to not only do more of that, but I want to do it everywhere I go.

So, when Aunt M said to me, “Hey, I am going to visit K and B and go whale watching, you should come,” I quickly found myself saying, “You know what, I really should. Let us do it.” That is how the ‘plenty more huger’ Hawaiian adventure was hatched.

You see, K and B live on Maui and have for many years. K and B are my Uncle K and Aunt B, Aunt M and my Pops‘ Brother and Sister in Law. I had been to Hawaii once before many years ago as a kid with my family to visit and I basically only remember bits and pieces. They have always been so generous in always having their home open to family and friends for a visit. They also have this very close friend, L, who has horses on the island. Over the last few years hearing about K and B’s niece that loves to ride horses, L has told them several times that if I ever make it out for a visit, she would take me riding. Now, people say that kind of stuff all the time. I won’t lie, I have found myself doing it too. People do not always mean it, but every time I would talk with K and B, they would tell me about L and her horses and how she will take me riding.

I got to thinking, how many times does not only the offer of a place to stay, but also the offer to ride have to be made and not taken advantage of for me to come out the dummy? No more times, that is the answer! Once I committed, I quickly went and sent L a Facebook message so we could get to planning.

That is basically the back story. I wanted to ride and, well, do all the things and Aunt M wanted to see whales and the volcano. So, we planned for all of that!

We will skip over the Covid frenzy part of traveling and move straight on to the fun. While it may appear that fun was had all the way from conception to the time we landed upon our return, I will not lie and say that I was still very concerned and reserved until the moment we were on the last leg of our journey from Honolulu to Maui. I was very worried about not being granted entrance to Hawaii because of Covid. Blessedly, all that worry was for not….what is that I have said many times before about worrying for not? Something about a bunch of wasted energy?! Yes, that.

Anyway, I worried for not and enjoyed a mimosa with my breakfast while Aunt M and I waited to board the plane departing Houston.

After we boarded the plane, we then turn ourselves around and deplaned to keep things interesting. They said there was some mechanical problem. There was also a large connecting flight from somewhere that was delayed. And, I suppose, there is also Covid. This gave me time for another mimosa back in the airport! We ended up getting a new plane and were finally on our way.

With all the ‘keeping things interesting’ in our flights, we ended up being quite delayed. I do not even remember when we were originally supposed to land, I think 4 PM, but we did not get to K and B’s house until close to midnight.

All was quickly forgotten with local takeout at home followed by the first sunrise, a hot cup of coffee on the deck, and the first ride of the trip later that morning.

So, ya, the first ride. Um. I had never met L in person. We became Facebook friends when I knew I was coming. We messaged some back and forth about scheduling and experience, etc. I met her that morning when B dropped me at the driveway of her house.

But. She took me riding at Peahi. Just, you know, to casually view Jaws from up on the cliff horseback. No. Big. Deal.

EPIC.

Epic does not even touch the experience. Pictures also do not do it justice.

I mean. “Welcome to Hawaii,” L said with a big smile. I mean, is that Hawaiian for, “Hold my beer?”

I rode a lovely bay paint mare named Dreamer and she seemed to have as much fun as me. I felt somewhat like a kid in a candy store. I had already had this idea that I want to build all my travel around riding, and this ride just pretty much cemented that. If you can not ride there, I am just not so sure I want to go there. Horses are pretty cool in that way though, they are entrenched in society and human history, they are almost everywhere!

The waves were up and the pictures just do not show it. We could literally see the little ant sized surfers on the crazy waves.

To say L and I got on well would be an understatement. We are just two crazy little horse girls on the inside. The age difference meant nothing. When M and K picked me up after riding, M said we were both just beaming and I am not one bit surprised.

Driving around after the ride, I was just so struck by how scenic and dynamic this place is. Both the landscape and the weather. I was fascinated.

The crazy thing is, many views made me think of Ireland. My next place to go is either Ireland or New Zealand.

We all cooked dinner together at the house a lot so we could enjoy the sunsets on the deck. One does not have to twist my arm to do and enjoy that.

The arc of the sun this time of year from the house is amazing as it rises and sets symmetrically over the mountain.

For the second ride, L wanted me to try her young horse Carino, which means sweetheart. A super cute four year old bay, polo bred gelding. We just had a relaxed time doing horse things. Grooming, talking, riding. It was off and on raining while we were playing and it did not matter. We were just enjoying being able to ride and enjoy each other and horses and the scenery. I swear, you can see the ocean from pretty much everywhere. I suppose logically, that is not really a surprise, but it was kind of a surprise to me. Or, maybe just more fascination.

We had picnic lunches on the beach with wine while the whales blew in the distance.

We went on a Humpback whale watch boat with the Pacific Whale Foundation. Stop now if you are looking for a picture of a whale and just go google it or something. While we did see many whales, we chose not to waste our watching trying to take pictures of them. The pictures are in my memory! In real life, most of the whale action was far enough away to just not be worth the shutter click. We just did not want to miss anything and take away from the experience by trying to catch it on the camera. It really was super exciting though. We were in the moment and all had fun. It was fun to see kids and adults alike act like kids, me included, the minute we saw a whale. And, goodness, the views. I did snap some pics of the view. That evening’s sunset was enjoyed on the boat surrounded by whales.

