Today is actually Saturday but I am only now getting the images from Friday sorted out.  Yesterday was the beginning of the horse show.  The first event was dressage with carriages (very cool restored carriages) and afterwards it was jumping.  I took in some of the show but then wandered off on my own to find cool stuff to photograph.  I also managed to find a cool little hideaway to do some drawing, which was a real treat for me.

The grounds are really pretty and they have an amazing garden.

Next to the garden is a small stable with about 6 stalls.  They have other huge barns with many stalls but this must have been an older original one.  These two horses seemed to like one another...

and this one decided to give me a closer look

Oh, I completely forgot to post about dinner the other night!  On Thursday evening they had a reception of sorts for the horse show attendees.  It was mostly the judges, friends and sponsors.  They have this huge open cooking pit built into a outdoor dining room aside the house.  The room is awesome.  The main table is huge- maybe about 40 feet long and made out of a single tree (Steven would love it!).  It's really incredible.  At the end of the tree table is the pit, which is round and about 6-8 feet across and has a metal grill over it and was filled with hot coals.  They had these metal platters hung above it on pulleys.  Inside the trays were meats and sausages (both Danny and Steven would have loved that!).  At one point, one of the guests asks me if I have tried this one dish and pointed to it.  I asked what it was and he says "mountain oysters".  I had heard about this kind of thing before and knew it was some sort of body part or organ or something.  Sure enough...it was goat testicles.  Now I am pretty adventurous and will try lots of different foods but I had to draw the line.  Blech!  Here they are cooking.  the other picture of is some awesome Chilean wine (that I did try!).

OK, now back to Friday.  After the morning events, they had a BBQ up on the hill.  From the top of the hill you could see wheat fields for acres and acres and beyond that in the distant horizon, a big volcano.  I tried earnestly to capture the grandeur of the wheat fields and the volcano but that is just one of those things that a camera can't interpret as well as the eye.  You will have to  use your imagination.  Lunch was goat (yes, more goat), potatoes, marinated tomatoes, the most amazing sopapillas you have ever tasted (made fresh on top of the hill in a huge fryer) and fresh salsa.  It was awesome!  I couldn't help thinking about how Danny is a chef and does competitive BBQ'ing and I thought he'd love the way they cooked the goats.  So, Danny, these two images are for you!

I am really enjoying my time away from work and "real life" but I keep finding myself thinking "Oh, Steven would love this" or Sayer and Finn would be having so much fun".  Traveling without my little tribe always feel a little lonely.  I am with my stepmother, Wendy, and she is a great travel companion so I am not really solo.  I am also very aware of how hard this trip would have been for my kids and I know that they really need to be a little older before they would be able to do this trip well.  Thank goodness for ichat though.  I've been able to chat with my guys every morning and see their faces on my screen and even exchange virtual kisses too.  However, I can't help but wish that they were here with me enjoying all the new sights, sounds and surroundings.  I really miss you guys!

I will leave you with a few more pictures from yesterday.  This is one of the coach horses, the coolest tree house I have ever seen and the wheat fields.