New Job AND new Home!

It’s been a fast two months since we have arrived home. Lots of adjustments and changes  too.  The great news is, as of this week, both Jeannette and Richard are now employed! Richard continues to work for Broulim’s (and has still not adjusted to night shift) and Jeannette started her first day of work today as supervisor at the Kennel at Spring Creek Animal Hospital in Jackson, WY.

We have also decided recently that we will be moving out of our current home and will officially become residents of Idaho. Jackson is right on the border of the two states so it is very typical in our area to live in one state and work in the other. There were many challenges with our current housing when we returned home- thankfully we were not caught unaware of the situation. We were hoping to avoid the most delightful task of moving (dripping with sarcasm there!) but we are very excited about the place we have chosen to move into. It is set up very well for horses complete with pasture, corrals, round pen, barn, riding arena, and immediate access to forest service! A horse lovers haven! The house also is far larger with 3  bedrooms, an office, 2 baths, plenty of storage, and an unobstructed sweeping view of the Grand Teton Mountains! We are very excited because our new home will have plenty of room for guests!

Altitude

Well, I thought I was going to get by unscathed in adjusting to altitude this time. I wasn’t struggling with headaches, cramping, shortness of breath, migraines, or any of my other normal altitude adjustment complaints. But this time I got surprised by a new symptom I had not experienced before- an inner ear infection. Apparently, (according to google!) it’s not all that uncommon to have this issue when adjusting. Mind you, a two week vacation is not going to cause much harm- it’s after a month and then into the second month that it sneaks up on you! I wasn’t exactly sick, but the ear infection caused debilitating dizziness that caused serious nausea and left me plunked on the couch for more than a week. I guess it’s a blessing in disguise that I haven’t landed a job yet because I don’t think they’d appreciate it much if I had taken a week off of work when I just started! Being a bit of a health nut, I was determined to try to kick this thing without antibiotics. It’s taken a little longer, but it finally seems to be working. So tonight, I am finally able to walk around the house without stumbling and holding onto anything I can grab. I actually did the dishes tonight and I finally feel slightly useful again. Also, thanks to the kindness of Dr. Anderson at Integrity Chiropractic, he adjusted my neck today which is also an excellent way to drain a pesky ear infection. Now I’m back on the job hunt and looking forward to spending a healthy number 31 birthday on Sunday.

Adjusting to Civilization- Part 2

Last was the biggest chore of all, the spare room. Like I mentioned, it was piled high with boxes everywhere- from clothes to items we’d sent home to dehydrated food to pictures to two years worth of mail. We had no idea where to start so we dove in, grabbed a box, and just started going through it together. We made piles of stuff- one for clothes, one for things that needed to go to the shed, one for first aid, and on and on. I don’t know how we managed to get through it all. It took a couple days, that’s for sure. We ended up with 3 or 4 huge bags of garbage. When we could see the floor, we started to get encouraged. But it’s all those little tedious things to put away that takes forever. At long last, we were ready for the vacuum, and then we just stood in the room embracing with amazement that we had conquered it! Lastly, we arranged all of Richard’s mom’s stuff (with her permission) into the spare room (she’s coming back from California for a while), finished putting away the last of the gear in the livingroom, vacuumed, dusted, scrubbed, and cleaned until our house shone like new. It was done. About 180 man hours in 6 days and now we were moved back home!

We also took a few hours to clean out the chest freezer to see what as in there and cleaned out the car. Good thing I did too because I found the source of the stench- two dead mice and their humoungus nest all over our trunk. NASTY!! The only thing left is filing the mail, updating all the records, going through the pictures, and making a scrapbook with our special momentos. That will have to wait after more urgent matters are seen to- like getting jobs!

We enjoyed a well deserved day of relaxing on Sunday when we finally got to see all our friends from church again. Then the second week it was back at it- only this time our focus was job searching. We created a powerful resume which we emailed and dropped off to about 15 jobs each. Thank God there are even jobs available! We each had 3 interviews the first week, and Richard landed a decent job on his third one. He is working at Broulim’s grocery store- the same store that donated all the produce we dehydrated for the trip! He was hired with the assurance that the store was making some changes shortly and he would be moving into management and great pay very quickly. But temporarily, they had to insert him in a night shift position. We were willing to put up with that inconvenience because there is great long term potential for this job until we are able to do Hearts Up Ranch full time. We had had Broulim’s on our hearts for several months before we got home as somewhere Richard should apply to and now we know that was God prompting us so we would be blessed with this opportunity.

I have not been hired yet and we are trusting in God as always to provide the finances we will need to pay our next month’s rent, utility bills, and insurances. It’s a bit daunting to get home and suddenly, without having had a job for two years, have to come up with the money to insure and register vehicles, renew my license, get the car tire fixed, pay for gas to drive the car, pay for copies of paper for resumes, pay for rent, pay for utilities, pay for trash, etc, etc. God has provided miraculously for us many times in the past and I am trying not to worry as the next month’s

bills sneak up on us before we have even received one paycheck. But it looks like we will continue to eat dehydrated food until I get a job! We are very thankful though, that the vehicles seem to be running fine and even the knock has gone away in the car.

Finally, the animals are all doing surprisingly well. The horses’ hair grew so quickly that they weren’t near as affected by the cold as we anticipated. Well, that and the fact that the temperatures have been unseasonably mild. I think the coldest we’ve seen was -1 so we are grateful for the ‘warm’ January! We have definitely been using the blankets on the horses, but not as much as we expected we would. They are adjusting very well and seem to be perfectly content to just be hanging out in the pasture. Chance also seems to have relaxed here and we can only hope his pals explained to him that this stop is different from the rest! I have noticed that he seems to be more a part of the herd than he has ever acted before. Perhaps the others, now that they are home, have decided he really is here to stay and now he is ‘one of the guys.’ It’s good to see. We have been giving them supplements and continuing to have them do their stretches to help them recuperate. And as promised, we have not been on their backs since they stepped in the Atlantic and will not do so until this summer so they can have a good 6 months off.

Nacho was cute. For the first few days it seemed that he remembered a little more each day who we were. He started to act his old way with us and remember our habits. When our friend Rick was over, he was surprised that Nacho was sitting on the toilet behind me trying to get my attention while I was using the bathroom mirror. He exclaimed that Nacho never even went in the bathroom when he lived here. I was confused because he always used to do that with me! It made me happy that he is obviously remembering us and starting to act just like old times around us.

Bella is just as precious as ever. She immediately chose the rocking recliner to be her chair and has spent many hours there ever since. I feel bad for her because she is used to walking at least 15 miles a day with lots of stimulus. And now she’s becoming a couch potato. But she is taking it well and we are doing our absolute best to get her out for two long walks (or cross country skiing) each day. It’s vital for her and it’s a good excuse for us to get started getting back in shape and adjusting to the high altitude, which by the way, has been remarkably easy this time. I have always had a very difficult time acclimating to high altitude- it affects some people more than others- but this time has been a piece of cake! I am so blessed by this. Back to Bella- we discovered that if we don’t take her out for some fun, she has a blast when we aren’t home getting into the garbage, toilet paper, and shredding newspapers! Little miss puppy is going to have to learn how to be civilized! This whole new life of not being around us 27 hrs 7 days a week is a bit of an adjustment for her. As far as Nacho goes, she is still very jealous of him every time he gets pet instead of her, but she does want to play with him. She is very polite about it, but he still swats and hisses at her when she gets too close. In the last couple days though, they seem to have made some headway in becoming friends, and I am confident that they will get over each other in a month or two and learn to enjoy each other’s company.

Well, friends, I guess we are home and nearly settled! If you are led, please continue to pray for a job for me, our physical stamina, recuperation, and adjustment to the high altitude, and our financial needs being met by March 1st. We continue to keep working on our pile of “to do’s” that has accumulated over two years. We are slowly catching up. You may notice many updates throughout the website. That is just one of many projects that we have been working on in between job hunting. When life normalizes a little, we will continue our fundraising work with Hearts Up Ranch and we will keep you posted on those developments via the blog and newsletters. Please do continue to check back here at least weekly. It may not be life-and-death adventure stories, but God is always up to something exciting! Our friends who have known us a long time know that ‘it’s rarely boring at the McGrath’s!’  So keep an eye out on these blogs- you never know what the future will bring when you have a vision….!  With much love always, the McGraths

Adjusting to Civilization- part 1

Sorry about the “Part 1, Part 2″ thing, but it’s been so long since I’ve had the opportunity, sanity, or time to blog that there is just so much to say! So after I wrote ridiculously long blogs, I decided to split them up. I’m very glad that life is normalizing somewhat so I can get caught up. It feels good to be able to tell you all of our end-of-the-ride stories. Hope you enjoy them and feel caught up on the latest McGrath news.

As we watched our last driver pull out of the driveway and head back to Colorado, we didn’t waste any time getting to work sorting out our life. First project: pull the vehicles out of the snow banks! With Teton Mountains and our purple blanketed horses playing in the pasture as our backdrop, we got to shoveling. Thankfully there was only about a foot and a half of accumulated snow- about half of normal for this time of year. A local mechanic had volunteered his time to get our vehicles running again before we got home, so at least they started. The truck was out of the snow, so the car was the main priority. In the process of trying to pull it out, we managed to get the truck quite stuck and had to cut the tow strap. Then we went at it from a different angle with a new strategy and were able to get it out that time. It stuck like dead mice though, had a very flat tire, and a pretty noticeable knock in the engine. Vehicles parked neatly in the driveway, we got to the next project.

The shed. All of our horse equipment that was neatly stored in the barn had been moved into a big heap in the tiny shed while we were gone. We were not happy about this to say the least and it was clear indication of issues that needed to be resolved. Guess we get to start our new life with trouble on the home-front already. “Lord, please give us grace to deal with this situation as You deal with our own failures. And since you have proven to be a God of details, would you please go before us and resolve this situation?”

So the shed ended up being about a two man, 18 hour project. It was a mess. Several things were broken, several were missing, and there was no room in that tiny space to sort it out. We had to take most of it out in the snow just to sort it out. Hours and hours of intense labor later, we finally had it stored in a somewhat organized fashion- as best we could do in the space that was there. Why, you say, would we start on the shed first instead of the house? Well, half of the gear with us was horse stuff that had to be stored outside, and our camping equipment couldn’t be put away either until we were able to organize it out in the shed. Thus, the shed was holding up the whole party!

That project finished to our satisfaction, we moved our efforts to the house. Upon first glance, the house was in order and cleaned up for our arrival. Many thanks to our friend for cleaning before moving out, and for leaving us with a comfy recliner! But for all his efforts, it still wasn’t ‘home’ to us. They had the house organized and to their cleanliness standards the way they wanted it to live in- which of course is no problem- but we needed to make it our own again. We decided it would be silly to unpack our gear and put it away when we had no idea where anything was anymore. So rather than moving things twice, we decided first to go through every cabinet, drawer, shelf, closet, dresser, – absolutely everything- and clean it and put it the way we wanted it. Think spring cleaning- or worse- moving. What a project!

I have to insert here our amazement once again at God’s timing. You know how we had said that we wanted to stay in Colorado to go to the cowboy church but our driver had to leave on Saturday? Well, had we left on Sunday afternoon or Monday, we would have had a serious problem. Not 30 hours after we arrived home, we were absolutely dumped on with snow! Two and a half feet in 24 hours then several inches each day after for a week! Not only would we not have been able to get in the driveway, the drive would have been dangerous especially for John’s return trip to Colorado, we would have had a very hard time pulling things out of the shed, and we definitely would not have been able to get our vehicles out of the snow banks! We arrived on the very last day of beautiful weather for the next week plus! So while we were unpacking, it was snowing and snowing! We did eventually have to give in and start shoveling in between the unpacking, but at least we didn’t have to drive in the mess to get to work.

We started on the kitchen so we would be able to cook. It was almost kind of fun actually. We listened to our own music as loud as we wanted to, spent time talking, and it was almost like Christmas discovering what we owned! The bathroom was next. My ulterior motive was that I wanted to be able to find my makeup and hair stuff! We began in small increments to put our gear away- anything that would find its home in the kitchen or bathroom was removed from its temporary place on the tarp in the livingroom.

Then we headed for the bedroom. The closet was a thing of beauty. All my clothes! Dresses and skirts and cute jeans and high heels and classy coats and purses and belts and jewelry and and and….! Not that I’m a material girl. Far from it. But to have choices of what to wear again! It was overwhelming actually. I think I changed three times the first few days! I couldn’t remember what went together, how to look stylish, or even decide what I wanted to wear. I figured I better start practicing how to dress nice again before I go to work or it would take me five hours to get ready! We pulled Richard’s clothes out of the boxes we had stashed them in out in the shed (so Mom could have room in the closet), and got them hung up. I didn’t mind putting most of our gear away, but when it came time to dump out our dry bags and put our trail clothes away, I got emotional. We’ve been living out of those bags for basically two years now. It was very weird to put them away.

Going Home- Part 3

When we arrived at Lonnie and Theresa’s, we still did not know how we were getting from Colorado up to Wyoming. But with the help of Theresa, the Cowboy Church, Susan who hosted us for part of our first Thanksgiving on the trail, and several other locals, we eventually were offered a ride. ….  whom we had never met, offered to drive us all the way from Pueblo to Jackson Hole sight unseen! How generous and kind! His comment was, “I’ve got nothing better to do on the weekend so I’d be happy to help!” We had been  trying to time it so we could go to church and speak on Sunday at the Cowboy church, but …. had to be back Monday night, so we were not able to go.

