Down, but not out - Abby, the Rodeo Queen!
18 July 2010 | Friday Harbor, WA
Eugene
The weather has been absolutely gorgeous the past week here in the San Juan Islands. We spent the last two nights on the anchor here in Friday Harbor. After a couple nights in Blind Bay, we came to Friday Harbor once again to visit with our good friend Susan. We sailed for a good 4 hours. Our GPS track showed perfect 90 degree tacks and we were able to keep the boat speed up around 6 knots. We even practiced some reefing drills. It was a great day on the water! Now, anchored in Friday Harbor, we have the best of both worlds...we get the great town of Friday Harbor, but not the expense of staying at the dock. It sure is nice to be self-sufficient.
Yesterday, we met up with some good friends from Lacey and took 9 guests sailing (yes 9, and if the coast guard is reading this, we indeed had life jackets for all on board). It was a wonderful afternoon. We all had a great time. Jarin, we wish you could have been there but we know those aircraft can't show themselves - they need their rock star escorts to make them work. Miss you, pal. Stay safe.
This morning, we woke early and took Susan to the Firemen's Pancake Breakfast hear in Friday Harbor. After stuffing ourselves, we took a drive out to the country and helped Susan with her horse, Bob. After some feeding and brushing, we walked the horse to the riding coral where Susan gave Bob some exercise. Tami then rode for about half an hour and then we geared Abby up to take a ride. She was so excited, but as soon as she mounted Bob, he decided to get very excited. For the next, at least 8 seconds, Abby held on for dear life as Bob ran around the coral. While Susan tried to rein him back in, it was all we could do just to watch in shear terror. We kept shouting to Abby encouraging her to "hold on"! She replied each time with "I am"! She was amazing! There wasn't much we could do. We knew she was scared and would eventually come flying off of the horse. We just wanted to minimize the injuries when she fell. By the grace of God, she slipped off the side and landed softly on her butt and back. The horse moved out of the way, and Abby avoided Bob's hooves by a good margin. Scared and shaken, she was uninjured. Bob calmed down again, and we comforted Abby. Susan felt terrible, but in the end, it all turned out OK. Abby still likes horses and will get back on...just not today. We guesstimate that Abby spent a good 12-15 seconds hanging on for dear life while Bob tried to get some more exercise. Foreshadowing perhaps? Maybe she has a career in rodeo? According to Abby, the answer is vehemently "NO"! But who knows...mama needs a new pair of shoes and from what we hear, female rodeo chicks make good money.
Log: 273 nm