Horseback Riding
#2DoNashville Adventure 1 - Natchez Trace Stables
Sunday I met Marion to go horseback riding at the Natchez Trace Stables in Primm Springs. It was a beautiful drive with my windows rolled down and music up. Marion was twenty minutes behind after getting her nails done… I guess you can take the girl out of Cali, but you can’t take Cali out of the girl! Anyway, I’m almost there when I discover an obstacle in the road - Lick Creek. Luckily, my jeep easily drives through it without a hitch, but I remember Marion is in a car and will definitely freak out. I call to give her a heads up but low and behold, there’s no service! All I can do is sit and wait… Twenty minutes later, Marion’s white car makes its way over the hill with a cloud of dust trailing, and probably a bit of Lick creek trauma. Sure enough, Marion parks and hops out gasping over her Lick creek encounter. She proclaims, “Jesus walked on water, and I just drove through water!” She couldn’t believe it. As you can presume at this point, I’m laughing hysterically. I finally contain my laughter when the guide notices the Tom’s Marion has on her feet. Laughing again at the day’s continuing comedy and challenges, I look to my always messy, jeep of treasures. After a bit of searching, I find socks and booties. Granted, these are the type boots you wear out and not to ride a horse… but, they worked better than Toms and you better believe she rocked those booties with her selfie stick! Just wait it gets better…
It’s me, Marion. So Sarah and I decided we’d drive our own vehicles to the destination after several failed attempts of trying to decide where to meet and carpool. I left Virtue Nail Spa, jumped in my car and headed west... or east. Actually, don’t know which direction I headed. I usually just follow Siri’s voice. Who really knows where they’re going these days without being guided by their iPhone? Not I! It was the perfect day for a scenic drive through the outskirts of Nashville. I figured I was doing really good on time so I stopped at Jamba Juice to grab a smoothie and then back on the highway cruising down 65 (I don’t think I was on 65 then but you get the point). With the radio playing my favorite jams back to back, I completely lost track of time and everything else that was on my mind, including the orange gas light that had been on for the past 15 miles and counting. Let me just set the record straight. I’m all about living on the edge but living on ‘e’ and driving on ‘e’ is a whole ‘nother story. At first I thought, this can’t be real life. And then I remembered, it’s way too nice out to stress. I figured I’d at least make it to Natchez Trace Stables and after horseback riding, I’d jump in the car with Sarah to get gas and we’d figure the rest out after adventure numero uno. And yes, I wore Toms. Judge not. Love more. I’m just sayin’... Wait, did I really wear Toms?! Ha! Who am I right now? Ha! Ha!
We had to wait for a few people to arrive before the ride which delayed our start time by at least 30 minutes but we managed to keep ourselves occupied by doing other things. Of course I was taking several pictures and capturing video footage while Sarah petted and chatted with a donkey which she swore was her dog, ‘Buddy dog’ reincarnated. Um, Sarah. No bueno. Come on honey. Free the donkey!
The guides asked those of us that were riding for the first time or with little experience to come to the front. Our horses would be leading the pack. I jumped in line as this was my first time horseback riding. I hopped on a sweet horse name Star who I fondly bonded with. The guides instructed us to make sure the horses didn't graze or stop to eat anything during the ride. If that happened, we were instructed to kick them or yank them in the other direction. I ignored all of the above. I’m not kicking my horse, not even a ‘gentle’ kick. Paaalease! The horse is carrying over a hundred pounds and it can’t stop and grab a snack?! On what planet? Yeah, my horse won’t be held to those expectations. Who does that?! So needless to say, Star ate her heart out. Every time she stopped, I let her eat as much as she could contain and this made my heart smile. I mean who wants to carry a human around all day and not eat when they desire. Being the foodie that I am, Star and I were the perfect match. She ate, I rode, we were both happy. Life was good. My lucky Star! The guide said no horsing around...but what he didn’t say was no selfies! Same color eyes, same color hair. How cute are we? Eat your heart out! #StarPower
Now Sarah on the other hand, I’m not sure how well she bonded with her horse. When I asked her what her horse’s name was, she replied, “Uh, well, I think it was Dakota.” Yeah, and my name is Whoopi Goldberg. As you can tell, I don’t think they bonded as well as I did with Star. Sarah just didn’t feel the love.
The ride was very scenic and beautiful, kissed by nature, and quite serene. Nothing unusual happened aside from Sarah’s horse deciding he/she wasn’t going to move or take any commands and stalling the ride for several seconds. (Sarah here, just to add that the donkey was seriously faster than my horse and a lot less stubborn). The horse was probably hungry or probably upset that Star was getting VIP treatment. Poor horse. Such is life. I guess every horse can’t be a star. All in all, a great day for horseback riding and a fun experience!