So Saturday morning, he met us bright and early, we loaded the trailer, blanketed the horses for the cold drive, said goodbye to the Martinez family, and off we went. We had many hours of great visiting getting to know …. and he us as we traveled north through Colorado and crossed into wonderful Wyoming. It wasn’t so wonderful this time of year though- the wind in the south east of the state was pretty brutal not only on the temperature but on the fuel economy as well! We had called ahead to our friend, Grant Golliher, in Pavillion who had suggested that we stay with him for the night on our way through Wyoming. It would have been a 16 hour trip straight through and we weren’t willing to put the horses through that. So we accepted the offer and found our way to his house well after dark. Grant wasn’t home yet so after looking around with a flashlight, we finally figured out where to put the horses and headed inside for the night. Grant came home just as we were heading inside and we spent the rest of the evening telling him about our journey. He admitted that he thought we were crazy, weren’t going to make it, would go through several horses, and would never come back to this area again. We knew exactly how he felt and we had heard that from many people before we left. That’s the thing about going against the norm of society- you get alot of people telling you it can’t be done and giving you all the reasons why you shouldn’t do it-  and that’s why God had to make it utterly clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that we were supposed to do this crazy journey. So we were honored when he said, “You’ve earned alot of respect around here and I am proud of you.” He seemed to really enjoy our pictures as well and was just in complete amazement. I wish Jane were there too- we missed seeing her- but she was out of town. But we did have a good time with Grant and were thankful he let us stay for the night.

We woke up on January 15th with excitement and a bit of trepidation- today was the day we were going home! Our stomachs and minds were churning with excitement, concerns, and emotions. We had looked forward to it for so long, but what would it be like? How many challenges would there be? Would anyone in the area care that we were home? So many questions with no answers- just relying on God to take care of everything just as we’ve been doing for two years with no home. It didn’t take us long to get the horses back in the trailer and head out. The trailer was already loaded so that made it easy.

It was only a couple hours before we were back in our old stomping grounds with familiar scenery. We stopped to fill the gas before committing ourselves to the drive over Togwotee pass and the Continental Divide. I can’t even stress the miracle of the weather we had. The ENTIRE way across the country during this trailer relay the weather was unseasonably mild, warm, and sunny. IN JANUARY!!!! That is unheard of. A week and a half of mild weather in January across the entire country! Crossing this dangerous pass was no exception. Normally the roads are covered in several inches of ice all winter long. Taking a full horse trailer across is not something that is recommended. The roads were ninety percent dry. I’ll say it again- they were dry!!! It was sunny, relatively warm, and gorgeous. Our first glimpse of the Grand Teton Mountains made my heart race! We were so glad it was a beautiful day so we could see the whole range from bottom to top and it was glorious. They were larger and more beautiful than we remembered. I guess you kind of get used to a good thing and take it for granted- so it was fun seeing them with a new perspective.

While I’m on the subject of blessings, I have to mention how generous everyone was who drove us. There were 8 drivers throughout a week and a half period of time. We had just enough money left to pay for gas back to Wyoming- leaving us with no money to live on until we got jobs. A scary thought, yes, but God is bigger than that problem. After more than 2,500 miles on the road, we were ‘allowed’ to spend a sum total of $270 in gas. Total. That’s it! I can’t even tell you how much of a blessing it is to come home with a little bit of money to start on! Thank you friends for your generosity- it has helped give us at least a little bit of a start in our new life.

We continued to tell stories as we drove through Jackson Hole, through Teton National Park, past the elk refuge, and past the elk antler arches in Jackson. We only had a little further to go- around the end of the Tetons before we would be coming down the homestretch. We craned our necks, looking out the window trying to get the first glimpse of home.

As we pulled in the driveway, our first thought was, “wow- the barn and fence look great!” Our landlord had renovated quite a bit while we were gone. As the truck came to a stop, the first thing a did was headed for the house. I wanted to see my kitty. We unlocked the door and there was Nacho, alive and well. He didn’t run away or act mad as I expected, so I gently went over to him and picked him up, he snuggled into me, and I just wept and kissed him and hugged him. He acted a little like he didn’t know us- after all we had been gone for a quarter of his life, but we knew it would come back to him. Richard got it all on video and he gave Nacho hugs too. I had a serious fear when we left him- my childhood horse died while I was away at college and I was so afraid that was going to happen to me again and I would never see Nacho after we left him that day two years ago. But there he was alive and well. Praise God for preventing that fear from manifesting, and many thanks to all 5 of our friends and family who helped take care of him while we were gone.

I pried myself away from Nacho and we all went back out to take care of the horses. It was surprisingly warm with very minimal snow, so we took the blankets off and walked them over to the pasture gate. We knew immediately that Satchmo, Tiska, Apache, and Fiddle all realized quickly where they were and remembered their old home. Their heads went up, they sniffed the wind, listened to the local sounds, and went trotting off to check out all their favorite hang-out spots. To Chance, it was just another stop. He eventually followed, but he held back without the same eager excitement as the others had. We hoped they would explain to him in horsey language that this was home.

Finally, we got to the task of unloading the truck of all our gear. We packed the horse tack into the shed and all our other gear into the house where we laid it on a tarp in the living room. It took up the entire floor and looked like a very daunting project! We even peaked into our spare room where all our dehydrated food, extra supplies, boxes we had sent home, and other gear was piled shoulder high with hardly a walkway and we promptly shut the door. One project at a time! When it was all unloaded and there was nothing left for ….. to do, he gave us a hug before heading back to Colorado, turned to us and said, “Well, you’re home!”

Indeed we are. GLORY TO GOD!

The end of the Ride Across America.

The completion of a life-long dream.

Just the beginning of another- Hearts Up Ranch.

From one adventure to another- the next chapter in life begins……..

{Note- while this is the official end of the Ride Across America, we fully intend to continue blogging periodically to keep you posted on the progression of the plans and vision for Hearts Up Ranch. I already have one coming out in the next day or two, and my goal is to do at least one per week. We will also share stories from our personal lives, updates on the animals, and planned events as we continue to push toward this goal. Do not hesitate to leave a comment if you have any questions or are curious about certain updates that I may not have mentioned. We desire to stay in touch with as many people as possible who we met across America, and this is one way we can do that. Additionally, we are creating an email list so we can personally send out newsletters. If you are not sure if we have your email and would like to be added to this list, please contact us via the link above and let us know. Also, don’t be afraid to call to keep in touch- even if it’s five years from now. Finally, one last thank you to everyone who helped us along the way, from the time when the ride was still in the planning stages to helping us get back on our feet back at home, from the prayers of those we never met to those with whom we spent weeks, from the humble donations of pocket change to the very generous donations including the ones given specifically for our personal use, from the tiniest church who invited us to speak to the broadest national news coverage, from the single encouraging word as we rode by to our cheerleaders who were there every step of the way, from the least little thing to the greatest. We could not have done it without you and your kindness will remain gratefully in our hearts always and forever. – With greatest love, Richard and Jeannette McGrath}

Going Home- Part 2

Our first drivers were Danny and Margaret a husband and wife from Elberon Virginia. He was the one who brought us a heater when we slept in the garage behind Adam’s Peanuts. We enjoyed our 3 and half hours with them, but it was definitely surreal trying to wrap our minds around the fact that we were going west and heading for home! We recognized alot of things along the way on the route that we rode, but it’s just so different going at a much faster speed.

