I am so blessed

I might just be the luckiest girl ever!!! I have checked one item off my bucket list and it was awesome...... Ever since I was in 6th grade and we went to visit Alaska.. and I got to go trail riding on the beach.. I've wanted to do it again.. but with MY horse. Well.. I finally did it!!! It was utterly amazing! A friend and I were chatting about it and... we just made it happen. Another friend works at Camelot Farms in St. Helena Island near Beaufort, SC. And they had a rental house with two paddocks and had trails and a short beach ride. Then she told us it was only a quick haul to Hunting Island, which is open for horses and has a ton more room. It sounded exactly like what we were looking for so we booked it! Well, God was looking out for us on this trip! We had originally scheduled it for November and luckily, Missy checked and realized the horses weren't allowed on the beach at Hunting Island, the state park, until December 1st. We were able to change our reservations and it was all set. God gave us beautiful weather! It was perfect! No rain and warm!!! Like 60-70 degree weather in December warm! It was perfect. And Missy found a photographer who wanted some horses so we got an incredible photographer at an amazing deal. AND... his church was having the actor who played the jockey in Secretariat there that weekend and we were invited to watch the movie, meet the actor, and go to church. It was so neat!! How crazy is it that on the weekend we are there.... we get to do another horsey thing!?! Like I said, God was so good to us... and still is!
 
We left Saturday morning and Fleck and Zhar hauled like champs. They are BFFs after all their trail riding adventures. We got there in about 5 hours and settled them in their paddocks and unloaded our stuff. Then we decided it was time for a ride. Because we wanted to make the movie we decided to just go around St. Helena. The area is beautiful.... gorgeous oak trees with spanish moss... It was so pretty! And we also made our way to the beach. The boys were a little surprised and excited. :) But they are good ponies and we got them on the sand and almost touching the water that first time. We headed back and the boys settled in together in their paddock like they had been life long pasture buds. We went and watched the movie and met the actor, who was a real jockey too. 

The next morning we got up early and took the ponies to the beach on Hunting Island to get them used to the surf. We were so glad we did because they were flabbergasted!!! Fleck's eyeballs bugged out of his head!!! He was snorting and just sooooo ..... flabbergasted! It was hilarious! We walked them out in our jeans and boots and got them used to it. Fleck would walk up to the wave line... snorting and bug eyed.. and then jump back with each wave. Hee hee... Then Missy finally got Zhar walked into the ocean. Fleck was like... "well if he can do it... I can do it!".. .and he did. They were both so brave!! So then we decided to just hop on and do some playing. It was so much fun! We were glad we got them used to it a bit because that afternoon we were meeting the photographer.

 

Our photographer and his friend got some amazing shots!!! I can't wait to see the rest of them. We had fun playing in the forest and in the sand. We had a great dinner out with Taylor and walked around downtown Beaufort a bit. What a gorgeous town. And so friendly...

Monday morning we went and got breakfast at an awesome restaurant and then were planning on some shopping before hitting the beach with the ponies. But it started to cloud up and the forecast said possible rain. So we hurried back to Hunting Island and played again. This time we found some jumps to jump! Can you believe how amazing this beach is??? Us and the ponies had an absolute blast just playing in the surf and sand. And it never did rain! We played for a few hours and that afternoon, we were all tired and we enjoyed the afternoon looking at photos. 

Tuesday was our last day so we got up early and got the horses to the beach just at Sunset. It was breathtaking.... We managed a little bareback morning ride and then played a little. Then it was time to head home. On the way out, we stopped at a little shop and got some Christmas gifts and the yummiest to go lunch ever!!! Seafood gumbo and tomato pie!!! Oh my!!

It was a most wonderful trip.... one that I'm so glad I got to spend with Fleck. He is the most caring, funny, wonderful, brave, trusting, hilarious, best buddy ever! I am forever grateful for having him in my life and for the opportunities he has given me. And I thank God for providing such a beautiful place for me to enjoy my beautiful beast and friends. I have a feeling all four of us will be back again next year.