The day began with errands and the most delicious salt bagel. A wonderful long drive up the coast, the ocean at our side with time to talk and take photos. Mountains to one side and ocean to the other…what could be bad?! Pepperdine University….let’s hope my kids never see this campus! They would never leave…much less go to class!
As we turn to head off the ocean and into the mountains I am struck by the smell…salty sea water and eucalyptus. Amazing. We find the Shalom Institute and our riding area easily. I had forgotten the power of a horse. Just the mere presence of the animal is enough to make me weak in the knees. As I sit in the saddle on my new friend, I feel a strange sense of peace….one that I have not felt in a long time. I realize how much I truly miss my horse, Head Honcho. The days of riding and time in the barn quickly flood my mind. Long summer days meandering through trails just the two of us….makes me feel young again.
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| My Trusty Steed! |
We head out onto the trial and the sheer beauty of it all envelopes me. My friend A is with me and has truly no idea the enormous gift she has given me. The power of the moment and the peace of this place is so overpowering that I begin to cry. I am glad that A is behind me and can not see the tears that spill from my eyes…each filled with so many emotions.
At one point I am so lost in it all that Charlie (my horse) tries to offer me rest in a bush! No way! I quickly regain my balance and my control. He is a typical teen boy…always testing the boundaries! The ride eventually has to come to an end and we must say goodbye to our friends as they head out to pasture.
We head back towards LA and lunch! I am starving! But not before I make A stop many times to take photos. There are several times I fear we might get into a car wreck with me screaming, “Stop! Is that a Sea Lion?!?!” “Wait! I have to have a photo of that plant!” A is patient and smiles sharing in my sheer delight of the little things. I am much like the dog in the movie “UP”….with many ”Squirrel!!!” moments.
Talk about moving from one world to another….we leave the mountains and head to Beverly Hills for lunch. Swanky! Walking down Rodeo Drive I am stuck by the beauty of the shops but think how much more comfortable I was on horseback in nature. We sit down to a magnificent lunch…tuna tartar that was…well…better than ….I will leave that to the imagination! I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Chris Rock passed and even waved to A! Kourtney Kardashian sat at the table next to us. Upon informing my children of this, I was scolded and hung up on for not taking a photo! I just wanted to appear as if I fit in…even if I didn’t look nor feel like I did!
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