Today's rambling: Bow-legged Berry
Written on Saturday, May. 18, 2002 at 8:46 p.m.
while feeling a bit

I may never be able to walk properly again.

Today, Laura, her parents and I drove 3 hours to this really lovely place that didn't look a thing like stereotypical Arizona (y'know, deserts, cactus, etc.). There were trees--a forest of them, in fact!--and streams and things...ahhhh, it was 'wunnerful', as Lawrence Welk might've said, hehe...

Lola and I went horseback riding. I haven't gotten to ride a horse in many a year, so I was quite excited about it. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a pair of jeans along...and my legs were a little chafed as a result. Nothing major, though.

The pain in my leg and rear muscles, however, is something else entirely. Our trail guide was interested in making this trek in exactly the one hour that was alotted...so she kept telling Laura to hurry her horse up (which then made MY horse speed into a trot). Both of us would have preferred to let our horses walk, so we could enjoy the scenery. I found myself wishing I remembered how to post (at least, I think that's what it's called? Probably not...feel free to correct me), because my bum repeatedly hitting the saddle left quite a bit of pain afterward.

Halfway through the ride, my horse decided to become obstinate and grumpy. He stopped several times in an effort to munch on grass (each time, the trail leader shouted out, "Don't let him eat! Pull his head up!"), and after awhile he wouldn't even respond to my efforts to speed him up. I think I was too nice. Not that I should've pounded my heels into his sides or anything, but maybe I should've been a little more forceful.

Isn't that sad, when even animals take advantage of your passivity?

The next time I visit, I have to somehow get up to the Grand Canyon. Don't get me wrong; I've really enjoyed my stay here! And I'm not complaining at all, but c'mon...it's the Grand Canyon! *falls over giggling* I'm such a dork.

And speaking of dorky, here's the ultimate in Dorkdom: I've announced that I want to have a picture taken of myself standing in front of a Safeway. It's purely out of amusement, because I can't wait to show the photo to my friends at work and watch their faces...but still, when one goes on vacation, they don't typically want to get photos of themselves in front of grocery stores, do they?

I never claimed to be normal, though.

Eesh...we didn't even do anything particularly strenuous today (even when trail-riding, the horses were doing all the work), yet I feel exhausted! I fell asleep on the way home, my mouth opened in quite an unattractive fashion ("catching flies", as my parents say), and even now I'm feeling drowsy! Maybe it was all that sun and fresh air, ha ha...

I did get a little pink on my face. That ought to make Mom happy; every time I talk to her on the phone, she asks me if I've gotten tanned. I have the feeling that I'll probably go back looking just as pale as I did when I got here. *chuckles*

Anyway, that about does it for me. I've started rereading Aurian, and I'm addicted to the story all over again! If you like fantasy stories and you've never read this series, I definitely recommend it. Maybe I'll go back to reading that now...