On the road - good bye and eery feelings

Early start this morning, getting the boys (Remy, Boti, and Dunkirk) fed, turned out and ready for the 8 a.m. pick up by Jan and her second driver. 

I was a bit worried that Remy wouldn't want to board the bus, as he had that awful trip coming down to Florida. But he was a trooper, marching right up the ramp and settling into his box. He was the first to load. His BFF Boti has the box next to him, so that will be good for the boys. Estimated arrival should be sometime tomorrow afternoon. Whew! I will be so relieved when he is home. JP, apparently feels the same. He sent a text "can't wait for Remy to come home", prompting me to ask "what about me??" Guess the red carpet for me isn't cleaned yet ;-)

Remy on the bus to Michigan

And they are off!

After the boys were safely off I finished packing, cleaned my room and bathroom, made butter and cheese and PBJ sandwiches, and hit the road myself. It is pretty eery, the roads are almost empty. Rest areas are open, just for gas and rest rooms, though. No food, which is no big deal as I don't eat fast food anyway. I feel a bit guilty being on the road, with all the stay at home messages, but once I'm home I'll stay at home.

Currently I'm in Valdosta, Georgia. The usually bustling hotel has not many guests, just a few other snowbirds heading home. Tomorrow is the longest stretch, through Georgia and Tennessee to Lexington, Kentucky. From there I'll be crossing Ohio and then on to Michigan. I'll be so happy to see the "Welcome to Michigan" sign. 

Even though this season was a 'mixed bag' I am still very happy that we did it. We made great strides, especially in terms of throughness and collection (thank you, Roz!), and not being frozen stiff while riding definitely has a huge advantage. We were also fortunate in that Roz had found us a wonderful place to stay (Halvorsrod Farm), and as I spent a lot of time at the farm taking care of Remy I got to know Randy, the owner, better. What a great lady - and a kindred spirit. We had fun, and she 'kicked' some sense into me a few times when I was -in her opinion- to meek. (Could it be that I am getting mellow with age??). I'll miss her... and riding won't be the same without Claudio (one of her rescued cats) 'streaking' through the arena.

Randy Halvorsrod, expert in all things barn, transport, equine, and  especially feline