Chapter 13: Horses
(Ruthie's POV)
I was quite surprised after lunch today when Simon said he was taking me somewhere. I had been so busy helping babysit that I almost forgot that this was our vacation. He was being very mysterious about where he was taking me, but he said I would love it.
"Okay, Ruthie, we're almost there," Simon told me.
"Yeah, but almost where?" I asked, emphasizing the last word.
"Okay, since you'll figure it out when we get there, I guess I can tell you. I rented two horses for the day. We're going horseback riding," Simon said.
"Really?" I was surprised," Simon, that sounds so fun."
"I told you you'd like it," he smiled at me.
"This will be great, I bet we'll see some beautiful views along the way. Is there a specific trail to ride on?" I asked with curiosity.
"Well, there's a trail that goes through a rainforest, past a volcano, across a beach and then back through the rainforest to a place where we drop off the horses," Simon explained," and remember, the horses are ours all day, so we can take our time if we want."
"Thanks Simon, you are a great brother," I leaned over to hug him. He knew this was just I would love to spend a day doing.
When we arrived at the stalls, a man came out and introduced to our horses and gave us maps to show us where our trail would lead. Simon was riding a black horse named Mickey and I was riding a white horse named Donald. I thought they were strange names for horses, but the man explained that all of their horses were named after Disney characters. He explained a few things to us and then we set off on the trail.
"I hope you don't mind that these horses are really gentle," Simon said," but I don't know anything about riding."
"It's okay. I won't mind not having too much work to do. This is just supposed to be fun and relaxing right?" I asked as my horse caught up to his.
"Yeah, exactly. Fun and relaxing," Simon repeated.
After about 20 minutes the trees to our right cleared and there was a waterfall.
"Oh wow, that's beautiful, look at that waterfall. It's so perfect and serene," I observed.
"Yeah, this spot is so tranquil," Simon agreed," there are some really beautiful places in Hawaii."
"When we get back, remind me to thank Dad for this vacation again," I said," I've been having the best time of my life."
"I think that was the point of this too, for us to all enjoy ourselves and subtly let our minds get off all the bad things that have happened to us in the last years," Simon said.
The horses were moving slowly along the trail and there were some spots where the trail was only wide enough for one horse to pass at a time. My horse always dropped back to let Simon's go first. We had a bit of a scare when Simon's horse decided he wanted to try and rub Simon off on a tree. It turned out Mickey only had an itch on his side, but Simon was pretty sure his horse was trying to get rid of him. I found it somewhat comical, even though it scared Simon.
We came around a bend and up ahead was a mountain.
"According to the map, that should be the volcano," I said.
"I don't know what I expected, but it just looks like a regular mountain," Simon told me," you know, I thought, I don't know, but this is just a plain old mountain."
"I bet if we climbed to the top there'd be a big hole in the top," I theorized.
"You know," Simon laughed," there was a day when I bet we both would have wanted to climb up there and check it out. We sure got into some trouble when we were younger."
"Oh I know," I smiled," I always wanted to follow you and do whatever you were doing. You were so cool when I was younger, I always wanted to be like you."
"Sometimes I miss those days," Simon reminisced.
"Yeah, but I'm glad we're older now and we can have days like today too," I said.
"Good point, I don't think I'd trade today for the past," Simon thought out loud.
"Hey look, is that Mom and Dad coming towards us?" I asked.
"Where?" Simon started," whoa, I think it is. I didn't know they were going horseback riding too!"
(Annie's POV)
After fishing, Eric and I decided to go horseback riding. It sounded like a very romantic idea. The fishing hadn't gone so well, as I accidentally lost my pole. I had dropped it into the ocean and Eric didn't think we could get it back. So we had our lunch and sailed back to shore. The woman at the boat rental house told us about a horse stall in the forest a little ways. So we decided to take a ride through the forest.
The scenery along the way was beautiful. Everything was vibrant and green. There banana trees off to one side of the path and we were told it was okay to pick some. I found the brightest yellow bananas I could and put them into the saddlebag. Our horses were very patient when we got off to pick the bananas. They just waited on the path as if they had done this hundreds of times. We mounted the horses again and came across the volcano that was supposed to be on the trail. I spotted some young people coming in our direction.
"Eric, is it just me, or does that look like Simon and Ruthie?" I asked, very surprised to see them.
"You know what hon, I think it is them," he sounded just as surprised.
"Well, he said he wanted to take her out, are you shocked he took her to horse?" I laughed.
"I guess not, Ruthie loves horses," Eric smiled.
Simon and Ruthie road up to us and Simon said," Mom, Dad, I didn't know you guys were riding horses."
"We didn't originally plan on it," Eric explained," but a woman told us about this place that rented horses and we decided it would be something really fun to do."
"Simon brought me riding because he knows I love horses and I've been helping watch the kids the whole time. I really needed this break. It is vacation after all," Ruthie said.
