Phillip Dutton's: Day 1

Day 1 of me as a working student for Phillip Dutton. The trip was about 3 hours from Northern VA to here in West Grove, PA. I ended up paying about $32 in tolls on I-95. One toll was $23! It was just crazy. I can definitely tell here is Amish land- I've been stuck behind about 3 horse-carts. I got here about 3:30 and unloaded Sully in to the barn. My old friend Nate lives/works here, so it was nice having someone to show me around and get me acquainted with everyone. I'm staying in an apartment underneath the office/indoor arena viewing area. That means on my day off I can go upstairs and watch people riding in the ring :) My place has a living area, mini kitchen, and separate room for my bed. I haven't been able to get the a/c working in my room, so hopefully I can tough it out tonight and get it fixed tomorrow! For dinner tonight Nate took me to a nearby bar/restaurant. It was full of horse people which was really neat. I miss being in the horse world. This is definitely a headfirst dive in to it! Well, I'm off to bed.. gotta be up and ready for a long day starting at 7am tomorrow!

Litchfield Beach Days 4,5,6,7

Home, bittersweet home from the beach! I have to say that this trip was one of the best beach trips we've ever taken. There were no "too-much-time-together" disagreements which made the whole trip better! The weather was PERFECT. We got a few storms the first day, but then it was hot, hot, HOT! the rest of the week. We really lucked out! On Friday, Tristan, me, two cousins and their two kids all went to the Music Festival Park in Myrtle. There were some really neat roller coasters and rides, and it was so much more fun having an excuse to ride the kid rides :) Saturday mom, Tristan and I went to the Tanger Outlets to hit up the J.Crew store. It's amazing how much discounted the clothes there are. I wish we had a good outlet mall around here!

Places we ate this week were:

• Gilligan's
• Subway
• The Fish House
• Roz's Rice Mill Cafe
• Island Cafe and Deli
• The Mayor's House
• T-Bonz Steakhouse
• Quigleys Pint and Plate

Overall it was a really fun trip and I'm sad it's over!! On to the real world. Packing for Phillip's and heading up there with Sully on Wednesday!

Litchfield Beach Days 1, 2, 3, 4

This week is family beach week at Litchfield Beach in South Carolina. It's a bit south of Myrtle Beach but north of Hilton Head. It's not so touristy which is really nice, so the beaches are really clean and not crowded. Mom, dad, Tristan, and I packed up the Commander and made our way down on Sunday the 2nd. Traffic wasn't too bad, so we made it in about 8 hours (after dropping Sully off at Patricks on the way up so he could be ridden this week). So far the weather has been perfect. We got a few thunderstorms the first two days, but it has been nice and steamy hot since then. I've been trying to lather up the suntan lotion so I don't get too fried while I'm here! Grandma has been staying with us in our condo in Inlet Point, and we've really enjoyed having her. It's crazy with the family. Usually Tristan and I spend a lot of time with our cousins, but this year has been very different! Cousins brought their boyfriends and new babies- Busy, busy group! Grandma, dad, mom, 2 uncles, 2 aunts, brother, 4 cousins, 2 cousins' sig others, and 2 cousins' kids! It's a great group, though. Last night we wandered over to a restaurant in the Hammock Shops, and I had the best meal I think I've ever had in my life. Of course I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but I had the lobster linguine. Melt in your mouth lobster linguine. Here are a few of my favorite pictures so far: