18 September 2004

I’ve promised to write about my recent trip to Washington but I haven’t felt like it. We’ll see if it comes up later in this post.

Tonight we’re going to the Hollywood Bowl to see a show, the season finale actually. We were given the tickets by a friend of mine so this performance will be really sweet. The tomorrow we go to the Los Angeles County Fair.

And I’m trying out a horse to buy. Simon, a chestnut, 9-year old Thoroughbred gelding arrived at the stable late Thursday afternoon. He was still a little wild-eyed when I stopped by to visit him and give him carrots so I just petted his velvety nose and left him until the following day. I rode him while my trainer watched. He has a very bouncy/springy trot which made me feel as though I was getting tossed out of the tack at the posting trot. Simon has a lot of go, especially compared to Goldie and Sophie who I’ve been riding since February. Normally with the two mares I expend a lot of energy trying to get them to go forward. With Simon, it is the opposite. He zips around the arena while I try to hold him back a little bit. My ride on him this morning went better. He seemed to relax and give to the bit more often. And it turned out that he was no speedier than three other horses in the arena. A little girl named Trinity was riding Goldie this morning. Those of us on bigger, fancier horses passed her several times as we trotted and cantered around the arena. Simon has a floaty canter, which is lovely to sit. I made a few mistakes going over jumps but nothing that can’t be fixed over time. I’d forgotten that Simon is a little green and made a sharp turn to a jump on him and nearly landed in the dirt. He stopped when I hauled back on him so I could reorganize myself in the saddle and stirrups. I also held him too long before a jump that resembles a stone wall. He decided that he needed a closer look at it so stopped. Fortunately I had him slowed quite a bit so that I didn’t go over his head when he stopped. The next time around he went over it as easy as pie.

Tomorrow I ride him again then we think about making decisions about purchasing him. I feel like we’ll get along great over time, after I learn to ride him better. Simon seems like an honest horse who wants to jump. He hasn’t tried to play any tricks on me or get away with anything. I’m sore from the amount of riding I’ve done this week. I’ve ridden every day except Monday and Wednesday. Since Simon is a different ride than I’m used to, my legs are sore in different places. And my feet go to sleep in the stirrups after a while. Anyone else have any trouble with that?

I still don’t really feel like posting about our trip to Washington but I’ll give the highlights:

The first two days we drove around with my dad to look at property. The weather was deliciously mixed with sunny and cool to rainy and windy. I’m not sure how many properties we looked at but one sticks out in our minds. I keep making plans for it even though I’m sure it’ll be sold before we have a chance to make an offer because we’re not moving until next summer. I simply must graduate before we move anywhere.

The B&B we stayed in for two nights was so peaceful. Especially the night it rained. We left the blinds open and listened to the rain patter. By morning the rain had stopped but a heavy dampness lingered in the air over the bay, which we could see from three of our windows.

One night we picked up oyster’s from Blau’s on Samish Island. My dad and I like oysters but his wife and my husband do not. So we bought halibut for them at the Snow Goose produce stand on Fir Island. We had a delicious barbeque of oysters, halibut, and corn on the cob. Dad and Dave put the Weber in a small shed, watched the rain and drank beer while I made salads. All the driving around beautiful country, standing in the warm windy rain near Deception Pass on Whidbey Island and watching the birds feed on a herring ball in front of a God Beam brought back so many wonderful memories of what I had left behind when I decided to see what was beyond Skagit, Whatcom, and Snohomish Counties. I’m glad I found out but I’m thrilled we’re making plans to move next summer.

For the next two days I ran around seeing friends I hadn’t seen in a decade, sometimes longer. We stayed at a B&B in the town of Snohomish, which is known for its antiques and historic district. If you click on this link, and scroll down to the picture on the bottom right, you’ll see our room, the Tower Room. The stairs in the picture lead to a tower that has a daybed and an antique writing desk that I must have!

We had a good time at my 20-year class reunion, which was down in Seattle even though we graduated from Mount Vernon High School. The committee had arranged for a cruise around Elliot Bay. It was really great to connect with those people again even though we have little in common with each other except four years of high school. Some I had more in common with because we went to elementary school together.

On Sunday we went to my aunt’s for a down home dinner of comfort food that featured oven roasted ribs, a cheesy potato casserole, green bean casserole, a green salad with canned shrimp and a creamy dressing ending with gravenstein apple pie. Just like the old days. It was hard to leave. Thank goodness I have horse shopping to provide a diversion, a new project for me so I can manage the next 9 1/2 months before we move.