We met our next driver, Allen Dunagan from Princeton West Virginia in the parking lot of Tractor Supply in Farmville, Virginia at 12:30. Our timing was almost impeccable- both parties arrived there within 10 minutes of each other with several hours of driving from each direction! We pulled the horses out of the trailers, walked them around for nearly a half hour, got them some water to drink, let them snack on the grass, packed all our gear from one truck to the other, and loaded the horses back up. It was a tight squeeze in his two door truck, so Bella had to lay across all three of our laps for the whole afternoon! Allen drove us 4 hours to his home where we put the horses back in the pasture they had stayed in once before, and we found our way back to their dining room table where Paula once again fed us a delicious home made meal.  Since we were to stay at the Dunagans for a day, Richard and I worked on trimming horse hooves- determined to get it done where we could take advantage of warmer temperatures- then Allen took us on a scenic local tour, and I took Bella for a great hike. That evening we were blessed tremendously by a large get-together at a local restaurant with their friends and many of the people who had hosted us or helped us in some way get through that area. Pete and Donna Hagerman were our next drivers, and we were so grateful they were able to come that evening with the kids because we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to see them. It was like a little family reunion and we were so grateful for the thoughtfulness of Allen and Paula arranging it.

We left at 9am with Pete and Donna. They had brought a trailer, but they came up with a brilliant idea- they just hooked up to Allen’s trailer so we wouldn’t have to move all our gear again since they had to come right back in order to go home. We had a wonderful 3 hour visit with them, and it didn’t seem long enough. That family is so dear to us and they have truly accepted us as part of their family. Such a blessing. You would remember them as the ones who invited the musicians over for an impromptu evening of bluegrass. We remember them as our new family and friends. I never imagined we would acquire new ’sisters’ and ‘brothers’ across the country, but we are so blessed with those we have met along the way. It was with tears that we hugged the Hagermans goodbye at the truck stop just inside the Kentucky line where we met up with Cowboy Pastor Dewayne Waldrup.

For the next 6 hours we enjoyed the company of Dewayne. We have alot in common with him, and it was a joy to just yack the afternoon away. In fact, we got so lost in conversation that we missed a turn that cost us a good 45 minutes! I was actually holding the map, so I guess that’s the navigator’s fault! :\  He drove us all the way to McQuady, Kentucky where we were greeted by more ‘family’- the Bashams who hosted us for two months when we were recuperating- complete with a “welcome home Richard and Jeannette” sign in the front yard.

This time though, Ronnie and Talli weren’t back yet from a vacation so we stayed with Kenny and Linda- who had horse fence already up anyway. We had decided to stay there for the weekend so we could go to church with them and leave on Monday, giving Ronnie a day to recuperate from their vacation before driving to Kansas. However, Ronnie and Talli completely shocked all of us when they showed up just in time for dinner Friday night- a whole day earlier than they were planning to come home! They didn’t want to miss a single minute of hanging out with us. We were so thrilled and excited to see them! And Bella- Ha! She went absolutely nuts when she saw Talli- and then even crazier when she saw her best friend, Ben!!! Until she is at our house for a while, the Bashams are the closest thing she has known to a home, and she definitely has a best bud in Ben! It was so fun to watch them play. We also spent time with Steffanie, Rick, and Ariel as well. It was such a wonderful weekend and it went by way too fast. These are some of our dearest friends in the whole world now, and another two days just didn’t seem like enough. But, we had a schedule to stick to, so after many tears of goodbye, we headed out bright and early with Ronnie and Kenny as our drivers.

We can’t thank them enough for their constant generosity. They drove us all the way from the middle of Kentucky into Kansas- over 600 miles and 12 hours one way. We got to spend some more quality time with them, but it is never enough. The horses did really well for that long of a day, and we made sure to stop every few hours at a truck stop, get them out to walk around, eat, and drink. It was well after dark when we finally arrived in Humboldt where Dave Gant was to host us. Ronnie and Kenny immediately liked Dave, but they chose to leave immediately after we were unloaded rather than putting off saying goodbye. So once again, with hugs and tears we watched them drive away. We were, however, very grateful to hear from them in the morning that they had made it back home safely- even without stopping to sleep.

Dave was just as we remembered him- fun, hilarious, warm, inviting, generous, and a great host. When Carrie got home, we had fun with her as well. Their guest bed was the only Tempurpedic we slept on during the entire trip, and it reminded us one of many reasons why we were so looking forward to getting home- to our bed! It even made us want to have a Tempurpedic for our guest bed eventually. Why not treat your guests like royalty! We had decided to give our horses a day off in between the really long trailer rides since they weren’t used to it, so Richard and I spent the next day while the Gants were at work just completely relaxing. There’s no internet or phone reception at their house, so it’s wonderfully peaceful. We slept in, watched a movie, took a long walk, hung out on the deck by the pond, and just chilled. The only work we did was packing our stuff, including the gun that Richard had left behind in Dave’s safe,  into his trailer. It was great! I had only one silly concern- we were only a dozen miles from where Bella started following us. She sniffed the air immediately like she remembered something in a way I’d never seen her do before. Was she going to run away from us after all this time? I was admittedly worried about it. But she had chosen to come with us nearly a year ago- of course she wasn’t going to run away now! And of course, she didn’t.

In the morning when Dave was done with his essential work at his business, we loaded the horses again and headed for Garden City. As always with Dave, we had great conversation and a good time, and we all had fun talking about our favorite subject- horses. I just wish we could collect all our favorite people from across the country and make a town where we could all live near each other! As we drove across Kansas, Richard and I marveled at how atrociously windy and bitter cold it was- and how on earth did we ride our horses outside in this same wind and cold- not to mention a whole lot more snow- during the same month of winter? We were definitely less worn out then, but there is nothing that can convince me otherwise that the main reason we did it is because God was our strength and He was with us on this journey and He helped us succeed. There’s no way I’d go out there now and ride in that kind of wind and bitter cold! It chilled us to the bones in just the 20 minutes we had the horses out of the trailer and we were walking nearly sideways just bracing against the searing wind! No thank you. Once is enough for me! We pulled into Garden City after a good 6 hour drive and quickly unloaded our stuff into the next trailer and put the horses in their enclosure for the night so Dave could head home right away. It was sad to say goodbye, but I bet we’ll see him one of these days at some ‘extreme cowboy’ competition!

Rob and Joyce Adams were there to welcome us with open arms. We made ourselves at home in the guest bedroom we had used for our first Christmas on the trail and enjoyed our visit all evening. Dave cooked steaks special for us, and Joyce made a pie. She is so excited because she gets to retire this year and she is planning out her year of endurance trail ride races. That evening, we went and checked on the horses because we were concerned that they would be too cold without blankets on in that wind. But we were trying to hold off blanketing them as much as possible so their winter coats would grow in more. Thankfully, livestock owners in Kansas are quite familiar with their windy winters, and there was a large stack of hay strategically placed as a wind block and the horses were doing just fine.

Having said goodbye to Rob and Joyce, we loaded the horses into their neighbor and friend’s trailer who was to be our next driver. I think Rob had volunteered him, but he was enthusiastic to help us on our journey. It was fun getting to know him as we drove the three hours to Pueblo, Colorado where we were going to stay with Lonnie and Theresa. They weren’t home when we arrived, but we knew the drill. This is where the horses had stayed for over two weeks to rest after we rode down the last mountain in the Rockies. We got the horses settled and unloaded our gear, thanked our driver once again for his time, and went in the house to relax for a bit. We loved visiting with the whole Martinez. Their three girls were happy to see us and have always been supportive of our ride. Theresa and Lonnie are special to us not only as hosts, but because they introduced the “Total Money Makeover” book to us by Dave Ramsey and I know it will really affect us for the rest of our lives. I highly recommend the book and we are so grateful they gave us a copy. We got to visit with Bev while we were there too. She and Ann were the ones who hosted Richard and I while the horses rested at the Martinez’s. Bev was at Virginia beach and watched us finish, but it was nice to get just a few quiet hours with her. We also got to see previous hosts Dale and Johnna who drove over to visit for a little while. Our last night in Pueblo was spent with Theresa, Lonnie, and their girls where they treated us to a PBR Rodeo. It was a fun was to end our time in Colorado.

