[Song not mine]

So for the past few days I've been busy, having fun.
And all of my friends are busy, so I'll tell y'all about it.

I hope you guys enjoy and feel like you can live through this, if that makes sense. So to all of you wanted a vacation, maybe this will help, or maybe it'll make you upset because you can't right now. Who knows 🤷

~~~~~

So it started with me wanting to go horse riding at a certain place, but it's two hours away from where I live. But I managed to persuade family to take me there. We decided to stay in a hotel and it's a nicer one.

I went horse riding on Monday and Wednesday. Luckily I had enough energy and wasn't sore so I got to go twice! But it was expensive 🥲

Anyways,
I've been having fun, some trouble sleeping, good food, I've been crazing alone time but it's hard to get alone time in a hotel room.

Btw something that's bugging me is my phone storage is basically full..... ahhhshahhahsh!!! 😡😤😫😭
I hate having to go through, organize and delete stuff.

Let's start with the hotel, it's supposed to be a nicer hotel but I'm honestly disappointed.
Firstly, they have a indoor pool...but it's closed. 😐
The first day I missed breakfast, I got up for it today but it wasn't as exciting as I hoped.

Hotel breakfast and the pool is the best part. 😫

It has the basics in most hotel rooms, some places need more cleaning. The couch and bed is uncomfortable like usual. But the pillows are really big and fluffy.

Something I do to make myself more comfortable is bring my own blankets and pillows.
I have a big soft blanket I love and some smaller ones. Some small pillows I hold in my sleep and my big pillow that I love, it's one of those never go flat ones. (It's lived up to its name)

The mini fridge isn't very cold and there's no freezer.
There's a desk and chair I really like. And there's actually two TV's. One by the beds and one by the couch.

But there's only 4 visible outlets. 3 are near the couch, not the bed and the other is in the bathroom.

Like I said earlier, I had trouble sleeping. New place, new bed, hot room, excitement, eta.

But the best part is the bathroom. Our bathroom at home isn't very good, I love the house but the bathrooms are old and small and really need to be cleaned up.

Anyways, the bathroom at this hotel is nice.
The bath is big and the shower head is high up, with adjustable water pressure setting thing. They have nice big bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash. They have a citrus scent, that I don't care for. But the body wash smells like fruity pebbles 😋

The sink and counter is nice and clean. (At least to the eye. I don't trust hotels anymore since all those stories 😳)

The bad parts of it, rough towels, thin cheap toilet paper, no hairdryer. (I think maybe the maids forgot? Maybe. We didn't bother asking. I didn't want people near my stuff and I just didn't ask.)

Now on to the fun part!

✨~Horse riding!~✨

For those that don't know, I love horses, always have, always will.
If you do, that's great, if not, that's not my problem.

So I'm not naming the hotel or horse place I went.
It's a trail riding place, it's my second favorite that I've been two. I'm all time favorite so far is in Virginia. (The mountains are fun)

Anyways, I've been to this place I think 3 times before, but it's been awhile. Again because it's far and they raised the prices.
But farms and animals are expensive so I understand. They also upgraded their facilities.

I think the first time I went here was in 2019, so I've only known and gone to this place since then.
(Feels like a life time ago)
[Also if your curious to my pervious times here, I might write about those too]

We got there earlier than excepted, we had to get up early on Monday, get ready and pack then went right to the place then to the hotel later.

Your supposed to be there a hour ahead of time but I can't hold myself back so I was there 2 hours before the scheduled time. But they didn't mind and I wanted to be there as long as possible.

I was hoping to see the owner again but they were there that day or at least not at that time. But my qu'iode that day was their sister! So it was nice to met by them.
And there was another woman being trained there.

I didn't pay for a private ride but ended up being the only rider that morning or even the whole day. So that was cool. It's a lot nicer and easier.

Because I got there early I got to help out, which I really wanted to. She said "Can I put you to work" and I said "Yes!"

It wasn't anything hard to do. I got to lead the horse I was going to ride and brush him.

Btw there was some puppies there, very cute, I know I can't get one. To be honest I rather have a older animal than a puppy or kitten.
It was a hot day so I was worried about the puppies over heating. But they seem alright, healthy and have food and water.

The horses name is Zorro! A beautiful Spanish name meaning fox 🦊
He's a dark bay color and I think he might be part draft. Since he was a bit bigger than most horses I'm used to.

(It won't let me add a photo ☹️)

He was very sweet, liked to push objects if left near him. (Very curious and pushed things off a shelf like a cat, very cute)
Getting to lead and brush him made me happy, he wasn't very dirty and very soft.

The other two horses being ridden were named Eeyore and Tommy.

The guide grabbed some saddles that would fit the horses and the riders. (They are fitted to each, it's important) Then grabbed the bridles.
The tack room was big and so much tack! Beautiful!

There was also two cats walking around, very sweet and liked being pet. A white cat and a black & white cat.

So I got on Zorro, it's been while since I've been on a horse and he's one of the biggest horses I've been on. So it was surprising and kinda of scary at first to be up there.

But he was a good boy and a hungry boi.

His reins were very long, like 8 foot or something. Lots of slack to give.

Headed to the trails!
It's on rolling hills so it's more interesting than flat land.
Being on Zorro made the hills seem bigger though.
He liked to stop and eat constantly, so I had to keep him moving.

The guide was riding on Eeyore and for some reason that day he was nervous on the beginning on the trail. There wasn't anything he should be spooking at but he didn't want to go.
And there was also a miniature horse there that he was looking at.
Kind of cute and fluffy, but they sadly don't live long 🙁

Through the ride Eeyore calmed down but was still the most nervous on the trail of the three horses.

We went up and down the hills, through small creeks, (barely an inch of water) there was a small tree that fell over the trail but it was easy for the horses to step over it.

We took 2-3 short stops for the horses to eat some greens and humans to drink water.

(It was a hot day, 80-90F)

At one point in the trail the horses stopped and looked over at something. Eeyore was in the lead and seemed on edge so I guess that's why he saw it first.

What was it, you ask?...

It was a deer! It was just laying at the bottom of a tree, just watching us. They said the deers are used to the horses and riders, so they don't run off.

For some reason my right foot was going kind of numb, it's most likely from bad posture. So that's something I need to work on.
(I just don't get to ride often. I'm thankful for every minute with a horse 💚)

There was a part of the trail that went up and was clear enough to trot up, they asked if I was comfortable going faster. But that day I didn't feel up to it.
I have trotted in a horse before, but it depends on the horse, saddle and how I feel.

Like I said, Zorro was great but he made the trails look steeper so that was kind of scary. Also if he was busy eating and got left behind from the other horses then he would speed up. It only happened once I think, but it was unexpected.

So the guide said that it was fine to just walk, it's easier to go uphill with more speed, but they made sure to make me feel comfortable as a customer. Especially since I was the only rider there, they could pay more attention to me than 15 riders.

(I'm used to them being busy and having a month wait time, that was during Covid. But now it's more relaxed.)

I always like to take some photos and videos because it's nice to look back on them. So I got a handful of them.

We got back and got off. I pet Zorro for being a good boy and I gave them all some carrots.

It was a great day.
We went to the hotel and put our stuff up then decided to get some food. I thought Olive Garden sounded nice, so we went there.

Honestly, the breadsticks aren't that good... 🫢🫤

I was very hungry after that ride and tired, ready to lay down. Luckily I wasn't sore so I felt up to go riding again and do stuff. 😊

Had some trouble sleeping, but didn't have to wake up early. Because I was going riding Monday and Wednesday that meant we had nothing to do on Tuesday.

///

So Tuesday we didn't know what to do. We missed breakfast but went to the store the day before, getting some snacks.

We went to Olive Garden again, just for something to do.

There were lots of stores in the shopping center but one caught my eye, Barns and Nobles.

So I wanted to get a certain book and maybe find another interesting one.

I wanted the book "The Hatchet" it's also a book I read in school and it's similar to Touching Spirit Bear.

I ended up getting more stuff and spending just over $100... oops 🫣😅

Here's what I got:
Book- The Hatcket
This is not a book (prompt book by Keri Smith, also made Wreck This Journal)
Two Schleich horse, model toys
Three movies, Game Plan, Secretariat, Diary of a Wimpy Kid (3 in 1)
A magnet that says "Cheaper than therapy" with drawing of two chairs in deck, facing water and mountains.
