Hi Everyone!
For the first time in history waking up at 7 am was the easiest
thing in the world. Why? Because today I got to go horseback riding in the New
Forest to see wild ponies! Can you tell by the grin on my face that this is the
best day ever?
Jes had a bit of struggles with her New Forest pony since Esme liked to snack and not trot. We were out in the forest
for two hours, and went right through herds of wild horses and cattle. It may be
July but there were four foals and one calf. So cute! Jessie was the smoothest
ride in the world, I only got in trouble a few times and it was because my horse
wanted to race the pony ahead of me, and I may or may not have been willing to
let her gallop a bit. These guides kill all the fun, and I know I know they’re
doing their jobs and keeping us all safe. But literally my guide was like 19
years old and had such an attitude, “my arab this” and “my arab that.” I was like
I get it love, you’ve got an arab. Good for you, but also you telling me you
totally drop the reigns and win every race across the fields doesn’t impress me
at all, you don’t even know the name of your car insurance. Call me when you
pay your first apartment bill. Jes and I were just giving each other knowing looks
and in my head I could hear Jes go “You’ve had your license for three years?
Awww bubba…” We laughed our heads off when we finally were within the
protective walls of the car ride back to the Filly Inn and could really let
ourselves go.
Despite the sassy escort, the ride was phenomenal,
especially when we were in the forest and all we could hear were the sounds of
the birds chirping and the silence of a forest. We did have a little issue
where Jes tried to show off her horsemanship skills and spooked all our horses!
I’m so proud of Jes for staying on! We were literally rounding a corner and
before I knew it all four of the horses were running off in all different
directions. Funny how instinct kicks in, within a second I had my reins pulled
tight and was leading Jessie into a hard left circle so that she couldn’t pull
any funny tricks and was forced to slow herself from a gallop to a walk. No
clue how Jes got her horse to stay chill but was so impressed when I saw her
still riding astride a few minutes later. After two hours riding, lets just say
Jes and I were quite sore at the end of our ride. Our mums were laughing at our
funny gaits.
Whilst Jes and I were frolicking in the forest, my mum and Mumma
Bailey went to the beach! I think they enjoyed their daughterless morning.
We left the New Forest and Filly Inn for Arundel Castle. I
have to say, that this by far was the best castle we have gone to! The family here is
the Duke/Duchess of Norfolk. Their decorations were just amazing, architecture, not so much. We had to climb 135
stairs to get to the top of the tower.
I can't deny that the view were worth it though.
Here’s the door where the servants threw rocks and boiling water out
of the tower when they had unwelcome visitors. Mumma Bailey said that’s where
the Brits got their English hospitality from, which made us all laugh.
There were so many dead animals everywhere, it was gross…That
is probably something I will never understand the appeal of. Like good for you,
you shot a lion with a GUN. I’m sure that was a fair fight. Now, the tribes
that bring home lions without guns…I’d say fair game, you earned your pelt.
Knives/Spears vs. Claws, even steven, otherwise you’re just cheating.
The castle library was to die for. I was sad I couldn’t sit
there all day and read, it looked like something right out of Beauty and the Beast. (Can you tell by the number of pictures that it was my favorite room?)
The rest of the castle was pretty decadent as well.
I love how much we played around with the props left for children in play boxes (young at heart am I right?). The bows and arrows were fastened to the walls, so Jes improvised.
We then went out into the gardens and had an absolute blast.
My mom was in 7th heaven with all these flowers.
She and Mumma
Bailey were playing the naming game, and were so good that Jes said she’d take
both of them on her team if she went to a botanical pub quiz night. Mom was so
excited to see how the family kept the birds out of their gardens with their netting
system, so stay tuned for that being installed into our home hahaha. I on the
other hand was debating whether or not to pinch a few loquats. They’re my favorite
fruit, and the Norfolk family obviously didn’t need all of them, am I right? In
the end mom said it was not worth getting thrown out of the castle for, so I
didn’t get my fruit even tho I’m pretty sure I would have gotten away with it.
Here are some more garden moments! We definitely took our time finding flowers and taking in the fountains.
Jes was sad that a plant was taller than her, but that sucker was taller than me!
These next few shots are my favorite, you can just see how goofy the four of us got, climbing trees and playing around.
The last part of our journey was a drive to Brighton (I’m
sure my avid followers will recognize this name, since it’s my third visit
back. I definitely love it here!). Jes took us to this ocean view
restaurant about thirty minutes along the coast from Hove that had the slowest
service ever. This was perfect for us, because we just wanted to sit and chat.
We literally laughed so hard we almost peed. Hands down this was the best meal of the road trip.
Not only was the food phenomenal, but also the views were
gorgeous and the ambiance was perfect. Obviously the company is what made
the entire night (do I get brownie points for this sap Mumma Bailey and Jes?). Since we climbed so many steps and laughed so hard, we said
that this road trip had turned into an exercise program called Menopausal Mums –
Bums and Tums. *cue more laughter and almost peeing our pants moments*
Today was the best day, one that I will definitely look back
to when law school gets hard. This road trip was probably the smartest thing Jes
and I planned during my trip to England. Tomorrow is a beach day and we
all know how much I love the beach! (Almost as much as ponies.) Stay tuned for
more sunny tales.
Love,
Carolyn
No comments:
Post a Comment