Road trip! Wooohooo! Left for Shawnee this morning with Pam and Cierra. We are using Pam's car, a Honda Element, as that will be far better on fuel than my truck. My horse Marie is staying at my friend Susie's house for the week I'll be gone which she is going to be very happy about as it's where the love of her life, Cody, lives. I was up early to take care of Marie. Hooked up the trailer, loaded Marie and headed to Susie's. It only took a few minutes to get Marie settled in and she was indeed very excited to be there. Since Susie is near the highway, Pam and Cierra picked me up there. After a bit of shuffling of items to get all of my stuff into Pam's car, we were on our way. Pam asked if we should set up the GPS but I told her I knew the route and we wouldn't need it until we got to Ohio and then it would help with getting us through the cities. When we got onto I-495, I settled in for the long stretch ahead as it has always felt like I-495 to I-290 goes on forever. It was a rainy day but the weather slowly improved as we drove south. The plan was to drive straight through to Illinois which is about a 24 hr. drive. But, with 3 drivers, we could do it. I've done it multiple times already. Pam was driving and we were chatting and enjoying each others company. After a while, I started watching the road signs and with a sinking feeling, I realized I did not recognize any of the town names on the signs. Another exit passed and I realized we had missed our exit. Actually, missed both of the exit's we could have taken. And not just by a few miles either!!! The plan had been to take I-290 through Worcester, MA. And missing that, we could have just taken I-90, the Mass Pike which is what we ultimately wanted anyway. We were nearly 40 miles past the exit for the Mass Pike!!! It boggled my mind that we had gone that far down I-495 THAT far so fast! I decided we must have driven into a time/space warp that spit us out in Taunton, MA! That's my story and I'm sticking too it! So much for being a good navigator. We pulled off to turn around and stopped for gas. When Pam started the car, the battery light came on. Worried that something might be wrong, she called her mechanic and he said that it was very likely either the alternator or a bad ground to the alternator. He called around and found what he thought would be a reputable auto repair shop to take the car to and have it checked out. We called the shop, Leonard's Auto Repair, and they said they could look at it right away so we took the car in. We were getting hungry at this point the people at Leonard's made a few suggestions within walking distance. Cierra's vote was for Mr. G's Hot Dog Connection. I spotted T.J.s Diner specializing in Portuguese, American and Cape Verdean food. Pam and Cierra agreed to T.J.s. The place was not quite as expected but I had a very good meal. Pam and Cierra ordered Spaghetti and said it was ok but the sauce was different then what they were used to. After eating, we walked back to the auto shop and sat to wait for the car be ready. They were very pleasant at the shop and thankfully had a very comfortable couch to sit on as we waited. It turned out that Pam had to have the alternator, serpentine belt and tensioner replaced. Yikes.
October 29th, 2016
We slept later than planned. Nearly to 9:00 am. I'm told my snoring was at a tolerable level during the night so didn't keep the other two up. The hotel did have a very nice free breakfast. And then were were off to go see Niagra Falls. I'm so glad we went. It was a decent day, though very windy. It was fun for me seeing it from the American side and Pam and Cierra very much enjoyed seeing it for the first time. We walked the paths and then went to the observation tower. Cierra and I spotted the walking path to the base of the American Falls and just had to walk it. Pam was the smart one and waited for us at the base of the tower. Cierra and I had so much fun but we did return absolutely dripping wet. Our shoes were also soaked and we had a bit of a hike back to the parking lot. Cierra wasn't wearing socks and her wet shoes were rubbing her feet. She stole her mom's socks and walked back to the car in those. Cierra and I had to do a quick change of clothes in the restrooms before getting back on the road. We would now be arriving at my home in Illinois very late, or rather very early now on Sunday morning but it was well worth the delay. The rest of the drive to Illinois went well with no notable events. We all took turns driving. Cierra drove through the first big city of Cleveland, OH. We got to my home in Illinois I believe around 2:00 AM Sunday. We just took what we absolutely needed from the car and went right to bed. Fred was up to greet us and it was soooooooo good to see him! My dog Bubba acted like he didn't know us but settled down quickly. It was good to be in my home, even if it was only going to be for a week.
