What I did on Summer Vacation, part 2

Ok, so after all the "boring" historical stuff, as Avery would say, we went on to the fun stuff. We did a tour of the Natural Bridge Caverns, horseback riding and a Louisiana Swamp Tour.  Here come the highlights.

Edward had planned the itinerary for the week.  I had only two requests. Avery and I wanted to go horseback riding.  And I wanted to eat Thai.

I arranged for us to go trail riding in the hills outside San Antonio at a place called Strickler's Trail Rides.  The guys were going to go to the movies while Avery and I rode.  As it turned out Cullen went with us and Edward and Connor went to the country club and had apple pie and ice cream. Connor thinks he got the better end of the deal. We rode for an hour and the kids did great controlling their horses. The kid's had a great time grooming the horses before our ride.  I think its every little girls dream to brush a horse.
When I was a younger kid I hung out at a local farm helping with the horses a bit. And when I was in high school I took care of a horse at a friend's barn.  I remember actually riding with a group of girls int he pitch black one night. We galloped across field without being able to see where the heck we were going. Really, just stupid. I was scared to death when we did it and still can not believe I survived that.

Avery on Mouse

I also use to vacation in the summer with a family on Nantucket.  I took care of their 5 children. They were horse people too. So every fall we would do foliage rides in Vermont. Those were spectacular. I learned to ride English riding with them.  I was more in tune with riding Western myself.

But anyway, it all came back to me... currying and brushing so that when you put the saddle on the horse there is nothing in the horse coat or mane that is irritating them.  An irritation under the saddle might cause a horse to reject the riders, meaning a nice dirt bath. 

We took a nice trail ride through the hills. Texas topography is so different from Mississippi.  It is true that everything is bigger in TX. The house we could see as we rode were amazing. And it seems everyone has huge gates and fences to keep their property private.

Cullen on Anna

The last 15 minutes of the ride were when all the muscles in my butt and thighs started protesting.  I have ridden long distances so I know that pain your legs can be in after.  I was certain I was going to do a face plant after getting off the horse.  My knees were in such pain.  But I did manage to keep upright.

The kids and I made some great memories. I was really proud of the way they handles themselves.  They asked intelligent questions and carried on a nice conversation with our guide.

Next up... Natural Bridge Cavern!