vacation day 4 in Duluth

On Monday morning we walked over to Fitgers for breakfast. Then we walked all over the place, downtown, Canal Park, and shopped for Darci because she only owned 2 pair of pants that are not barn jeans or riding jeans. and that simply won't do for a non-horsey vacation along the water. And Darci also cannot wear shorts because, well, because she only wore shorts once all summer. (I had big plans to get my legs tanned this year but it just didn't happen). So, I bought 2 pairs of capris for sort of a compromise. And then we found a great shoe store in the mall (I think Miller Hill Mall) so I got 3 pairs of slip ons. one black, one gray and one brown/blue plaid. Fun shoes. I had only brought one pair of shoes along. old sandals with a back strap that cuts in to my heel, because that's about all I had except for cowboy boots and other barn shoes. We also went to the Marine Museum and Great Lakes Aquarium on this day, and spent quite a bit of time there. There was a demo with the otters. but my favorites of course were the sea horses. and the educational info. about them. and I also liked the eels that bury themselves in the sand except for their heads sticking out. I think those are eels. We had supper at Bellisio's Italian Restaurant. I learned what a flight of wine is but we ordered a bottle instead. I can't even remember what I ordered to eat but it was a lot. And then I had some wonderful chocolate dessert. Then we went over to Little Angie's Cantina because there was music going on. And I had a margarita there. It was still early, so we went to the big Grandma's sports bar type place to throw darts. Greg had to leave his drivers license at the bar though, and would not get it back until he turned the darts back in. They had been losing too many darts. those cheap little generic plastic darts. Greg said only because he was on vacation would he agree to do this. And then later, we wondered why we didn't just buy the darts rather than risk losing his drivers license. We got a little nervous when one of the darts ended up under the dart board and not even the maintenance guy could retrieve it! We wondered if we would be able to get Greg's license back since we had lost a dart. We did. I guess we had put in enough quarters to make up for the lost dart. I must not have taken any pictures on this day, except of the brown pigeon who shared breakfast with us. We stayed in Duluth again on this night. And the next day headed up the North Shore. and the pictures for the next day will be much more interesting, I promise!

Vacation Night 3 in Duluth

On Night 3 of our vacation we stayed in Duluth. The parts of Duluth I saw, I love! We went to Fitgers, the famous old brewery which is actually a resort type place with lots and lots of shops too! We stayed at a place within walking distance of there though. I think they call this area Canal Park. It's pretty much right on the beach. lots of restaurants and shops and of course watching the big ships go by. I took lots and lots of pictures of the sea gulls, who cooperated nicely. Greg took some of me surrounded by the beautiful birds. The white ones are the adults, and the more speckled ones are the youngsters. Greg's brother works for the Army Corps of Engineers so I had to take a picture of Greg by the sign. Our first night in Duluth was Sunday night. Kind of quiet but still plenty to do. We ate at Grandma's, up on the deck. Had some sandwiches and beer. Going to different restaurants is one of my very favorite things to do on vacation. We try to find places "with atmosphere or charm" without having to dress up. anyway, this is all I have time for for now.

Our Vacation

I am going to wander away from horsey things for a little bit and blog about the vacation Greg & I took this month. We were going to take 4 horses out to the Black Hills for 10 days, but it was so hot the few days before we were going to leave, the thought of Greg throwing the bales on top of the trailer, plus just getting 4 horses ready & packed for them and us, well, we changed our plans.

And so, we threw some clothes in a bag, jumped in Greg's little sports car, and started driving! I have not been on a vacation without horses for many years. I didn't own any vacation clothes. So, I did get to do some shopping. But not too much because there is not much storage space in the little car.

Anyway, on August 14 some time after lunch our vacation began. Greg's mom Hazel stayed here to take care of the doggies and kitties. And Heidi was in charge of horse chores.

And off we went! The first night we stayed at Arrowwood Resort near Alexandria, Minnesota. They had a pasta bar set up in the dining room that night, and it was wonderful. you just went and picked out your ingredients, put them in a bowl, picked out your noodles and sauces and watched the chef sizzle it up for you and it was great. With a bottle of wine. I should have written this all down but I think we went to bed early that night so we could get up and get on our way.

On August 15, Saturday, I cannot remember what we did for breakfast or lunch.

But, we did find a little winery that was having a festival. Forestedge Winery near Laporte, MN. Music, art, food, and wine of course. Unfortunately it rained. It rained the day before so we did not get to take the top down on the car. We bought a couple of bottles of the blackberry wine, met a guy from ND who knew some people from the Sioux Falls area, and went on our way. It was a really pretty place and they were pretty busy, even with the rain. We drove up around Leech Lake and I don't remember where all. We did, however, get to a road under construction and had to drive the little car on some gravel/mud. When we got to the really muddy part though we took a detour. Good thing! the cars coming from the other direction got stuck. One of them was a big camper pulling a little car behind. Thus, my first vacation picture.

