July 7 through 9, 2012 - Back to Colorado

The 7th was the day we finally had to leave. We didn’t bother getting up early or anything, since the drive was long enough it wouldn't really matter when exactly we got started. We did part of the needed horse care for the day, and said goodbye to the herd.

The boys.

Aladdin and Jupiter.

The girls.

Kat and Bebe.

Me, Kat, and Larenta.*

Kat headed into town with us so we could enjoy a last air-conditioned break at Starbucks to steal some internet, and then we headed out.

This sign made us laugh every time we passed it. First, I’m from Lakewood, but there is no Lakewood in Maryland.
And second, it’s the Lakewood Church of Cod.

“For Cod so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Sunfish…”

Which ALSO reminds me that we heard no Lon Solomon commercials this time while we were there. He broadcasts these religious commercials about how you need to convert or burn in hell, and always ends with “Not a sermon. Just a thought.” Last time we decided it should really be “Not a salmon. Just a trout.”

Hardly starting off, and Cy is already sure he's suffering.

Look, mountains!

I wanted to find a "Welcome to Maryland" sign,
but instead settled for the welcome mat in the visitor's center.

Maryland flag.

Roses from their garden.

Picture of me. We were trying to get the flags to cooperate, but they didn't want to.

Lovely lily.

It was rather warm. (That is 108... the display is a little broken.)

Rocky Gap. It's... a rocky gap.

West Virginia.
(A friend told me I should have gotten pictures of the ridiculous signs you see  alongside the road...
I agree, but sadly mostly just got state signs, so you can see our route. Next time!)

Pennsylvania.

Taylor is my sister. She has a town, apparently! (We were for some reason sent off the highway here.)

Nice clouds.

Ohio.

Blurry Indiana.

I fell asleep before we crossed over into Illinois. We slept overnight in a rest stop,
and I looked around for some kind of Illinois sign, and this was the closest they had.

I think their dog looks kind of like a monkey with floppy ears.

While in Illinois, we visited Cohokia. I have a BA in anthropology, and Cohokia is one of the most fascinating sites in North America (in my opinion.) But I’d never been there, and we noticed the sign for it on our way out to Maryland. On the way back to Colorado, Alex asked if I’d like to stop there, and see it. It gets its own post, though!

Gateway Arch.

Bridge.

Welcome to Missouri.

The arch, again.

St. Louis had a lot of abandoned buildings along the road.

Sunset.

Clouds.

Blimp!

I also slept through the Kansas border. But these are the glowing lights on
windfarm turbines in KS. They're watching us!

And welcome back to Colorful Colorado.

The trip was long and exhausting, and it was sad to come back, since neither of us really wanted to. Oh well; vacations are never long enough.

*This picture is from Alex's camera.

July 6, 2012 - Last Day in Maryland

The 6th was the last full day that we were able to spend in Maryland. It was pretty sad for that reason, but we just couldn’t afford to stay any longer, unfortunately. The friends we were staying with went out of town for a few days, while we could be there to take care of the horses and other critters. (They had someone else come after we left.)

Orion has claimed this fan for his own.

Jupiter running toward us.

Aladdin

Jupiter.

The above are of Aladdin and Jupiter. Aladdin is blind, from some still-unknown illness he had. Jupiter is a mini horse that wears a bell, so Aladdin has some company.

Butterfly!

The true "front" of the house.

Fluffy caterpillar!

He was so cute.

This is Hyperion, one of the other stallions:

It really sucks that there are so many flies around, because otherwise, this would be an awesome picture of him.

Naughty horse, trying to knock over his water tub.

Hyperion loves getting scratched.

Itchy horse.

Some of the other boys coming over to visit.

We went back inside after watering everyone and feeding of some of the boys (we decided to stagger the feedings somewhat.) And we found our mantis friend from a few days before! This time we decided to take him back outside, before he became a kitty snack.

On my arm.

On my camera. *

On my hand. *

Where we eventually let him go.

We had to go and get Alex’s emissions test done, which was actually the real reason we made the trip in the first place. (I mean, the vacation part was the BEST reason, but it HAD to happen so he could get the emissions.)

And we got this bill in change:

It was funny, okay.

Stylish Stoner Washington.

Then we went out and did our main thing for the day, which will get its own post! So that’ll be the next one. (It's awesome!)

The other noteworthy thing, which I didn’t photograph at the time, but have now:

BIRCH BEER. This is not a thing that exists in the west. I’d never even heard of it until Alex told me about it. It’s similar to root beer, but reminds me more of the really super good root beer that I got at a local farmer’s market than A&W or other “regular” root beer. A lot of artisan soda companies say their birch beer has wintergreen in it, so maybe the hint of that flavor is the main difference? I’m not sure, but it’s delicious, and I’m pretty damn bummed that I can’t get it in Colorado! There are nation-wide soda companies that make it, but none of them sell it here, and at least the ones I saw don’t let you order online from them. Bummer.

After that, we headed home to take care of the rest of the horses.

Odin

Mitra (who is kind of an asshole.)

Ravi.

Not a horse: a goldfinch!

Odin again, and Cappy.

By the time we got to doing the mares, I was too tired to try getting a good picture of each of them. I got a picture of each, but most are wearing flymasks, and have their heads down to eat. So it’s not that exciting, and I’ll spare you.

But here’s Bebe, the girl I rode a couple days before.

And a group shot of the mare herd.

So we spent some of the evening outside, watching fireflies, taking care of the dog… and I feel something go up my pant leg. It feels like one of those fluffy grass seedheads, but I figure I couldn’t have gotten one of those up my jeans. So I kinda shake my pant leg out a bit, and then forget about it. It’s too dark to really see anything, but I don’t feel anything, so whatever.

We go back inside about twenty minutes later, and I sit down. I go to bend my leg, and I feel something move just underneath my knee. I more insistently shake my pant leg out. And THIS FALLS DOWN MY ANKLE AND RUNS OUT ACROSS THE FLOOR.

That’s a normal size drinking glass, so you have some idea of how big this guy was. (Okay, big for being UP MY PANT LEG AND HANGING OUT THERE.) He didn’t bite me or anything, so I just let him go outside. Hopefully he’s learned his lesson and will also eat the mosquitoes that WERE biting me.

Later that night, Alex’s friend Kat came and visited us. I was glad to meet her, since she’s one of his best and longest-term friends. She lives in Virginia, so it was a bit of a drive for her, but we hung out for a while that night and the next morning. It was a shame we didn’t get to do more, but she had to go around her work schedule, and we were leaving the next day. But it was fun.

And here’s Cy eating his own foot next to Kat.

 *These pictures are from Alex's camera.