Three lip balm that are shaped like cats. (Chapstick never helps, it usually worsens chapped lips. But I couldn't resist the cute cat design)
Oh and a fidget popsocket (But I already have a new one on my phone, my old one broke.)

///

Wednesday-
Going riding again!

So I got up ate some snacks and drove over there. It was cooler that day.
I got a new guide, and there were two other workers there.

Oh and there have been trucks and machines going around making noise, since their building stuff on the farm. The horses were used to the sounds and didn't freak out.

Zorro and Eeyore were there again and another horse, Zina, who is a younger inexperienced horse.

The guide said that there was a 2 hour ride later so they would be going on another ride ghat day.

I really liked this guide, we got along very well. She had racked up Eeyore for me to ride but she did ask if I wanted to ride Zorro. I said I was fine riding Eeyore, but I was a little worried since he was nervous on Monday.

Zorro and Eeyore are about the same height, but Eeyore felt smaller and more comfortable for me.
Apparently he's a Tennessee walker, so that's cool. I didn't even realize until the guide told me.
He also has a interesting coat.

They use a hackamore on him, which is a type of bitless bridle, but it can hurt a horse if your not careful.

So off to the trails!
Eeyore was calm and gentle on the start of the trail, so I relaxed and enjoyed it.

Me and the guide talked together, we got along well and I hope I get to met her again at some point.
Eeyore liked to take snack breaks, but not as often as Zorro.

We rode on a different trail, going into more open areas, near the pastures, seeing the other horses.

Eeyore did speed up for a few seconds, every now and then. So I was usually caught off guard, but I stayed on!

About half way through the trail is when something interesting happened.

So Zina the younger horse was in front, me and the guide were talking, going past more pastures.
But then Eeyore saw something and spooked.

He turned around and tried to run off, but I quickly stopped him and turned him back the right way.
I really didn't want him to run off with me on him.

He was very worried and scared looking at something, he went off the trail, going a half circle thing, trotting around to get away.

What did he see?

A sheep... there was a random sheep by a tree in one of the pastures. He saw it before me and probably smelled it too. But it surprised him 
and freaked him out.

I'm very proud of myself for staying on and being in control of him/ the situation. Even the guide was impressed. So that made me feel very happy and accomplished.

We continued on, he was nervous on the trail and sometimes sped up, but I enjoyed the ride.

(Also on both rides my right foot started going numb. Probably bad posture, so I have to work on that.)

Then we went on a dirt road through the trees, some machines were close by working. And there was two guys in a pasture trying to catch a horse.
The two horses were running around and that made Eeyore want to speed up.

There was one steeper hill we went up, trotting because it's easier, and I was comfortable with that. But when Eeyore sped up out of nowhere or went fast downhill, that's when I was surprised and had trouble staying in the saddle.

It's just something I need to work on.

Once we got back, the horses ate some of the grass on the way, I got some pictures then got off.
The guide gave me treats to feed the horses and there were 3 other horses there, one was a mare and her boyfriend that was a beautiful, big, grey draft horse.

Then remember that horse in the pasture they were trying to catch?

One of the guys working there was actually going to buy him! 😊

Also my guide got her horse from here as well. She showed me a picture and her horses is beautiful. It was a chestnut paint, quarter horse, with cool markings and only one eye, that was also blue.

The puppies were still there, in a little pen in the grass. Very cute.
The black & white cat was there, very sweet, tiny, and I held it. It was like a little bunny. 🐰🐱🐇🐈

It was great, I said my goodbyes to the guides and horses, then it was time to go.

—

We stopped at a gas station, I got a coke slushee, which I love! They had some freeze dried candies, so I got a freeze dried Neapolitan ice cream sandwich. A bubble tea, because it was so cute. (Even though I probably won't like it)
And a adorable little purple/white cow plushy.

It was our last vacation day, so we went to Chilli's then back to the hotel.
I was very hungry and tired.

Riding horses, being around people, being at a hotel... all of that tired me out.
So I didn't something I rarely do, I took a nap.

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Thursday we packed up and left. I got another coke slushee, went to Chilli's and then to Kohls.

🍃

Now I'm writing this, at home 🏡

It was a fun little mini vacation/ spring break thing.
I wish I could go up there more often.

I hope you guys enjoyed this!
Thanks for reading!📖🫶🏻