October 30th, 2016
It was hot today. In the 80's and would be most of the week. The house was even hotter! The central air was not working and hadn't worked all summer Fred said. After sitting around and baking all morning, we decided to go to town to do some shopping. That way we could ride in the air conditioned car to the air conditioned store. Our first stop was for lunch at the restaurant at Double M Campground. Then we headed to High Knob but stopped at Delbert and Ruth's home on the way to say hello to Lily. Lily has put on weight and looks great! We stopped in the Office at High Knob camp to say hello to JoJo and to see if she knew if Wayne and Anna were at camp yet. They have very generously offered to let us use their mules this week to ride. Anthony's truck and trailer was at his camp but he was out riding so we missed seeing him. Wayne and Anna had not arrived yet so we drove up to Harrisburg and went to Kroger's. In the store we had a lively discussion on choices for what we wanted for dinners during the week. Poor Pam must have wanted to slap Cierra and I as were like a couple kids, "I want this," "No! I want this!" "But I don't like that..." We did eventually come to a compromise and get our shopping done. When we got back to the house, it was cooling down outside but was hotter yet inside. ACK! That is when Pam noticed there was hot air coming out of the vents! The heat was on! I told Fred if he didn't want us to stay he could just say so, he didn't have to roast us out. I made a few phone calls and arranged to have someone come out the next morning to look at the AC unit. Pam made spaghetti tonight. I loved her sauce! Fred was happy to have someone to cook. I was happy to do the dishes after we ate as long as I didn't have to cook. Fred got Cierra hooked on the TV series The Flash and it was hard to pry her away from the TV the rest of the week. I had intended to go back over to Delbert and Ruth's to clean stalls but never did make it. We were all still tired from the trip and were happy to hit the sack tonight.
October 31st, 2016
I was up around 7:30 and walked over to Delbert and Ruth's. Delbert said he fed around 8:00 and I got there just as he was giving grain. I gave Lily a big hello and once the horse and mules were taken care of, Ruth invited me in to sit and visit for a while. It was so good to see them both. Once back at the house, I got in touch with Wayne and it was decided that they would bring the mules over to High Knob today for us to ride tomorrow. So, we decided today would be a good day to do play tourist. We went to Cave-in-Rock state park to start. Being November and not tourist season, we had the place mostly to ourselves. From there we took the ferry over to Kentucky and drove around the Amish community and went into the many little shops at their homes and bought all kinds of goodies! We rode the ferry back to Illinois and headed to Elizabethtown and had dinner at the floating restaurant. On the way home we stopped at High Knob to visit with Wayne and Anna. We saw Susann and Ross Bird at their camp and we stopped to see if they were riding in the morning. Ross said he was taking a group out at 9:30 am and said we could join them. I was hoping that would work out as I don't know the trails all that well and didn't want to get us lost. Wayne and Anna were at their camp and we sat with them and visited for a while. I was not sure how we were going to get my mule and their mules in the same place for us to ride. Anna suggested that they just bring over another of their mules in the morning. They have a nice paint mule and Cierra is quite partial to paints. Once we got back to the house we settled down for the night and watched a few episodes of The Flash.
November 1st, 2016
We were up fairly early and were at High Knob around 8:30 am. Wayne and Anna had a bit of trouble catching their mule Patches so didn't get to High Knob until after 9:00 am. While waiting, I saw Pam and Charles McMichaels ride by. I called to them and they stopped and I went over to say hello. I didn't know they were in camp and I was so happy to see them. We helped Wayne and Anna as much as we could to get the mules ready to ride. I was riding Grace, Pam was riding Brandy. Grace and Brandy are 8 year old half sisters. Cierra was riding Patches. After getting tacked up and making all the necessary adjustment to stirrups and reins and such, we headed out. We were on our own so I was hoping I would remember enough of the trails to do a nice ride that would show off the rock formations but not be too much of a ride for Pam who has not ridden much for many years. I took the trail out to Buzzard's roost, then up over the top of Buzzard's roost. We highlined the mules at the top and walked out on the rocks to enjoy the view. There was one other rider there and we talked to him for a bit. I fell in love with Grace. And Brandy was being absolutely wonderful with Pam. Patch was great too but didn't have shoes on so was moving slower than Grace and Brandy. I took a different trail going back and got a bit lost, then came to a spot I did recognize as it was the spot Amy, Barbara and I had been lost at by Rice Hollow when we were there in April. So I knew which way I didn't want to go and headed in the opposite direction and managing to get us back to camp. We were out a little over 3 hrs. A bit more than I had planned but neither Pam or Cierra complained and it was a very nice ride. We took care of the mules. We were not sure if we were going to ride the next day or not. I told Wayne I'd let him know before it got too late. We had a late lunch when we got back to the house. Later, I finally went over to Delbert and Ruth's to clean the run in and picked the pasture around the barn that I'd been meaning to do the past couple days. Lily came up once to say hello and get a drink but then went back down to the pasture. I was walking down to the pasture when Delbert came home from work. Marie, Lily and Souri all came running by me bucking and being silly, so just as Delbert was driving up alongside where I was, I took off running and kicked up my heels. He stopped and asked me if everyone from Maine was this crazy. I assured him we were, that's why we are called Maniacs! It was dark by the time we got the animals fed so Ruth drove me back home in their ATV. Pam made Chicken..... something or other.... that was VERY good as well as green bean casserole. After supper I cleaned up and then we settled down for the night and watched a few episodes of The Flash.