I have a new found appreciation for horses. They can endure so much with so much grace and with such a smooth stride. There’s a lot that humans can learn from horses. Lesson 1: Never forget how strong you are. You can endure much more than you think. Lesson 2: Carry the load with grace. Even when life gives you a kick, remember, you were built to last. Lesson 3: Never forget that you too are a star... or a Dakota (and that’s ok too!)
The ride lasted about 2 hours and we were all out of gas by the end, no pun intended – but just when we thought adventure number one was over, we realized the real adventure was just beginning. Hold on tight!
I asked the staff if they had gas or if they could direct me to the nearest gas station. One of the guides said there was a gas station about 10 minutes away. I said, ok. I can make it if it’s only 10 minutes. I got in my car and Sarah trailed me but as soon as we arrived at a fork in the road, I couldn’t remember if the guide had told us to turn left or right… and guess who else couldn’t remember – yeah, the same person that couldn't remember the name of her horse. Why did I even ask? Fortunately, a woman and a man in a pick-up truck saw us parked on the side of the road and asked if everything was okay. I told them we were trying to find the nearest gas station but didn’t have a signal on our phone and couldn’t navigate there. They said, “No problem, we’ll look it up.” They searched on their navigation and told us the nearest gas station was about 10 minutes to the right and proceeded to give us directions. Turn right at the 4-way stop and then a left by the white tin building. When you past the lake, take the second right. Wait, huh? I can’t do all of the directions is what I was thinking and I guess my non-verbals were communicating the same because the woman looked at the guy and said, “Let’s just lead the way.” The guy said, “Yeah, just follow us.” And that’s what we did. I pulled out behind them, and Sarah pulled behind me and off we went.
It’s Sarah again. So I’m trailing behind Marion in my jeep and I have no idea what’s going on because I didn’t hear their conversation. I’m just along for the ride when I begin to wonder where IN THE WORLD are these folks taking us. I’m beginning to feel like we may have gotten ourselves into a deliverance type situation and could hear banjos at any second… Apparently Marion had the same feeling because soon after, Marion slows down and then stops following the couple and pulls into a strangers driveway. We are literally in the middle of nowhere.
A young boy answers and Marion tells him “Didn’t your momma tell you not to answer the door for strangers” (Marion here... well I didn’t actually say that to him, that’s just what I was thinking. The poor kid was terrified. He ran to the back and said, “Grandma, someone’s at the door, but I didn’t open it.” I was thinking, kid, if you didn’t open it, how did I get in here?! ...but thank you lil fellow!) His grandmother comes to the door and Marion explains the situation to her. The woman kindly lets Marion leave her car in the driveway and told her where the nearest gas station was. Marion hops in my jeep, and says “Honey, I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time and I’ve been across the country and back again alone. When I have a funny feeling about something, I can’t ignore it – and that was one of those moments. I couldn’t keep following that truck. Uh, no.” (It’s me, Marion again, I mean seriously, you can’t take those type of risks... do people not watch Forensic Files?! Maybe I’ve seen one too many episodes! No, thank you.)
We leave and head for the gas station. After several minutes we realize that we didn’t keep track of the street where we left Marion’s car! So we continue on and when we reach highway 100, I realize where we are – right down the road from my parent’s house! I felt pretty dumb to say the least. (Ok, it’s me again, Marion...so let me just say this. How do you drive around an area in panic mode and then all of a sudden you’re like, “Oh wait, that’s the road that leads to my dad’s house.” Sarah, honey, please get out more! Please!).
So Anyway, we get to the gas station and Marion runs inside to grab a gas jug, funnel, and a moon pie. (It’s Marion. Ok so, the gas funnel was $8 and I was not paying $8 for a gas jug. I did however, pay less than $2 for a gallon of water, emptied the water and filled it with gas! WINNING! I could never get away with pouring out water in California but in TN, well, the grass around Patton’s Park Mkt. was a little parched. It needed the water. Trust me!) ... so she gets in my jeep and proceeds to leave the funnel and moon pie on the roof of my jeep. After driving off (No after Sarah speeds off like she’s in a Nascar competition), she realizes that neither the funnel or the moon pie are present. We turn around to find them scattered on the ground in the gas station parking lot. At this point, I’m not surprised.
Somehow, we finally make it to her car and fill it up enough for her to make it back to the gas station. It’s dark now and by the grace of God we can finally head home. I head straight to Nashville and Marion parts separate way to her house.
When I finally get home, I put on my pajamas and begin to settle in for the night until I receive a text message. It’s Marion. She left her purse, driver’s license, debit card and everything... Wow is all I’ll say. Good thing she was driving on a full tank. Until next time….