Going Home- Part 1

First, we nearly gave up right as we got started after Richard fell off the cliff. Then we had a nasty argument in the Rockies and were tempted to go home again. Besides, Wyoming was straight north and we were done with the fun part of riding across the country on trails and in wilderness. But we persisted, but again in Kentucky, we fell apart physically and almost were forced to go home, and would have if it weren’t for the kindness of strangers (now friends of course!) But at long last, it really was time. We had accomplished our goal and dream.It was time to go home.

We just had no idea how.

Since our truck at home was not running right and our horse trailer was too small for 5 horses, we had to come up with a different plan than our original. Funny thing how two-year-old plans don’t work anymore! It was obvious that before Christmas, we were just beating our heads against a wall trying to make plans. So having given that up until after the holidays, we went back at it full strength when we arrived back at RRR Ranch. My voice was literally almost gone after 5 days of being on the phone for nearly 12 hours each day, plus several additional hours each day after that. We called horse transports, previous hosts, horse organizations, rodeo grounds, vets, horse traders, personal friends, trailer companies, and contacts of contacts of contacts. Ideas were plentiful, but our challenge continued to be cost. Anyone who transports horses understandably wants to be paid for their time and gas at a profit. We only had enough money left for gas.

It started to become obvious to me that the only people who were truly willing to help us without profiting from it were our previous hosts. Each one I called was, without fail, encouraging and willing to help. “Just let me know when and where,” was the answer I kept getting. This began to confirm the gut feeling I had had for months that we would indeed be going home via a relay. So we started to focus our efforts on calling our old friends. We got out the atlas that my uncle gave us (we only carried one state at a time), and started to plot our course. We continued to call previous hosts all across the country until we had plenty who were willing to drive AND had access to a large enough trailer. Then we got down to the details- where we were meeting, how many miles each person was asked to drive, how long it would take, where we would meet the next driver and at what time, how far we would go each day, where we would stay for the night, etc.

In the meantime, we were also working on acquiring blankets for our horses. Being used to the balmy 40-60 degrees in Virginia Beach, it was going to be a shock to all of our systems going home to single digits and likely 20 below in January! There was no way they had enough hair growth to protect them from these temperatures, so we needed to get blankets. We’d never blanketed our horses before for any weather- they are tough mountain ponies! But there is a first time for everything! Joy from Petersburg was absolutely a God-send in this project. We did the hours of research learning about horse blankets, how to measure for sizes, how to know if they were tough or warm, understanding the ratings, and searching for the best prices for the best possible blankets. Joy, however, did everything else. Her friends and horse connections pitched in generously for the purchase of these blankets,  and Joy collected all the money and made the purchase! What a blessing her hard work was and the horses will appreciate all of those ladies’ generosity for months to come.

By January second, we had all the drivers in place except for two holes- the very first leg in Virginia, and the very last leg from Colorado to Wyoming! Our goal was to leave on the fifth. Several drivers had commitments on certain dates, but if we could leave on the fifth, we would actually time the relay perfectly to be in the areas on the right day when drivers were available! I’ll tell you what, God is a God of details!!!! He even made this possible around nearly a dozen different schedules in three different time zones and during a dozen days! I knew in my heart that He would take care of these last two holes in our plan.

By Tuesday night, we had a driver who was willing, but they were only available on Wednesday, the fourth. We called our second driver and host who promptly offered to change his plans and was excited that we would get to stay with him for two nights in stead of one! We still had several days to figure out the last leg, so in faith we decided to start the relay. Richard and I stayed up late packing since we were not expecting to leave so quickly. We crammed our stuff into the smallest amount of space we possibly could. It was quite a challenge actually, with all of our gear that we had left behind now with us, our new Christmas presents, gifts we had received at the shore, food for the trip, and all of our equipment that we had finished the ride with! We used every bit of our packing skills to fill every inch of space in our bags so that it would actually all fit into goose-neck trailer or a truck bed!

Wednesday morning bright and early, we said our goodbyes to Richard’s mom who was heading to catch her plane, the kind RRR Ranch staff, and our new friend, Mark. We were given one last gift to fit into our stockpile by Mark- a solar electric fence charger! Having that pricey charger means that our flexibility with where we can keep our horses (on a long term basis)  just became exponentially larger. What a gift! So waving goodbye at last to the Atlantic Ocean, Virginia Beach, and the ‘end of the land’, we loaded our horses and belongings into the trailer and hit the road.

Two weeks and 2,000 miles!

After two years on the trail, what did we want to do more than anything?

OUR SPA DAY!

But it was the horses’ turn first! Virginia Beach local, Dr. Posey, generously donated many hours of her time on Monday and gave all 5 horses a thorough work-over with chiropractic, massage, and other body work. To our great relief, she declared that they were in tremendously better condition than she expected, and that we had done a really excellent job taking care of them across the country. We had heard this from other horse physical therapists along the way, but it was good to hear the final verdict at the end that, though they were in need of rest and recuperation, all considering, they were in excellent shape.

When she was done, Marilyn from RRR Ranch drove up with a horse trailer in tow and we loaded up the horses and all of our belongings and headed for the RRR Ranch where we would spend the remainder of our time at Virginia Beach.

Tuesday morning found us at Ambiance Salon and Day Spa for our promised donated spa day in honor of finishing our ride. Richard and I were pampered all day by the friendly staff with a couple’s hot stone massage, facials, pedicures, a catered lunch, manicures, a hair cut and style, and more! It was an absolute joy and a total blessing to be spoiled so much after a very rough 21 months. We cannot thank the staff at Ambiance enough for their generous support and donation of their time and services. It was greatly enjoyed and appreciated.

All relaxed, Richard and I then made our way to our donated hotel for the night, where we checked in and gawked at our amazing view of the Atlantic from our balcony trying to take it all in. We were at flight level with the seagulls, and they actually would fly over to the 15th floor (something like that) balcony and take bread out of your hands in midair! Plus, from that height, we actually got to watch a pod of dolphins migrating down the coast!!! Such an amazing view.  I’d been having movie withdrawal, so that evening we decided to walk a few blocks to the movie bistro where we ordered our dinner in the theater and enjoyed a good flick. We slept well despite it being our very first night away from Bella EVER. Mom babysat her grand-dog at RRR Ranch so we could have a date night, and though she laid on our stuff all night, she reported that Bella did well. It’s going to be a bit of an adjustment to both her and us as we ease back into regular life where she can’t be with us around the clock. But she did get to come pick us up in the morning and we took the opportunity to play with her on the beach for a while.