They do call it the rainbow state and I did see one little piece of a rainbow. Better than none!

On another ride L took me to ride with one of her friends at this sustainable farm. Again with the ocean view! We also saw a couple NeNe, the Hawaiian state bird. It is some level of endangered or was? They have one mate and breed for life. Anyway, it is apparently a big deal to see one. On this day we saw two! I rode Carino again and L said she wanted me to ride him the rest of my visit!

We went on a dinner cruise with Champaign and cocktails being serenaded by whales, you know, no big deal. The whales were literally right by the boat.

Uncle K and I hiked some of the crater together…and we saw A WHOLE FAMILY OF NENE. An adult breeding pair and two very small goslings. You can not really see the babies in the pictures, but trust me, they were there.

After the hike, we picked up Aunt M and enjoyed a wine flight tasting at the vineyard. Then L and I had another relaxed horse afternoon. It is just a jungle everywhere!

Another beautiful sunrise. Sitting on the deck watching the sun never got old. That will never change no matter where I am.

I am not really quite sure what I loved most about this trip. Well, obviously the riding, but our day trip to the big island to visit the volcano was pretty dang, um, epic. What other word is there? It was a bucket list item for Aunt M. We hopped on a commuter plane for a day trip. It was a long day, but boy it was something. We could see whales playing from the sky. We saw the steam and vents. We drove the crater and all the way to the coast through the old lava flows. We saw another breeding pair of NeNe! We watched the sunset and the reflection of the lava on the steam with cocktails and dinner. No big deal. The red glow in the darkness around the last of the sunset reminded me of a pit fire here in Texas.

I tried to take pictures of our flight back to Maui that night, but they did not turn out. The moon was almost full and you could see the waves on the shore of Maui as we were flying.

We went to a luau in Lahaina and watched the sun set there.

On our last ride, we rode the pineapple fields. I was being silly apparently and did not take an actual picture of said pineapples in the fields. Oops. I was distracted because it smelled like pineapples and of the view up ahead.

We went for a lovely dinner out on the water in Kihei. Afterwards, I went to the moonlit beach to stick my feet in the water. I went to bed with sand still on my toes. Judge me if you wish!

We watched the moon set and the sun rise on our last full day morning.

We went up the hill to enjoy the view and watch the parasailers and then went to the lavender farm.

We had a little hike to some waterfalls where the young and old alike were having grand times.

We had my new Aunt L over for our last sunset and her birthday dinner. I baked a pomegranate cheesecake to celebrate her birthday and as a little thank you for all of her generosity in taking me riding almost every day. We got to ride so much, I did not even take pictures every time. I do not think I could do anything to thank her enough.

A welcome back to stateside with the moon over San Francisco. It was a long ride back!

Mahalo.

E hele aloha e na makamaka heluhelu.

Walk in love, dear readers!

I am out of words and pictures for this trip. I think that is a blessing!

Say yes to the opportunities and adventures!

God’s Country Ride

On By AveryIn Dogs, Faith, Horses8 Comments

Where do I even begin. I truly am not even sure. The Monday blues were real and hardcore on the struggle bus yesterday.

Years 1, 2, and 3 were all so different and this year was, well, no different! It was indeed the best year in my estimation and I believe in several others’ as well.

I suppose starting at the beginning is the natural way of things. It just seems so long ago!

I was able to skip town pretty early on Friday. I already had my things packed and Merle with me at the office. All I had to do was drop him off (more on that later) and I was off scot-free! Well, as scot-free as one can be in Friday traffic, but hey, I was on my way!

There were only a few stops I needed to make on the way for necessary long road trip things. Shavings for Ronan and Lito in the trailer and breakfast kolaches (both sausage and fruit) to go and nacks (that is ‘snacks’ for all you people without a cute niece) for R and me.

R and Ro made it to the farm Friday evening with just enough time to get Ro settled and for us to get into town for a Mexican food dinner. We were both starving and decided loading all of my stuff could wait till the morning.

Morning came quick enough, as it does, and there was plenty left to do before we could leave, but we got it all done in not much time or having to rush too badly. After loading Ro and Lito and before pulling out, R warmed up the sausage kolaches while I turned the rest of the horses out.

Our farm cat, clearly a bit miffed that he was going to be missing out on the fun and the kolaches, decided he would take matters into his own paws by snagging and eating our fruit kolaches off of the truck dash. He clearly enjoyed them! After having a good laugh, the first of many, we were on the road by around 10 AM. 

Lito in his road gear. Am I ridiculous? Maybe, but I do not care.

The drive was going smoothly enough.

Long time horse people never actually think that thought though because it is just a matter of when something will happen, not a matter of if.

Is that not so subtle foreshadowing you read?

Spoiler alert, there were incidents.

This was the first incident. Blown tire.

Doesn’t that just look like a party?