November 2nd 2016
We were up early today as I'd gotten a message from Pam McMichaels last night inviting us to ride with them at 9:30 this morning. Ross Bird was taking a group out and I was really looking forward to not having to find my own way around. There was one glitch in the plan. Wayne and Anna had left their mules Grace and Brandy at High Knob but taken Patches home. So the trailer with all the tack was not at camp. Wayne had a PT appointment this morning. But he went to the trouble of bringing the trailer with tack to the camp before his appointment so we could ride out at 9:30 with the group. I'm not sure how I'll ever repay Wayne and Anna for all they did so we could ride while we are here. Wayne dropped the trailer and left. Cierra and I had no trouble getting the mules ready, they are good girls and we knew what tack to put on them from yesterday. We were ready to go on time. The group going out today was from FL, TX, AK, IL and us ME girls. It was a lovely day and a wonderful group to ride with. Mostly horse riders but there were a few mules in the group. There were 15 or so in the group and they wanted to ride the fun trails in and around all the rocks. Ross is an excellent guide and took us on the perfect ride. The trails were very challenging in some places. The horses did well but I was glad I was on a mule. We ran into bees near Sand Cave but they were spotted before anyone go into them and Ross took care of them. We stopped for lunch at Sand Cave. Then rode up Dead Horse Canyon. We all touched the horse skull that is nailed to a tree just before heading up the creek bed. The trail up out of the canyon is a bit scary and definitely an adrenaline rush. A few riders had gone around over the top of the canyon from Sand Cave. The rest of us decided to take on the tough trail and we all made it safe and sound. It was such a fun ride. We got back to camp before Wayne and Anna arrived. I contacted them to see if we should stay until they got there and they said no. We did want to see them again before we left so we asked if we could take them out to dinner Thursday night and they accepted the invitation. Though one dinner would not even begin to pay back their kindness. We had a quite evening relaxing at home. Pam, our wonderful cook, made another great meal, and I happily did the clean up and then we watched a couple episodes of The Flash before heading to bed.
Today was another tourist day. Our original plan was to go to McKinney's Western Store in Marion, IL and then take Wayne and Anna out to dinner. Then we realized that we had initially planned to do a slow cooker meal for this night and didn't want to waste the groceries we'd purchased. So, I contacted Wayne to see if he and Anna might want to come to the house for supper. Wayne said yes. I also wanted to take Pam over to see Garden of the Gods. By the time I got back from visiting Lily, and Pam had the slow cooker meal going and we'd cleaned the house a bit, we decided we didn't have time to go to McKinney's nor did we have money to spend anyway. And you can't go to McKinney's without spending money. So we had lunch at the house and then drove over to Garden of the Gods and had a fun afternoon there. Wayne contacted me to let me know that he would not be with Anna that evening for supper. His back was hurting. We were worried he might have overdone things getting the mules to camp for us to ride. He assured us that was not the case but we weren't entirely convinced and felt bad. I had Fred call Delbert and Ruth to invite them over for dinner and they accepted the invitation. We had such a nice evening. Delbert and Ruth had never met Anna but they knew a lot of people in common. And we all had our love of equines in common. After everyone had gone home and we'd cleaned up, we snuck in a few more episodes of The Flash before going to bed.
We didn't get up all that early as I wanted to see Fred before leaving. It was hard to leave him again but this will be the last time I am there to visit. Next time I go it will be to stay. Our drive home was uneventful overall but in a good way. No bad weather or delays. We stopped for the night in Ashtabula, OH and stayed at the Sleep Inn. The room had a noisy refrigerator but not loud enough to drown out my snoring from what I was told. The next day as we traveled near Lake Erie and were just getting tantalizing glimpses of it, we made a quick decision to drive down to the lake for a good look and got off at exit 60 in Barcelona, NY and went down onto Westlake public beach. Cierra had to put her feet into Lake Erie. So much like being on an ocean beach except the smell is all wrong. We did see a few small shells on the beach though. When we later stopped at a rest area, we found a twin to Pam's car. We arrived back in Maine safe and sound Sunday evening.
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