WOW! Florida!

Jupiter Florida

We have one word for this trip and it is WOW! A simple word used to describe the good and the bad.

So let’s begin.

We started the trip by inevitably getting off the plane… WOW, we couldn’t believe the weather! It was toasty warm, almost a 60 degree difference from home; -30 to +25!  This was the first ‘wow’ used for the week. Off came the jackets, sweaters and scarves and we hopped on our bus to go get our rental car!

Then the next WOW came when we were in a never ending line up…
This wow was not nearly as satisfying. We got to the rental car place and WOW! The line up to pick up a car was at least 45 people long with only one employee working to get all of these people through. However, we thought we beat the system because we had a fast break card so we were able to join the short line up. But wow did the system beat us and we were told that it was not on our account for some reason. Carolyn stared in amazement as she looked at the fellow holding her card in his hand and he said she would have to go to the end of the VERY long line. She begrudgingly opted to pay a $30 USD expedite fee to be able to stay in the short line. After a mere 40 minutes, we had their car and were off, never looking back.

Here came another WOW moment, when we reach our beds.

We arrived at our air bnb to be significantly confused by parking, but mustered through and unloaded. Carolyn went into the bedrooms to check the beds (which is typical for someone with regular back issues) and found that there was some discrepancy between the beds.  One bed felt soft while the other was basically a box spring and sounded like it had a plastic pad on it. To ensure she hadn’t gone nuts, she called Kari in to sit on both beds, and yes, the second bed was off. They examined the bed only to realize that it was upside down and the pillow top had been put against the box spring, WOW has does this happen?? After an excellent laughing fit, they flipped the mattress and were on their way to a restful sleep!

Wow #4 – This stall is nicer than my first apartment
We arrived at the Weisberg Stables where the course was being hosted and this ‘wow’ was not just your typical ‘wow’ it was a HOLY WOW! This place was amazing! Driving in you could see where the wallaby, the tortoises, the llamas, the goats and even the otters lived. The stalls were bigger (and possibly cleaner) than our first apartments. To top it off the horses were absolutely stunning! They were bathed every day, clean, and so beautiful! We went up to the classroom, and it was more of the same! We literally were living the life!

Wow, #5 – Facilitators!
What a remarkable group of women! From the moment we all met, it was an instant family.   Everyone had different personality and communication styles, yet all gelled so beautifully together! WOW was it a real pleasure teaching these glorious souls!

Wow, #6 – Doug!
We had Doug Walsh from Dark Horses Stables come out to join us to do a Live on Facebook for the welfare series. Not only can Doug be wow to look at, but he is also an inspiring natural horseman. He trains his horses with the mentality that it is up to us to speak their language and is truly a master at it. Despite the internet being a little finicky, he was a pleasure to have on our live and to be able to chat with – as usual!

Wow #7 – Random illness

Kari never gets sick. But this trip is another reason never to say never. After spending an entire night throwing up, Kari woke up looking 5-6 months pregnant. Nothing helped and when we say nothing, we mean absolutely nothing! We tried gas-x, Pepto, burping, drinking sideway (for hiccups); she tried everything! Finally, we went to a pharmacy where they told Kari to drink something that would “cleanse” out her whole system. This inevitably was not ideal while instructing a course… After much debate, she decided to go with Carolyn’s pharmaceutical skills and go with her pick. And low and behold it helped! Dr. Carolyn to the rescue! By the end of the night, she had taken at least two months off of her pregnant belly and was on her way to recovering.  

You thought that was it? WRONG. Carolyn managed to get a piece of sand in her eye which created a BLISTER in her EYE! It was gross! But some eye drops and a hot compress later she was all fixed up. WOW was it trip full of weird illnesses.

Wow #8 – Super creepy

We got back to our air b and b and all of the lights were on. Like, all of them. Closets, bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedrooms – every single light. Kari and Carolyn are pretty good about ensuring all lights are off, so it was VERY odd to see every light on. They texted the rental guy and didn’t hear back which left us super freaked out. We thought how do strong women solve a problem like this? Well of course, we prop a chair in front of the door every night while we sleep so hopefully one of them would be broken from their deep slumber, due to the noise, to fight off the intruder.

WOW, #9 – A fantastic trip!

Overall, despite the random illnesses, long line ups and creepiness, this trip was fantastic! A beautiful host, stunning location and facilitators that were so much fun! As we sat at the airport, we took in the sunshine and recapped the week. It was filled with laughs, horses and amazing people… WOW it doesn’t get much better than that!