There are several great things about this incident. Both the horses and us were just fine. We had all the things we needed to change the tire. AND, go figure this, a friend just up the road to help. We were on the road in very little time at all. By all accounts, this part really could not have gone any better.

That was the first part.

Once we got to the next town about 45 minutes down the road, we spent the next hour trying to find someone to check the rest of the tires and replace the blown one. After trying three places, we finally got the others checked and decided to get on down the road. We started the drive with two spare tires and knew we would have better luck replacing the one in a bigger town or come Monday morning.

Feeling pretty alright about our good fortune, but still someone shaken, we drove on.

I will spare you some of the details of what happens next, but we almost got in a bad wreck…Like slam on the breaks and horn and basically come to a stop on a major freeway bad. And feel the horses get smacked around in the trailer behind us bad. All because someone was not paying attention and was entering the freeway incorrectly! (Let us all make a pact to help educate people on driving the road with horse trailers, OK? Thanks). It could have been much, much worse. I do not want to focus on that.

The point is, we were and are still OK.

I have shown you this cross before.

I can tell you one thing, we were praising the Lord during and after this drive.

Us humans were pretty shaken by the day’s events and we have never been so happy to unload horses in our lives. Oh, and bless these two boys of ours. They unloaded calmly and seemed to comfort us and not the other way around! I think at that point we would have been happy to never leave that hilltop ranch. At the end of the day, the drive took about twice as long as it should have.

We put the horses in their pens to settle and went to settle ourselves. That later on included an evening stroll with the horses before dinner with some of the other early arrivals.

Lito wanted to make donkey friends, but they were not so inclined.

The Sunday sunrise the following morning was stunning as per usual. R and I climbed on top of the trailer with our coffee for a better view. This basically set up the rest of the day.

I stayed in my pajamas until 11 AM. This will likely not be a shock for you to learn, but I never do that. Ever. It was glorious. I probably had four cups of coffee too.

Lito and one of his many girlfriends, Jazzy.

The longhorn wanted to make friends too.

Later on, in real clothes, we went for a much needed ride.

I have shown you this cross before too!

We then watched the sunset before heading down the hill for dinner in town with friends.

At dinner, our great friend and hostess read that day’s devotional aloud.

Boy howdy, if that did not speak right to me, I do not know what does.

It was a great evening and we all awoke on Monday morning rested and ready to make it to our final destination for the main event! …Sans incidents!

However, R and I first needed to replace our blown tire which took some time. This was actually kind of nice because we got to have a nice breakfast in town while we waited. Once that chore was finished, we went back to the ranch, loaded up (again, I praise these boys that loaded very well despite how their last trip went!), and headed out!

I am happy to report that we made it without any problems and got our ponies all settled for the week of fun!

And fun we did have in a big way.

Fun. Fellowship. Sisterhood. All with our horses. I can not share too terribly much because it is all, you know, secret and stuff, but here is a little taste of what went on.

Just look at my cute boy. He looks happy, yes? He had this face on pretty much the whole week.

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We enjoyed a movie out on the lawn after dinner the first night, complete with popcorn and candy…under the full moon! It took me right back to childhood and camp. We watched The Man From Snowy River. Great movie if you have never seen it!

I had late night and early morning hangouts with my guy.

Lito striking a pose while looking for the strange animal that made a scary noise.

We rode the hills together.

Those are my friends R and H. And Lito’s friends Ronan and Chica.

We crossed a lot of water and we loved it.

We rode through the shady, idyllic groves.

We hung out in the river and watched the fish.

Lito took many naps. I did not. I did not sleep much all week!

We saw, experienced, and felt God’s creation from the back of God’s gift to us. It could not have been any better.

We caught the sunrise each morning and the sunset each evening.

I felt transported to a different place at times. Which was much needed.

I do believe my Lito had as good of a time as I did.

My horse. My Lito man. He was amazing and seemed to be very happy (even if he did get bored and frustrated when we were going too slow or stopping too much). He wanted to be friends with everyone. I could not be more proud of him. He is not the horse for everyone, but he is for me. We have our own thing.

I lost count of how many times I laughed until I cried with my fellowship and horsemanship sisters. My stomach and my eyes hurt! Y’all have no idea how much I needed that. How much we all needed and still need that.

We rode together. We prayed together. We laughed together. We cried together. That is what it is and was all about. That is what IT is all about. AHAmoment. They call the Hill Country God’s Country and it sure did feel that way!

Now I can not share any more about that! BUT. I do have one more thing for y’all.

Did you wonder about my Merle while we were away? Well, wonder no more. He was in excellent care. I had to board him because all of my people were busy or out of town. He did not seem to mind and clearly had fun! Does he look like he is practicing his face for Halloween, missing baby teeth and all?!

By the time we got back to the farm and unloaded, I wished R a good safe rest of her drive, took a much needed bath, and then took a two hour nap (another thing I do not do).

I still have not caught up on sleep! We are all happy to be safely home even though we were not quite sure we wanted the trip to be over. This week is major catch up and now I just want to go back!

Walk in love, dear readers! I sure missed y’all!