Chapter 5 - The Rest Day
Today was a slightly more relaxed start, but we still had to be up in time to get ready and have breakfast before making our way into LA for our 10am horse riding. We started the day with breakfast at Tangaroa Terrace. I chose to carb load with Mickey waffles. On our way to and from breakfast, we saw plenty of runners involved in the 10k. I did consider getting up early to cheer them on, but in the end the chance for a small sleep in between 3:30am starts won out!
After breakfast we made our way back to the condo to grab some extra water and supplies before hitting the freeways. We had a pretty good run in, and managed to not get lost on our way to Sunset Ranch at Griffith Park. The car parking situation took a while to figure out, but we got there in the end, and headed up to the corrals.
When we checked in we were given waivers to sign and chose our helmets (compulsory). There was also the chance for a quick bathroom break before starting the ride. It was a pretty good set up, with a long platform for people to stand on to get on the horses. There were another two couples on our ride, so eight of us altogether. We got two guides, one at the front and one at the back, and they swapped halfway through. One guide was very good, the other wasn’t so inspiring.
The ride was great! We wound around Griffith Park up to the lookout, passing plenty of hikers and mountain bikers. We passed another couple of horse riding groups – they seem to be pretty popular. Our horses were all fairly well behaved with no major incidents. Mine started getting a little tense on the way back after DH’s horse bit her on the bum, but I couldn’t blame her for that! We didn’t stay long at the lookout, or really get to take in the views much. I was kind of expecting to get off the horses and visit the actual lookout, but we just kind of got to the vicinity of it and turned around. There were still plenty of nice views to be had though.
We took a different track back down, starting off along a great ridge, and with a couple of steep-ish inclines and descents which were fun. The whole ride was pretty open, and we got hot and dusty out on the track. We didn’t have to exert ourselves much though, which was the main point, so I think it was mission accomplished! When we reached the little track back to the corrals, we noticed the Hollywood sign right there on the hill. We hadn’t noticed it on the way out because it had been behind us.
The horses obviously knew what the deal was. Once we dismounted, they just took themselves off to the corral where they were fed and watered. There were plenty of horses there so that they could give all the horses a break before sending them out again. The horses were all in very good condition and nice natured. I was impressed. As always, there was a friendly dog hanging around, and the farm mascots, a miniature pony and donkey, were enjoying a rest in the sun.
It had been a two hour ride, so we were pretty keen to find some lunch on the way home. The trouble with the US and so much freeway driving is that it’s really hard to find things like that along the way! We saw a couple of things, but of course we’d already passed the exit ramps by the time we saw them. I noticed on the GPS that there was a Denny’s coming up, and we managed to get off the freeway in time and stop there.
After lunch, Dad dropped us off at the condo then took the hire car back. It would have been a bit of a hike back for him, but he broke it up with a quick trip into
Disneyland on the way. DH and I didn’t have park access today, so we just hung around the condo and pool. Mum decided to join us. I’d bought a frozen dinner, which we had with some fresh capsicum and rice. We didn’t want anything too heavy tonight. After some more chatting and relaxing on the patio, we all headed to bed for an early night before our big day!