Complete: October 26, 2008
This is probably in my top favorite tasks that I have done this year. Thanks to Monterey Bay Equestrian, my lifelong dream of riding horses galloping down the beach came true and exceeded all my expectations. (Including the expectation that my ass would be sore today, but maybe not THIS sore.) Yesterday, a beautiful brisk day in the Monterey Bay area, me and a girlfriend set out for Moss Landing to meet our guide and our horses for an hour long trek on the beach and the dunes.
Unlike many of my tasks in the project there wasn't anything tentative about this one. The horses were beautiful and not scary at all, the injury factor was still high, but less likely and there was no great fear being tackled, only fun. From the moment I made the reservation, I was stoked about it, and the staff that took my call was friendly and encouraging. They met us on the beach and saddled up the horses for our tour and a shorter one leaving at the same time as us. While me and my friend sat on our saddles, we waited for the late comers to join our tour and got acquainted with our new furry friends. My ride for the afternoon was Geronimo, and he was such a sweet and mild mannered horse, I felt completely safe and comfortable.
We started off down the beach, trotting side by side behind the guide. Geronimo wasn't a big fan of hanging in the back and anytime he felt we were lagging, he would sprint ahead into the pack. It was cute that he couldn't keep up in a normal pace, but it made my butt a bit bruised from the excessive galloping in the catching up. There was a time when we posed in the surf on our horses, and then we did some serious galloping, during which my camera took a leap out of my pocket and into the sand. Thankfully the kind guide retrieved it for me and we returned to our sprint down the sand. It was a sweet little ride down the beach before making a turn onto the path through the dunes which were equally stunning. It is so amazing to gaze out over the river bed and agricultural rich ground and think how beautiful it all is, and then realize that this is my home. It was nice and relaxing in the single file strut and noticing the hawks and other majestic birds loop in the wind was breathtaking.
For some of it, it seemed too short, but parts of my body today disagree. It is definitely something that I would do again without thinking, and most certainly plan to do in the future. I'm very happy to call this MISSION COMPLETE. I wish I could do that every weekend...
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