"Well, you have to admit it is pretty funny that we all ran into eachother out here," I laughed," I mean, what are the odds?"
"It is pretty funny that we all ended up coming to the same place," Simon laughed too.
We all had a laugh about how similar our tastes must be. We stopped to sit on rocks and enjoy the scenery for a while longer. As we sat, quite a few exotic birds flew over our heads. Ruthie and I spotted a bright blue parrot-looking bird sitting in a tree just on the other side of the path. All of us were really enjoying ourselves.
"I think it's about time we split up again," Ruthie suggested.
"Okay, well we'll see you kids back at the house later," I waved to them as they rode away.
"I'm glad Simon brought her out to have fun," Eric said," because since you two swam with the dolphins, she has been just watching the kids. I know she loves to do that, but I think this ride will be good for her."
"I agree completely," I said.
(Sarah's POV)
Lucy, Matt, Mary, Kevin and I had the task of watching Sammie and David today. After lunch we decided to take them to a petting zoo that wasn't too far from the vacation house. We rode the bus to the zoo and Sammie's eyes lit up as soon as she saw the animals. It kind of made me want to have my own baby, but I knew it was too much in the middle of medical school to have a child. I enjoyed playing with my neice for the time being.
David wanted to ride the ponies and so of course Sammie wanted to as well. She wanted to do everything that he did. So the zookeeper let David ride with Sammie in front of him. It was so cute watching the kids having fun together. The pangs of wanting a child hit me again. I must have looked funny because Matt pulled me aside.
"Are you okay Sarah?" he asked me.
"Oh I was just thinking," I said," watching them makes me want to have a baby."
"Really?" Matt seemed surprised.
"I know we don't want to have them while we're in medical school and all, but seeing those two makes me want my own, you know," I explained.
"Well, I was kind of thinking the same things," Matt said," seeing Lucy and Kevin with their baby, they're just so happy."
"But we have to remember, we're both in medical school, we don't have time for kids just yet," I sighed," give it another couple years."
"You're right, now's still not the right time," Matt kissed me.
"One day we will be parents though," I smiled.
Matt walked back to join the others and Mary came over to me.
"Hi," she started.
"Hey Mary," I replied.
"I was just noticing how you were looking at the kids," she said.
"Oh, Matt and I were just talking about how cute they are," I smiled at them. They were awfully cute.
"I just can't believe I'm going to have one of my own so soon," Mary continued," I wasn't sure if I was ready until I talked to Lucy. She has me convinced I'll be okay. It's just scary because I'm alone. Lucy has Kevin, if you and Matt had kids, you have eachother. I've always got the family, but I'm still nervous."
"You'll do fine," I told her," I've seen lots of new mothers, working in the hospital, and they're all scared, but once the baby is born, they just seem to be okay. They're not afraid anymore," I told her.
"Yeah, those two sure like eachother," Mary gestured at Sammie and David giggling on the pony's back," at least I know my kid will have someone to play with. Now that I'm living here."
"That's the best thing about a big family, you're never worried about not having someone else around," I agreed.
David and Sammie got down from the pony and David ran over to us.
"That was so fun Mary!" he exclaimed.
"Was it?" she asked.
"Too bad you're a grown-up, or I think you'd have fun too," he said.
"Yeah, I think I'm a little too big for riding ponies," Mary laughed.
David grabbed her hand and pulled her over to pet another animal. I rejoined Matt and we watched the kids running around, excitedly petting all the animals.
A/N: I think that was the last of the chapters in Hawaii, next chapter will be everyone going home. Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading my story.
(Ruthie's POV)
I was quite surprised after lunch today when Simon said he was taking me somewhere. I had been so busy helping babysit that I almost forgot that this was our vacation. He was being very mysterious about where he was taking me, but he said I would love it.
"Okay, Ruthie, we're almost there," Simon told me.
"Yeah, but almost where?" I asked, emphasizing the last word.
"Okay, since you'll figure it out when we get there, I guess I can tell you. I rented two horses for the day. We're going horseback riding," Simon said.
"Really?" I was surprised," Simon, that sounds so fun."
"I told you you'd like it," he smiled at me.
"This will be great, I bet we'll see some beautiful views along the way. Is there a specific trail to ride on?" I asked with curiosity.
"Well, there's a trail that goes through a rainforest, past a volcano, across a beach and then back through the rainforest to a place where we drop off the horses," Simon explained," and remember, the horses are ours all day, so we can take our time if we want."
"Thanks Simon, you are a great brother," I leaned over to hug him. He knew this was just I would love to spend a day doing.
When we arrived at the stalls, a man came out and introduced to our horses and gave us maps to show us where our trail would lead. Simon was riding a black horse named Mickey and I was riding a white horse named Donald. I thought they were strange names for horses, but the man explained that all of their horses were named after Disney characters. He explained a few things to us and then we set off on the trail.
"I hope you don't mind that these horses are really gentle," Simon said," but I don't know anything about riding."
