Moving on to Day #4

May 6-10, 2021

Good morning!

It’s Sunday morning, June 27, 2021. Maddie and I had another wonderful day yesterday. We’re still in South Carolina and loving it!

After eating way too much at the smorgasbord, I set my GPS for a visit to my niece Cari and her husband Frank in Virginia. Over the years, I haven’t spent enough time with Cari or my nephew, Chris, so I was thrilled with the opportunity.

When Cari asked if I’d like to spend the night, I didn’t hesitate! Even though this adventure revolves around being outside in nature, I’m never going to turn down the offer of a really comfortable bed, a hot shower, a delicious meal and most importantly, wonderful company!

Cari is developing her own law practice and is currently working from home. In between business calls and her office work, we were able to spend some much appreciated quality time together. I love that we chatted like we were continuing a conversation from the week before, when in reality, it’s been years.

When I told Cari that my next stop was going to be Assateague National Seashore Park in Maryland to see the wild ponies, she was very excited for me. The love of horses runs deep in my family. My Mom was on the equestrian drill team for her junior college. My grandfather was a CPA and worked out the finances with the school for my Mom to be able to participate. My sister Carla and I grew up with a love of horses and over the years, she owned several.

Cari and Frank are the co-owners of the beautiful equine magazine, Equine America.

Assateague National Seashore Campground is generally booked many months in advance and I had mistakenly thought dogs weren’t allowed. When I learned that dogs aren’t allowed on the Virginia side, but are allowed on the Maryland side of the island, Cari encouraged me to check out reservations for camping. Mom was working her special Guardian Angel powers that day because I was able to reserve a campsite for the following Monday night!

I ended up staying with Cari and Frank until Monday morning, which meant I had the pleasure of watching Cari ride her handsome horse, King Cornbread on Sunday morning! He’s a Haflinger/Belgian cross and she’s training with him in dressage. I absolutely loved spending time with Cari at the stable. I’m sure that Mom/her grandmother was smiling all day! 😇

Cari’s dog, Cue and Maddie can both be very territorial, so we had to be careful to keep them separated all weekend. Eventually, we decided to take them for a walk in neutral territory. Mission accomplished! They were great!

After saying goodbye on Monday morning, I discovered that my car battery was dead. 😳 Luckily, I have lots of emergency equipment with me, so we were able to jumpstart it. After needing another jumpstart at Assateague Island a few days later, I invested in a new battery. 🤷‍♀️

Next stop: Assateague Island National Seashore Park in Maryland to visit the wild ponies!

Hugs from South Carolina!

Wendy & Maddie 💕