Pictures from a Traveler

This most recent trip was a unique one simply because I went along for the ride. 1500 miles round trip from home, to New Holland, to Sanford, back to New Holland then home again. 48 full hours from the time we left home, till the time we got back home, which included some run-around time in New Holland both days.

We were sent to North Carolina to bring back a couple of Mustangs and a burro, who themselves had had a long trip - New Mexico to Sanford, then from Sanford to the western part of the state of Connecticut. They will undoubtably have a very happy home in Connecticut.

When traveling with Terry ("Traveling with Terry" sounds like a very good book title, don't you think?...), it is no joy ride. There is no such thing as taking the scenic route, or sleeping in plush hotels, or stopping at a tourist attraction along the way. Our most eventful stop en route to North Carolina was somewhere off I95 near Washington, DC, when ALL trucks were detoured off the highway (or was it the beltway?) for a massive DOT inspection. Our "tiny" little F550 and it's equally unimpressive stock trailer had only to endure a fuel check, to be certain it was highly taxed vehicle fuel and not home heating oil in the tank. A friendly smile and the assurance of the proper fuel color from the DOT officer, as well as a few jokes between him and Terry, and we were back in business.

The farm in Sanford where the three wild ones were being housed was, on the other hand, very scenic and no small fry. Not certain how many acres, but it was BIG. Each horse there had a sizable paddock to itself (each looked to be a good acre or two, anyway). Rolling country side, big barns, multiple riding/training rings (indoor and outdoor), and proper fencing made for lovely scenery. The equids we were to pick up were contained in their own paddock, and were, thankfully, well halter broke. What we had anticipated being a real effort to load them turned into the easiest part of the whole trip. The burro jumped into the trailer first, and the other two followed. Simple. A little hay to keep them busy, and we were on the road again. By 1AM, we were in a truck stop somewhere between there and Washington DC, sleeping in the truck for the second night in a row. By that point, we had already spent at least $500.00 in fuel.

The best part of the trip was back in New Holland, visiting friends, running errands, and relaxing a bit. Our friend Paul, driving by with his horse and spring wagon, saw our truck and trailer in the parking lot of Weaver's Store and stopped in to say hi. I took off with Paul in the wagon and Terry beat us back to Paul's house, but not by much because Paul had that buggy horse flying pretty good. Once to his house, Paul's wife, Mary and I went into her shop to look at some furniture she was painting. Terry and Paul started pulling horses out of the barn, talking about "best broke teams" and "nice little buggy horses". The new puppy, a boxer/bulldog mix, was cute as a button, but already sold to someone for some good money. Pumpkins were in bins, waiting to go to market. Their eldest daughter, Rachel was getting things ready for a yard sale. Down there, you don't need a permit to have a yard sale, and you can make some serious money selling the stuff you don't need anymore. Amish and Menonite ways can be some very smart ways, I'll say that for them.

Photos: Top: Rolling hills and pastureland in Sanford, NC

Second: Terry jumping in the wagon to help Rachel put up some signs down the road for the up-coming yard sale. Third: While in PA, we stopped in to an Amish mule breeder. Fourth: Mules in the mule pen. Bottom: Terry in Mary's shop, with the cute little Boxer/bulldog puppy. Sorry, already sold (and not to us, either!)