Our hope was to visit family for Christmas, but those plans were pending figuring out how and when we were getting home. Being short on personal finances after two years out of work meant that we had to get real creative in coming up with ideas. We’d made literally hundreds of phone calls to various transport companies, horse traders,  and individuals to come up with some of the craziest plans. At one point, the idea was to got from Virginia to Texas to Minnesota, to Montana, to Wyoming! The discount price for this insane routing was not a big enough difference to be worth it so we scratched that idea and kept looking. Bottom line was that we could hardly get ahold of anyone right before Christmas, so we threw up our hands, left the whole mess in God’s hands, and decided to go visit family and forget about trying to get home until after the holidays. The generous folks at RRR Ranch, the non-profit kids camp and ministry, kindly offered to house, feed, and care for our horses while we drove with Richard’s mom in her rental car up to New England. Sue is such a generous mom. There were certain very huge logistics of being able to leave home so long that would not have been possible to overcome if it hadn’t been for her generosity. Even still, she rented the car and willingly stayed for three weeks in Virginia Beach, not only to watch us finish, but also so we could have ‘wheels’ to go up to visit our friends and family in nearby states. Sue, you truly are a blessing and we know that this dream would not have been possible without your generosity. Thank you. So we left most of our belongings at the ranch and proceeded to drive in the next two weeks almost half of the distance we had just ridden in nearly two years!!! What a crazy new perspective on time!

The first stop was at my parents in Connecticut where we had an early Christmas with both my brothers- only one sister-in-law was missing. We ended up with two Christmas’s worth of presents to add to our gear to take back to Wyoming with us! It was a nice visit; of course great food when it’s cooked by your mother, fun getting to see everything that’s changed since we were last there a couple years ago,spending time with aunts and uncles and cousins in addition to immediate family, and we even got to visit one of my dear high school friends. Additionally, I got to spend some much anticipated quality time with both of my living and elderly grandparents. I was so worried being out of touch for almost two years at their age, and God blessed me greatly with once again taking care of all the details and making sure I got to see my grandparents again.

The next stop was in Massachusetts where we visited my high school friend Lisa and her husband for the afternoon. She has been a great cheerleader for us all the way across the country and we were sure to stop and appreciate her for that. I was very proud of her too, because she has completely changed her lifestyle and attained several of her goals in the last couple years, one of which she has lost all of her weight and she is thinner than me now! Way to go Lisa!

Onward to Cape Cod where we stayed with Richard’s dad and step mom for several days. We exchanged gifts, enjoyed a wonderful day out on the bike trail with Bella running for all she was worth to keep up, sampled the local restaurants, and got to visit with Richard’s step sister and brother-in-law as well. It was one of the best, most enjoyable visits we ever had with his dad.

From Cape Cod, we headed down to Pennsylvania where we spent actual Christmas day with our friends Jon and Michelle and their three young children. Once again, Bella helped a little girl learn that not all dogs are scary. We had a wonderfully blessed Christmas day with amazing home made food and great company. We miss our east coast friends alot and it was wonderful spending quality time with them. We finished the day with an evening of the game “Wizard”, which ended up in hysterical fits of laughter until 2 in the morning.

For the next several days in Pennsylvania, we hurried from home to home fitting in everyone that we could. We carved out a full day and another partial to spend with my cousins and aunt and uncle from Alaska. It was so great to see the kids again too. They’re growing up way too fast when we only get to see them every couple years. We had a long brunch with our friends Sarah and Tammy, spent an afternoon with our horse-and-buggy Mennonite friends Lamar and Lorraine, and an evening with Jon and Erin, who are expecting their first child together! We swung by several other friends as well, and unfortunately it was quite rushed, but alas, tis the breaks when you haven’t visited in years somewhere where you love so many people.

At last, we had to say goodbye to PA and make our way down to Maryland for our last stop at my aunt and uncle, Joe and Kathryn. It was our first time at their new house, having moved from Rhode Island since the last time we saw them. Bella had a blast playing with their dogs, and we had fun playing nerf guns with my cousins. Joe treated Richard, his mom, and I all to a fabulous, fresh Lobster dinner on the shore where we felt like we had our final “hurrah” for finishing the trail. I’ve dreamed of lobster for long months now. Before we left in the morning, we got to spend time with the whole family and had the grand tour, insider information and all, with my uncle who is in upper management at the local zoo. It’s a great little zoo and it was probably one of the most enjoyable and fascinating tours I’ve ever had! Gotta love knowing the ‘insiders’ and getting a private tour.

Finally we headed back toward Virginia Beach by way of the Tunnel Bridge (which is quite a neat drive if you’ve never done it.) We had heard word during our trip that our little ponies were naughty while we were gone. Apparently while the cats were away, the little mice played… alot. Fiddle jumped out of the pen, then broke boards to get out, then for a third time took the whole herd with her out onto the grassy lawn. Upon closer inspection, the barn managers noticed that the large bale of hay provided for them was not very good, so they were probably getting out because they liked the grass better. So the horses were all transferred to their pasture, where they then broke through to another pasture and later, into the road. Finally, the horses were all brought back to the barnyard where they had to move their ranch herd so they could put ours in a pen that they’d have a very hard time breaking out of. Upon inspection of the pasture, it was much more barren than the girls had realized, not providing enough food for 5 horses. The one thing about having horses that know how to survive- they WILL survive even if that means breaking down the fences so they can eat! We graciously appreciated the girls for watching the horses as we remember well how it is to be very young and learning about proper care and observation of livestock. We couldn’t have visited our family without their generous help. But I couldn’t entirely blame the little ‘mice’ for escaping, so as promised, Richard and I spent the first couple days back at the ranch fixing fences!

Part 2 – the last of the finish weekend…

After drying off from our polar dip and changing clothes, we jumped in the truck with Mark and his wife and headed for the stable where the horses were to rest for the next couple nights. Suddenly, I was really grateful that Judy remembered to give us the pizza that was donated by Dough Boy’s when we finished because we were ravenously hungry and we had a few hours yet before the benefit dinner was to start.

We pulled into the lovely barn area, met our horses’ hosts, and then unloaded them into the large paddock where they would spend their first nights of recuperation. Then we started on the task of lugging all of our gear and tack into the barn and stashing it in an unused horse stall. Richard and I then hightailed it to the barn shower room where we got dressed up at warp speeds for the benefit dinner. Since the barn was more than a half hour away from both the beach and the church, we had to hurry to make it in time!

Arriving at the Rugged Cross Cowboy Church for the Hearts Up Ranch Benefit Dinner, we found it to be decorated well by our volunteers, complete with hay bales, Hearts Up Ranch signs used on the mule, and dozens of pictures from the Ride Across America. A lovely buffet was provided by the members of the church, and many guests brought a delicious dish to share as well. The room was full of friends, family, and supporters from all over the local area, and we (and Bella too!) all enjoyed an evening of good music, great food, and wonderful conversation.