We stayed that night at Ruttgers Sugar Lake Lodge near Grand Rapids. and ate at Jack's Grill there. don't remember a whole bunch. it was a pretty nice place though. Jack's is on the golf course there. pretty nice. I think we ate fish and it was good. but they didn't have any milk which was weird.

after this the vacation gets more memorable because I took more pictures. next day, on to Duluth!

$900.00 from rummage sale!

yea!!!!! Pam & Mae turned in more than $900.00 from the rummage sale they had to benefit our DoubleHP Horses. thanks to all who helped, shopped, and donated.

RUMMAGE SALE TO BENEFIT DoubleHP HORSES

Pam Lostroh and her mom Mae Ranchau are, for the second straight year, having a rummage sale at Mae's house in Sioux Falls SD to benefit the Horses of DoubleHP.

It's Friday & Saturday August 21-22 at 2517 S. Main, 8a.m. to 5 p.m. in Sioux Falls SD. For more info., or to donate items, call Pam on her cell (605) 310-2094.

Pam was Jasmine's foster mom, and Hero was born at Pam's house. This photo is of Pam and Hero. "Confidence." It looks like Pam is helping him build confidence. And boy did he! The other photo is Hero as a 2-year-old, just a couple of weeks ago.

But anyway, if you have items to donate, please give Pam a call. Horsey or non-horsey items. doesn't matter. Thanks!

our horses on ASPCA Facebook

This is the photo that is on ASPCA's Facebook. It's our Hero & Princess. I put the link down toward the bottom of this post. "Mom, tell him to quit looking at me." It reminds me of the breakfast table long ago, when we couldn't stand to look back and forth at our siblings that early in the morning. So we would put the cereal boxes in front of our faces.

So much is happening all at once! Of course it is! I am trying to get ready to go on a vacation. Last year I didn't get to go on one. It was the first year in about 20 years we did not take horses out to the Black Hills to go trail riding. With all the young rescued horses here last year, and special needs of various animlas, and chore helpers in and out, etc., etc., it was not a comfortable feeling thinking about being about 400 miles away from home.

But we are planning on doing it soon. We are planning to take 4 horses with us, for about 9 days.

On Wednesday of this week, our 2010 calendars arrived!

go to http://www.unbridledbeautiescalendar.blogspot.com/

so now I need to send them out to the sponsors and models and start selling them!

also on Wednesday I received an email from our friend Pam Lostroh. She and her mom Mae Ranchau are doing a rummage sale for us. It's August 21-22 in Sioux Falls, at Mae's house. Where in the heck do you think I wrote down that address? well, I'll find it. if you have things to donate, call Pam at 310-2094. I need to do a mass email thing to let people know about that. And take some tables over to Pams so she can use them. Yes, I will be gone on my vacation when the rummage takes place. Great timing Pam! sorry, and thanks, all together.

Also on Wednesday I got a call from a guy who is going to come here on Saturday and take away our bad hay from last year. we need to get it out of the shed to make room for new hay. This isn't really bad bad hay. It's just that we are so picky about what we feed to the horses here. This guy is going to feed it to his cows, who will love it.

And I got a call from a young gal from Dell Rapids who is going to start working here in the a.m.s later this month, when the other chore helpers go back to school.

And, Trainer Kinsey Risty decided on Oct. 2-4 for dates to do a clinic here. Which is a long ways off, but the fair is next week and she wants to start advertising the clinic there. So I've been working on a flyer for her to take to the fair.

I think I will try to get everything done, all of this type of stuff, 2 days before we leave for the Hills. then I can have a couple of days just for me. to pack, clean house, that stuff.

Anyway, it looks as though we will be having some fundraisers coming up. the calendars, the rummage, the clinic.

Lily and Rocky, 2 of our rescued horses, are going to make the big trip to the Hills with us. and then 2 of our own horses who have been there before. So next week they all 4 get to go get their shoes re-set! We have chores all figured out while we are gone. And we have people staying here. so I'm feeling good about this trip. Though I really don't like being away from home, I do love riding in the Black Hills. The gravel roads around here just don't have the same beauty.

I emailed a thank you to ASPCA for the hay money they sent to us. I emailed them pictures of the hay day we had here last week. They put one of our pictures on their facebook. It's of Hero and Princess. here is the link where you can see it on the ASPCA website.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ASPCApro/98324655996?v=wall&viewas=1076137365#/photo.php?pid=2803096&id=98324655996&ref=mf

If any of you do Facebook, could you do some linking there?

thanks.

Prince got an injection in his hock today. He has been limping more than usual. He has only had 2 injections, and the last one was last October. So it's been almost a year.

How can it be almost October already!

it has been crazy busy around here.

okay. gotta go out and get at least one horse ridden.

The Bugs of DoubleHP

These photos are from back in late May. I was cleaning out my files and found them. I had my little old camera with me that night. wish I would have had my big one. these little fellas were not scared of me at all. what are they? I just call them Hummingbird Moths.