Indiana trip

Cheri's quest to run a race in all 50 states led us to Indiana this past weekend.  We chose a 5k trail race.  It was a nice trail in a scenic area.  It was a timed event but no awards.  I'd rather they charge a little higher entry fee and have some awards.  I may not have gotten one, but I'd be more motivated to try if there were.  I can run the trails and eat cookies afterwards anytime.  But it was fun, and the trail was well marked so that's always helpful. 

 

Saturday afternoon we explored the cute little town of Nashville, IN which was near where we stayed.  There were lots of  cute local craft stores and plenty of ice cream and candy places.  All but one of the non-food stores let us bring the dogs in, which was super nice.  We had Legend and Xena with us.  I think at least 20 people asked what kind of dog Legend was or is she was an Aussie.  

 

After shopping and ice cream eating we hit a few short trails in another local park.  Fun little weekend away!

 

 

Animal stuff

Missy got adopted-yay!

Havoc is still available-boo!

This little cutie is still trying to heal a broken leg and learning to stay calm around cats. 

 

Socks got bored waiting to me to open his gate. 

 

Legend had a lovely time getting dirty while we built fence. 

 

Never ending

Owning a home means a never-ending list of projects to be done. The first one we needed to tackle once home from vacation was a new pig pen fence. We wanted something that actually keeps pigs in and dogs out. While we were at it we decided to expand their area to give them more shade and grass during times we don't want them loose and also reduce our mowing!

This is the before pen. 

 

 

And here is the after. It was deceptively complicated to get this done. It could be better but it works and looks nice. 

 

 

Then I wanted to re-use some of the cinder blocks from the old pen. So I stole an idea I saw online. 

 

I painted the blocks different shades of brown. Added some plants and mulch and I think it turned out cute. The guy at Walmart said the cacti and succulents will live through the winter. I hope so. I just put regular plants on the bottom because they are closer to dog access and also the cacti were 4-7 dollars each. In fact, my little recycling project ended up costing almost $100. But we like it. 

 

Next up, painting doors, cleaning barn, and new garden area by small deck!

Back at home

While we were gone all of MO flooded.  Seriously.  Back roads to major highways.  We missed all the excitement other than our pet sitter had a hard time getting out to the house the first night but she did eventually get there and all was well.

Now that we are home everything looks good here.  Horses are getting slick and  shiny and grass is green.  Squirt was not fully cooperative in this activity.

In the dog world Missy is adoption pending.  She had a benign mass removed off her foot and then removed her sutures so she has a big wound to heal by granulation.  Will take awhile and leave a scar but will be ok.  So she's not getting to play as much as she would like.

Havoc is looking more and more grown up and still looking for a home.

The healing up the puppy's leg is still up in the air.  As is the legal issue surrounding him and the rest of the dogs.  Legend got into two element specialty trials and an NW3 in Colorado in June.  Lyric, well, she's just cute.

Aruba part 3

As a way of seeing the rest of the island we booked jeep tour.  Part of this was off road.  Be prepared for a rough ride if you choose this.  It was fun but borderline scary at times.

Ostrich farm was one of the stops.  This one was hoping I had food.

 Just some of the countryside.  Aruba is basically a desert.

 Natural bridges and black stone beach.  I don't think the pictures do this place justice.  Also is amazing how different the opposite coasts are!

 Donkey sanctuary-cares for over 100 donkeys all descended from when they were the main transportation for people and water on the island.  When they were no longer needed they were set free and this didn't go that well.  So now they have a sanctuary.

 More landscape.

 I guess some donkeys are still "wild."

 We also drove through the National park to see a cave.  The park was mostly dirt and cacti.  The cave was not interesting for those of us from Missouri. The last stop was Baby Beach-a swimming and snorkeling destination.

Baby beach is pretty busy.  These pics were strategically taken.

Another thing we did was go to the Italian restaurant at the Lighthouse.  We felt both the food and lighthouse were underwhelming.  If we had to go it over again, this is something we would skip.  The view was nice, you can see a long way, but it wasn't really better than the views we had from other places as far as being pretty.

Aruba Part 2

Just to the south of Palm Beach is Eagle Beach.  There is only one resort actually on the beach here.  And it's near the end.  The rest are across the street and there are really no amenities along large parts of it.  There are a few places that offer water sports and chair rentals but they get less frequent as you go further south.   Therefore it's a lot less busy and quieter. Also Eagle beach is huge-both wide and long.  I recommend hanging out across from the La Quinta.  There is a nice row of trees that block the road and if you get there early you can use a La Quinta palapa.  Also nearby is the Costa Linda resort which offers a beach bar for food and drink.  This area is also walking distance to a few more shops restaurants and a casino.  We simply took the bus from our hotel here.  Easy. We ended up spending the whole day.

 There are lizards everywhere.  Both in the "wild" and all over the resorts.

Aruba part 1

I didn't fall off the face of the earth, but I did go on vacation.  We just got back from 7 days in Aruba and it was amazing!  The weather was warm, mostly sunny, and the water was calm clear and all shades of blue.  It's also windy in Aruba, which helps keep you cool but can also be annoying.  Don't bother to do your hair.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Resort on Palm Beach.  Palm beach is basically a strip of sand protected by a reef so the water is almost swimming pool calm.  There are several resorts along the beach all connected by a sidewalk (or the beach if you prefer walking in the sand).  There are plenty of beach and pier pars, snack places and restaurants along the resort strip.  Also on the street side of the resorts are more shopping and eateries.

We give the Holiday Inn an A+ for value, convenience and location.  Check in was a little slow and maid service was a little hit or miss.  If you want something ultra fancy and over the top luxurious choose another resort.  It was nice-had everything we needed, but remember it's still a Holiday Inn!  But we didn't really plan on using the resort much-we really didn't even use the pool when we could be using the ocean!  But the location allowed us to walk easily to all sorts of nearby places to eat and drink and shop.  We also used the casino at pretty much every resort so we got to see a little of each of them.  They were pretty, but I'm not sure the extra cost is justified unless you plan to never leave the resort.

We did not choose the all inclusive option since there were so many places to walk to and try out.  We were really glad we went this route.  Every place has a happy hour and if you plan your day you can get plenty of cheap drinks.  Also there was a place on the beach that served brats and other grilled foods for lunch.  You can get a whole quesadilla for $5.  So plenty of cheap eats if you look around.

These are all from Palm Beach.  It looks deceptively quiet but I took these in the morning and some of them were north of the hotel area so no people.  It gets very busy during the day and can be crowded and noisy.  But early morning and late afternoon are less busy and also nicer temps.