Friday was absolutely full on. Susan was all set to be my taxi driver for the day (a morning trip to the barn, a midday trip to the ferry and a late night collection from the ferry). Lana was getting ready to leave for a ride as I made breakfast, so I cancelled Susan's first pick-up just before she left home. Phew!
I took Fon out for some groundwork. She has done a LOT of work over the past week so I thought she deserved a nice easy day. I focussed on exercises while she was standing still, some one and two line walking with various equal and opposing presses, and one transition to trot (in hand) in each direction. I did quite a bit of cheek press and also some Ttouch and massage round her right ear which was relatively tense. She did not toss her head once during the whole session: a real change from the beginning when she would toss if I so much as thought about taking a snug connection on the halter.
The horses were turned out just before everyone arrived for The Great Barn Clean Up. Susan brought party hats ( ha, ha!). We discussed, stuff got sorted, tidied, binned, cleaned and moved around. Everyone got a fair share of space and there was even space leftover for the communal items (and/or for Jill's tack). Susan's best purchase of the day was some plastic storage containers for "seldomly used" items on the top shelf: she came back with a colourful array of boxes, so the top shelf has a touch of cheeriness :)
I left the others to their sorting at 11.00 to bring Sully in for groundwork. My plan was to do some slow one-step work over a pole as well as some crossing (front and hind feet) as it will help his lateral movements. It was a great example of dealing with the horse you have on the day: after the one-step work over the pole, his poor brain was overloaded and he needed to move. I got some lovely in-hand trot transitions from him and called it a day.
Lana took me home after running some errands. I showered and ate lunch quickly as Jenny was kindly taking me to the ferry, saving Susan from taxi trip #2 (she was very happy about that one!). Jenny lives on Bainbridge and rode Gruella after the tack room tidy, which was perfect timing for me to get out of my grubby barn clothes and scoff some food.
The sky was bright and Mt Ranier was clearly visible for most of the ferry crossing: absolutely beautiful. I called my (second?) cousin Jason as we were docking to say I would wander up to Pike Place market until he was finished work. We had planned to do the Seattle Underground tour then see a show of a radio duo he liked to listen to in the evening.
Pike Place market was fascinating. It's sort of a cross between a flea market (there are all sorts of odds and sods being sold) and a farmers' market. There are kitschy things and beautiful things, food, fish, flowers, and everything else in between. The fruit and vegetable stalls are, quite simply, vibrant, as are the flower stalls.
The Seattle Underground tour was also cool. It's quite a quirky take on a very unique piece of history. I definitely recommend it for anyone who comes to Seattle.
The show was up at the Paramount theatre: the perfect setting, seeing I'd just had a small dose of history (the theatre is an example of a well-cared-for historic building). The live show was done by RadioLab (you can find out more about them here: http://www.radiolab.org/series/podcasts/). It featured a performing arts group called Pilobolus (more here: http://www.pilobolus.com/home.jsp) and a singer/band combination who I did not get the names of. The show was great, and the only downside was the duration (we got out 5 minutes before the 10.05pm ferry, meaning I had to wait for the 10.55pm ferry... an 11.45pm pickup at the other end and 12.30am arrival in bed!).
Peggy had been at the barn in the evening as Sully had a minor bout of colic, so she collected me from the ferry so Susan avoided taxi trip #3 (we laughed about that the next day). Sully is fine but we are paying careful attention to him.
Saturday morning started bright and early with a 7.30am collection, in order to make the 8.45am ferry (with various other people to coordinate on our way. I met Jill, finally, and she definitely lives up to everyone's rave reviews: yet another reminder of how good this community is. We met Susan's neice, her hubby and their daughter in Seattle.
First up was the King Tut exhibit at the Pacific Science centre. It was a great exhibit, though not something I would have done on my own. Following that, we ate lunch at a little Greek place before heading in to see the new Chihuly exhibition.
All I can say about Chihuly is WOW! I absolutely LOVED it. I have always appreciated the beauty of blown glass, but this blew my mind. It was gorgeous.
The sculptures are all intricately linked pieces of large glass. The bowls, vases and other objects are exquisitely crafted. Chihuly has an incredible vision and talent. Some of the sculptures had been in other places before, others had never been exhibited. If they travel, they are taken apart and never end up put back together in exactly the same way, so each installation is unique. The second room we walked through had myriad pieces of coloured glass on the roof and was lit from the top, creating coloured light through the room. There was also an outdoor section and, given the fabulous weather, the pieces were glittering and shining as they caught and reflected the light.
I took many, many photos of the various displays and will upload them soon.
Following Chihuly we walked through Pike Place market again, before heading up some stairs for a drink at a Spanish bar, then making our way over to a fabulous Italian restaurant for dinner (another recommendation from me: The Pink Door, in Post Alley). It is the most delicious meal I've had at a restaurant in a very long time: the food was simply to die for. If you are EVER in Seattle, do make your way there for dinner. http://thepinkdoor.net/
All in all, I had a great two days in Seattle. We were on the 9.45pm ferry home and dropped Susan home to feed Josie while we went back to the barn to check on Sully (and I got to meet the three new arrivals, very briefly). It did mean another late night, as I was dropped back at Lana's at 11.30pm.
This morning was another early start, 7.35am pick up in order to leave in time to get over to a Bainbridge location for lessons starting at 10.00am. Peggy had 4 lessons booked, one of which turned into two lessons (a couple), so I have been out in the sun most of the day. I got my hands on all the horses at some point, most often to walk them while Peggy was discussing an idea with them, or to lead the horse while the rider focused on the new ideas about their position.
Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs and ribs (yummmmmmmm) at friends of Lana and Ron's. Lana and I finished a game of SkipBo we started the other day (she left it out because she thought she had a good chance of winning: a fatal error when I was on my last card meant she didn't!).
It is way past the early bed time I had planned, but you have been entertained and updated, all is well, and I can bid you good night!
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