We voted unanimously to go horseback riding on Friday of our Spring Break. The trails at Cades Cove in the Park were closed on the day we tried to go riding due to swollen streams. So we made the short drive to nearby Townsend, TN and hired us some horses from the lovely people at Cades Cove Stables. Michaela was DYING for a white horse and so she got to ride Gunsmoke. Alex got paired up with Toby. And Jimmy, always partial to Paints, was paired up with KC. Alas, Sophia was too little for her own horse so after trying out Daddy's ride she and I took a carriage ride on the trails with our new friend, Joe and his horse Doc.
What a great ride we all had! The trail riders all did great and rode their horses up a trail to a 100-foot waterfall. During the course of the ride, both Alex and Michaela fell deeply in love with their horses. They came back best friends with Gunsmoke and Toby. Sophia? Well, she did even better. She won our driver Ol’ Joe over to the point that he asked her to marry him! Sophia worked her way from the back seat of the carriage with me up to the driver’s perch and ended up giving Doc commands and taking over steering the whole rig. She was a natural!
When we met up with the trail riders at the end of the afternoon, we had lots of adventures to share with each other. Alex and Michaela could barely stand to say good bye to their best friends. They asked if we could come riding tomorrow. They asked if we could at least stop by before we headed back to Memphis to explain to their equine friends that we would be back just as soon as we can. They gave more hugs and kisses and eventually said sad farewells. Sophia took the opportunity to go down the line of trail horses one more time and kiss each and every nose.
And that is how Sophia became engaged to be married and Alex and Michaela each gained a new best friend, all in one eventful afternoon!
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