Home!

Home at last! I can't believe the long wait is over and that I don't have to go back to Maine this time. It worked out that the time for my final move came at the same time as the McAllister and Friends Shawnee Mule Ride. I knew Amy would like to go to the ride and offered to pay her way down and I would haul her mule along with my horse if she would haul the rest of my "stuff" here in her larger trailer. She agreed to this plan though she might have reconsidered if she knew how much work it would involve.

Tuesday, two days before we were to leave Maine, Amy brought her trailer to my parents house and did her usual expert job of backing it into the driveway. We first loaded my stall matts. Or at least as many as we could get to. We got the pile by my dads garage. Eight matts were being used in my horses instant garage shelter. We tried to get those but only managed to get one due to the snow and ice all around the shelter freezing the edges down. We then proceeded to load up my round pen panels that I was using to make a turnout for my horse in my parents back yard. It was so much fun trudging though the deep snow and having to get the panels apart and loose of the snow and ice. I don't know what I would have done without Amy's help. We got most of the panels into Amy's trailer. My 6' gate panel and one 10' panel with a 4' gate in it  would not fit in. Nor would one of my four 4' panels. And I had to leave behind 4 aluminum gates. I hated to leave any behind but it is what it is. Amy took my truck and trailer to her house. I had quite a bit more stuff to pack and get loaded before we headed out on Thursday. Tuesday night I came down sick. Wednesday morning I was down for the count and wondering if I would even be able to travel on Thursday. By Wednesday night I had rallied just enough to pack up the rest of my stuff though I didn't get it loaded into the trailer. There was another significant snow storm coming for Friday so sick or not, I was determined to leave on Thursday as planned. By Thursday morning I was well enough to function and had everything out on the walk ready to load when Amy arrived. She had found a friend to go with us so she would not have to drive home alone. Marie was more than happy to get on the trailer with Amy's mule Annabelle. We got everything loaded up and pulled out at about 9:45 AM. It was hard saying good-bye to mom and dad. I will miss them.

Overall, the trip was uneventful and that is a GOOD thing. My truck gave me no troubles. OH. I had found a place for the horses to stay the night. Shillelagh Farm in Madison, OH. We didn't pull in there until about 12:30 AM. We knew we'd be arriving late but were hoping not that late. We'd run into a but of rain and that had slowed us down. The farm owner was gracious about our late arrival and got Marie and Annabelle settled into stalls quickly. We then drove to a nearby hotel and crashed for what was left of our night. In the morning, we had a quick breakfast at McDonalds, picked up Marie and Annabelle and headed out. We drove though a little bit more rain. Then hit stopped traffic before Cincinnati that held us up for a while. Then we inched our way though Cincinnati due to construction. So, we arrived home later than planned but without any incidents. We went right to Delbert and Ruth's, my neighbor where I am keeping Lily first. Marie handled the long trip well and we got her and Annabelle settled in there and then went to my house and pretty much went straight to bed. I'd made it! I was home.