As we finished with dinner, we moved into the sanctuary of the church where we had the privilege of sharing our hearts. Pastor Bubba spoke to the group and was wonderfully supportive of the mission of Hearts Up Ranch, then Richard and I shared our vision for those who had never heard the whole story. But we had a little surprise for our dearest and hardest working volunteers- those who had ‘been in the trenches’ with us for months and were our dear friends and helpers. We also called up our parents who all supported our ride, vision, and showed up at the beach from many states away. To both our volunteers we gave a massage at a spa near their home in appreciation for all their hours spent craning over the computer and on the phone. Additionally, we gave them and all our parents something very special- a personalized (and cleaned!) hoof boot that had walked many, many miles on the cross country ride on the bottom of our horses’ feet! The evening was completed with a wonderful slide show created by our previous hosts, Matt and Dianna. We spent that night in the KOA again with Judy, and could hardly go to sleep for all the excitement!

While Saturday was a public event day, Sunday was set aside for close friends and family who traveled from long distances to see us.  We were up nice and early to meet for breakfast since my older brother, sister-in-law, and my cousins all had to leave before the luncheon that afternoon. We swung by Rugged Cross for ‘cowboy church’, then headed to the convention center provided for us by a local hotel where we hung out for the rest of the afternoon. It was an absolute blast! We shared lots of stories of the ride, my aunt and uncle shared many interesting facts about life in Alaska, and we all laughed and laughed and laughed. When we were all stuffed and tired of sitting in one place, we headed downstairs where Richard and I collected the two HUGE boxes of stuff that we had left behind at Ronnie and Talli’s in Kentucky and stuffed them in two different cars who would drive over to the horses and our gear for us. After saying goodbye to them those who had to head back home, we split up for a while so Richard and I could reunite our boxes of stuff with our gear that we actually finished with. That chore done, we headed to the boardwalk light show, a drive-through Christmas light spectacle, which was quite unique and very enjoyable.

Then what else was there for a whole group to do on a seashore but head to another restaurant!?! The are certainly an array of seafood restaurants to choose from, and with a bit of leg work, we finally settled on one that seemed promising. Big Sam’s was set right on the water and was prepared for us with a large table and even a dog bowl for water on the deck where we could leave Bella and watch her through the window. The local specialty, She Crab Soup, seemed to be a group favorite. It was really a delicious meal and the splurge on seafood combined with the blessing of spending some quality time with our dearest friends and family felt like a perfect way to finish our finale weekend celebrations.

Ocean in view! O! The Joy! – the final day

If  you look in your change bucket and pull out one of those special commemorative 2005 nickels, you will see that those words were taken from a journal of the 1805 Lewis and Clark expedition. Though ours was the Atlantic, we  can certainly relate to their elation at finding the Pacific. I have carried this nickel in my pocket for several months now, as its simple statement struck a cord in my heart. What better words are there to summarize the experience than those spoken by a kindred adventurer over 200 years ago?

And how do I even begin to verbalize the emotion of our last day on the Ride Across America? I don’t even know where to start. It was unlike anything we’ve ever experienced or felt… ever.

We were up early to be sure we were ready for our Mounted Police escorts who were arriving at 11. We had intentionally been hush hush about where we were staying on our last night, but nevertheless, our helpers were kept fairly busy keeping onlookers at bay so Richard and I could focus and be ready on time. We had a date- 1pm at the beach baby!!! Considering our serious sleep deprivation and exhaustion, it was all we could do to be ready by 11! But the excitement and nerves of the morning kept us moving along at a steady pace. I nearly broke down in tears several times out of shear joy and overwhelming emotions. Richard and I took some ibuprofen and we gave the horse equivalent medicine to all of them. We didn’t want any of us to be hurting one bit on this last day! By the time 10:30 rolled around, we were putting the finishing touches on our horses, packs, and escort vehicles. Once again, the SEAT organization demonstrated their phenomenal support and generosity by taking care of all the clean-up from the horses and temporary fence and being ready to do the final day of ‘pooper scooping.’

We greeted our two Mounted Police escorts and while they were getting ready, we mounted up and finished getting the pack horses lined out. We grouped together at the KOA sign for a photo opp, then hit the road at 11am sharp.

Our last 5 miles.

Yeah, I can’t even write this without crying. The emotion, oh the emotion.

Our first thought was that we were going to be late. The police horses walked a bit slower than ours who had been conditioned to move at a ground covering clip. Plus, one of the horses was in training and a bit skittish. We were pretty proud of our guys being calmer- but then again, I think 4,000 miles would do that to any living being! Thankfully, we did give ourselves a little extra time, but we kept a close eye on the clock until it became obvious that we were actually going to be early! We noticed right away that cars are much more courteous around the police horses and that people weren’t in any hurry to ask questions when we had uniforms with us. That saved us the extra time we were used to having to take in the city where there were always more questions. So needless to say, we weren’t going to be late!

I’m not sure if those 5 miles passed really fast or excruciatingly slow. Maybe a little of both. The anticipation was palpable. Our escort drivers kept whooping. People alongside the road that knew what we were doing shouted with joy and excitement. Our photographer was taking pictures, people were shouting, my phone was ringing off the hook with well-wishers, we were giggling and choking on emotion, tears kept jumping into our eyes every few minutes. In between fits of emotion, we enjoyed great conversation with our fellow riders. They told us some hilarious mounted police stories and we shared some stories about our adventure. The Virginia Beach Police also joined in the escort with a car to protect our pooper scoopers following behind. We took pictures of our ecstatic faces as we rode our last few miles. Bella accidentally went around the wrong side of a guardrail post with her leash on and had to be rescued by one of our escorts- the only mishap of the morning.

The intel we had gotten from the locals was correct- we could not see the ocean at any point during those last miles until we were only blocks away. At the corner where we were to turn down 17th street toward the beach, we made a spontaneous stop at the corner restaurant. It wasn’t even open yet and we took up the whole parking lot- us and our entourage- but at the request of the police, we all were without hesitation allowed to use the bathroom. We delayed for about 15 minutes so that we would be on time and last minute people wouldn’t miss our final steps.

When we got on our horses for the last time, we were shaking. Ok, I’m crying again. Walking that last quarter mile was positive elation. We were shaking with joy, disbelief, excitement, relief, accomplishment, and a host of other unnameable emotions. I was cold because I had been determined to wear my pretty western shirt instead of my ugly brown coat, and it was REALLY windy, but I didn’t care! I was shaking from emotion, not cold.

When we first turned down the road, we noticed an odd formation of poles at the end of the road. Maybe trees or statues? But as we got a few blocks closer, we could see they were moving. People? Surely not. Ok, maybe they are people. But there’s too many for it to be for US….. It’s a huge crowd!

“Is there something going on at the beach for such a huge crowd?” We asked our police escort.

“Yeah,” they said, “YOU!”

That’s when it really hit.

THAT WHOLE CROWD WAS THERE FOR US!!!

That’s when the dam that was containing the emotion broke loose. The tears came freely- laughing and crying at the same time. Both of us. We were a gushy mess! The crowd became distinct. We could make out bodies. Then faces came into view.

Then we saw it- the mighty ATLANTIC!!! It’s blue-gray infinite majesty. The salt smell, the seagulls, the sound of surf. The sky that melted into the water as far off as the eye could see. No more land. None. That’s it!

As we rode abreast of the crowd whose edges were spewing into the street and along the sidewalks, some of those faces became recognizable. And so many we didn’t know. Patty from Kentucky, one who made it possible for Apache to finish, ran into the road and gave me a hug. Ariel and Talli from Kentucky were holding neon signs. Bev, our 2 week host from Colorado was  there on the phone with Janet, our dear friend from California, giving her the play by play of our arrival. I see my mother in the crowd, and my younger brother walking alongside us. Friends from Pennsylvania, the fiery red hair of my cousin, kids I hardly recognized from how much they’d grown but I knew they were my cousins, Richard’s mom who flew from our home in Wyoming, Richard’s dad- who we scheduled the last day’s date making sure he could be there, so many family and friends from around the country. And dozens and dozens we didn’t know. Nameless faces who honored us by being there.

Then I was sure Richard had lost his mind. He told me he had just seen Sharon. She and Steve are my aunt and uncle from Alaska. I told him he was crazy. Then I saw her. I nearly fell off my horse. I had no idea they were coming!

We passed “Pacific Avenue” then “Atlantic Avenue.” OH MY GOSH!!! As we neared the main crowd, our new police friends peeled off to the left so we could take our victory steps alone. They left us with these instructions, “Do not stop when you get to the crowd or they will swarm you and you won’t get to the water! Just keep riding straight ahead. THEY WILL MOVE! Don’t stop until you reach that water!!!  Good luck!”

Oh those last few moments. Unspeakable emotion. Laughing, crying, shaking. Yet having to keep it together enough to keep our horses calm through all the commotion! And Bella too; she had no idea what was going on. We rode right through that crowd, wanting to hug everybody there- especially those we hadn’t seen in years-, yet the ocean’s call was stronger! As we moved past the protection of the row of hotels, the icy wind hit us like a freight train! Everyone hanging onto their hats, the crowd ran alongside us, whooping and hollering, yelling and shouting with excitement, joy, and congratulations. We whooped back.. over and over. Still laughing and crying. The energy in the air was tangible, electric, contagious to everyone in the nearby vicinity. After a moment of coercing, we rode our horses right down the stairs into the sand.

THE SAND!!!

There was a mass group surrounding us whooping and running to keep up with us as we made our last steps on dry land. Pure joy.

Wet sand.

We are there!

It took a few minutes, but at last we convinced Apache and Satchmo not to be afraid of the waves and the foam… and WE ALL STEPPED IN TO THE ATLANTIC!

WE DID IT!!!!  :)  

O! The joy!

We stood there on our horses in the water as the waves crashed against their feet. We held hands and whooped with joy and victory and the crowd continued to whoop and holler too! It was indescribably awesome.

We then moved back onto the wet sand and for the last time for many months, we dismounted our horses.

As we stood there at the center of the half circle the crowd had made, our faces were plastered with the biggest smiles ever. We held all our horses and Bella for non stop photos and just took it all in. There was well over 100 people there, maybe 200 or more. I don’t know- it was alot.

Then our helpers took the horses from us and the crowd converged on us with huge hugs from everyone. People we hadn’t seen in years, people we’d never met. We have a great picture of my mom and I with tears just streaming down our faces. “I don’t know what to say,” she said, “you did it like I knew you would!” And then there was my uncle Joe who looked at Richard, looked at the ocean, and said, “Jump in! I’ll meet you Eur0pe!” I hugged my father, my brothers, my cousins who are growing up too fast, my aunts and uncles, dearest friends, hosts and new friends from all across the country, and all the strangers- guys from a biker group, the foreigners who were amazed at what was going on, the guy who delivered us pizza, and anyone who got in our  path!

As Richard and I made our way up to the stage for the ceremony, we were still brimming with joy and triumph. The Mayor of Virginia Beach offered his sincere congratulations, as did Mark on behalf of SEAT, and Mike Eason on behalf of the city’s tourism department. We offered our appreciation for all they did to make this grand finish possible, and we presented the Mayor, Mark, Mike, the police department, and the mounted police with a signed and framed photo of the Ride Across America s Richard and I made our way up to the stage for the ceremony, we were still brimming with joy and triumph. The Mayor of Virginia Beach offered his sincere congratulations, as did Mark on behalf of in action.

  Then we were in for a real surprise! Our dearest helpers did something very, very special- they contacted Ambiance Salon and Day Spa who in turn donated an entire spa day to Richard and I!!! The shock was evident as they presented this gift to us on stage! How thoughtful- we had been dreaming of this impossible wish we couldn’t afford when we finished – and here it was coming true! How awesome God is for taking care of not only our needs, but the desires of our hearts!

But the fun wasn’t done. While we were doing presentations, someone was passing out and filling glasses of sparkling cider to the crowd for a toast! Judy took the microphone and gave this toast that we will never forget:

“A toast!

To the Atlantic! (whoops and cheers!)

To the end of the ride! (whoops and cheers!)

To God for His protection and guidance each step of the way! (loud cheers!)

To the people all along the trail who made it possible! (whoops and cheers!)

To a dream come true! (HUGE whoops and cheers!)

And to the next dream- HEARTS UP RANCH!”
(ROARING WHOOPS AND CHEERS!!!)

With that, we commenced to the horses where Richard and I felt like we were at our wedding all over again as we did family and group shots with the whole crew! Only this time we had a biker group in black leather as body guards to keep the crowd away from us so the photographer could get pictures! Our cheeks hurt from smiling but we didn’t care! Every bit of it was wonderful.

When we had gotten pictures with everyone, Richard and I did our ‘ceremonial’ removing of the horses’ gear and tack. Every step of the way was emotional. Tiska was first. As the last blanket came off her, she did a big shake, I hugged her neck and whispered, “you made it,” and she began to nibble grass. Then Fiddle and Chance were untacked- both received hugs for going the distance for us. But Satchmo and Apache, our main riding horses, now THAT was emotional. As we pulled the saddle off each one, tears of joy, thankfulness, and admiration for their devotion to us mixed together with their manes as we hugged them. To Apache I whispered, “You hung in there buddy, you really did it.” Their

hearts are so big, so much trust, so much devotion. They did it for us alone and for no other reason. We hope to spend the rest of their lives making them all comfortable and happy until the day they die in honor and respect for everything they suffered for us.

As we took the last hoof boot off, it was then our turn. I took off my heavy emergency belt and then Richard and I took our chaps and hats off and threw them up in the air! I looked over then and realized that Richard was taking off his boots. I knew what this meant! As he gave a silly grin, he took off running toward the ocean and we all chased after him to watch his polar dip! He hit the water

full speed ahead and was in the ocean up to his neck in moments! Bella and I followed after up to my hips. Laughing, we made our way back up the beach to shelter from the wind as the onlookers exclaimed their disbelief in Richard’s daring act! But the last joy of the end of the ride was yet to come.

We put the horses in the trailer. One by one, they stepped up onto their free ticket to a nice pasture they’ve earned many times over. No more walking, no more carrying packs, no more carrying riders, no more traffic, no more walking, no more walking, no more walking. They are done with the journey. 21 months 6 days and 3,928 miles. I love the picture of us sitting on the back of the trailer with the horses all loaded. It is finished. Praise God, Hallelujah, PRAISE GOD!!!!

A DREAM COME TRUE!

(… the rest of the day is to be continued…)