Kentucky- Land Between the Lakes

Today, I rode Lisa Darnell’s 12-year-old mare, Misty, at Land Between the Lakes, a popular recreation area in Kentucky. The land is literally a peninsula surrounded by a lake. Randall Mitchell, the park naturalist, led us out to learn about the history of the area, along with Lisa and her cr...

Maui- Kipahulu Rain Forest

Today we drove three hours of the beautiful, treacherous winding Road to Hana out to Kipahulu to ride with Maui Stables. This is one of the most remote parts of the island. It is actually past Hana. The road itself runs along the coast with 600 and some curves. We woke up at 5AM to make ...

Maui- Lahaina

Lahaina is a busy shop and restaurant filled port town, which though touristy, has enough history to make it worth a stop on your trip, or at least a drive through. I wanted to see the big old Banyon Tree down by the water, so we headed to Lahaina to check it out. Front Street is the main stree...

Maui- Makawao

Makawao is a very cool little Western town in Upcountry Maui. So far, this is my favorite town in Maui. It’s right down the street from Piiholo Ranch, so if you are riding there, you may want to check it out. After using Makawao as a base for travel and getting restaurant suggestions from...

Maui- Pi’iholo Ranch

We’re in Upcountry Maui, riding at Piiholo Ranch with Tamalyn Baldwin and other riders, a destination which is part of the Equitrekking Travel Maui Equestrian Vacation. The Upcountry is the lush ranch area and Piiholo Ranch is a working cattle ranch that also serves as a sanctuary for the Ha...

Maui- Upcountry Horse Culture Video

Upcountry Maui is horse country. If you visit, make sure to check out the Western town of Makawao and consider riding. Maui has lots of options, which you can incorporate into your vacation, a great idea for those who aren't used to riding everyday. Here's a short Equitrekking video on ...

North Carolina- Horse Riding at Biltmore Estate

Today I went horseback riding at Biltmore, and enjoyed the grounds, trails and horses, just as guests of George Vanderbilt would have during the Gilded Age. Biltmore Estate features over 80 miles of equestrian trails located on 4,000 acres in the beautiful Western North Carolina Mountains. Th...

North Carolina- Great Smoky Mountains

Today we enjoyed riding in the Great Smoky Mountains with tribal members from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. I rode a Tennessee Walking horse, which was a first, and really liked its smooth gliding gait through the shaded mountain trails. Forrest and his wife, Ashley, who train Tennessee...

North Carolina- Rock Climbing and Asheville

Today, I took a break from the saddle to explore downtown Asheville's arts, restaurants and shopping and spend the afternoon rock climbing at Chimney Rock Park. No, I have never gone rock climbing before, and yes, I am still in one piece. It was a lot of fun and certainly a challenge. Ashev...

Quebec City Old Port Market

I ventured to the old port market, which is a farmers market of regional products from throughout Quebec, located down by the St. Lawrence River. The neat thing about this market is that local people from Quebec City actually do shop here. I basically ate my way through the market, sampling chocol...