amber-que

All internship long, my friend Laura and I talked about going horseback riding up in Palos Verdes. Laura is a horse trainer who knows PV inside and out. I had no idea there were so many hidden trails up in the hills. Laura's horse is Oreo, and I got to ride one of the horses she trains, Cheyenne. These were no one hour trail rental horses. Wow, were they beautiful! I had only ever walked very slowly on horses, so my goal for today was to trot. With my camera pack on my back, it made trotting a little difficult. Each bounce provided a thump on my back. But it was sweet. Each time Oreo took off, Cheyenne followed closely behind. We saw a snake, a squirrel, and some deranged dogs. We rode for an hour, tied the horses up and stopped for lunch, and then rode an hour back through the tunnels below Crenshaw & Hawthorne. No car would ever know they were there. Super secret. My butt hurts.

After taking my car in yesterday, it's still not working right. The speedometer doesn't go. I cannot tell how fast I'm going. So, I brought it back, they said they fixed it again, and now tonight it's still not working. With no interior lights at night, it's awfully difficult to see. I'll take it back next week when I don't need it during the day. Amazing how dependant we become on cars.

Greg & Dana Barker invited me over for a steak and potato supper tonight. Oh...not to mention the corn on the cob! DELICIOUS! Their grandson Christian was there all night too providing lots of laughs and entertainment. We went outside for a while and climbed up into their purple tree, played soccer in the driveway, and did a little amber-que with the steaks. They gave me an early going away present too: ice cream! Now that's what I'm talking about! We had peaches and cream treats after we went in the "hot pool" as Christian calls it. Another great night among friends. I suppose I better get to bed sometime before midnight tonight. I'm turning into a night owl.