"It's okay. I won't mind not having too much work to do. This is just supposed to be fun and relaxing right?" I asked as my horse caught up to his.
"Yeah, exactly. Fun and relaxing," Simon repeated.
After about 20 minutes the trees to our right cleared and there was a waterfall.
"Oh wow, that's beautiful, look at that waterfall. It's so perfect and serene," I observed.
"Yeah, this spot is so tranquil," Simon agreed," there are some really beautiful places in Hawaii."
"When we get back, remind me to thank Dad for this vacation again," I said," I've been having the best time of my life."
"I think that was the point of this too, for us to all enjoy ourselves and subtly let our minds get off all the bad things that have happened to us in the last years," Simon said.
The horses were moving slowly along the trail and there were some spots where the trail was only wide enough for one horse to pass at a time. My horse always dropped back to let Simon's go first. We had a bit of a scare when Simon's horse decided he wanted to try and rub Simon off on a tree. It turned out Mickey only had an itch on his side, but Simon was pretty sure his horse was trying to get rid of him. I found it somewhat comical, even though it scared Simon.
We came around a bend and up ahead was a mountain.
"According to the map, that should be the volcano," I said.
"I don't know what I expected, but it just looks like a regular mountain," Simon told me," you know, I thought, I don't know, but this is just a plain old mountain."
"I bet if we climbed to the top there'd be a big hole in the top," I theorized.
"You know," Simon laughed," there was a day when I bet we both would have wanted to climb up there and check it out. We sure got into some trouble when we were younger."
"Oh I know," I smiled," I always wanted to follow you and do whatever you were doing. You were so cool when I was younger, I always wanted to be like you."
"Sometimes I miss those days," Simon reminisced.
"Yeah, but I'm glad we're older now and we can have days like today too," I said.
"Good point, I don't think I'd trade today for the past," Simon thought out loud.
"Hey look, is that Mom and Dad coming towards us?" I asked.
"Where?" Simon started," whoa, I think it is. I didn't know they were going horseback riding too!"
(Annie's POV)
After fishing, Eric and I decided to go horseback riding. It sounded like a very romantic idea. The fishing hadn't gone so well, as I accidentally lost my pole. I had dropped it into the ocean and Eric didn't think we could get it back. So we had our lunch and sailed back to shore. The woman at the boat rental house told us about a horse stall in the forest a little ways. So we decided to take a ride through the forest.
The scenery along the way was beautiful. Everything was vibrant and green. There banana trees off to one side of the path and we were told it was okay to pick some. I found the brightest yellow bananas I could and put them into the saddlebag. Our horses were very patient when we got off to pick the bananas. They just waited on the path as if they had done this hundreds of times. We mounted the horses again and came across the volcano that was supposed to be on the trail. I spotted some young people coming in our direction.
"Eric, is it just me, or does that look like Simon and Ruthie?" I asked, very surprised to see them.
"You know what hon, I think it is them," he sounded just as surprised.
"Well, he said he wanted to take her out, are you shocked he took her to horse?" I laughed.
"I guess not, Ruthie loves horses," Eric smiled.
Simon and Ruthie road up to us and Simon said," Mom, Dad, I didn't know you guys were riding horses."
"We didn't originally plan on it," Eric explained," but a woman told us about this place that rented horses and we decided it would be something really fun to do."
"Simon brought me riding because he knows I love horses and I've been helping watch the kids the whole time. I really needed this break. It is vacation after all," Ruthie said.
"Well, you have to admit it is pretty funny that we all ran into eachother out here," I laughed," I mean, what are the odds?"
"It is pretty funny that we all ended up coming to the same place," Simon laughed too.
We all had a laugh about how similar our tastes must be. We stopped to sit on rocks and enjoy the scenery for a while longer. As we sat, quite a few exotic birds flew over our heads. Ruthie and I spotted a bright blue parrot-looking bird sitting in a tree just on the other side of the path. All of us were really enjoying ourselves.
"I think it's about time we split up again," Ruthie suggested.
"Okay, well we'll see you kids back at the house later," I waved to them as they rode away.
"I'm glad Simon brought her out to have fun," Eric said," because since you two swam with the dolphins, she has been just watching the kids. I know she loves to do that, but I think this ride will be good for her."
"I agree completely," I said.
(Sarah's POV)
Lucy, Matt, Mary, Kevin and I had the task of watching Sammie and David today. After lunch we decided to take them to a petting zoo that wasn't too far from the vacation house. We rode the bus to the zoo and Sammie's eyes lit up as soon as she saw the animals. It kind of made me want to have my own baby, but I knew it was too much in the middle of medical school to have a child. I enjoyed playing with my neice for the time being.
David wanted to ride the ponies and so of course Sammie wanted to as well. She wanted to do everything that he did. So the zookeeper let David ride with Sammie in front of him. It was so cute watching the kids having fun together. The pangs of wanting a child hit me again. I must have looked funny because Matt pulled me aside.
"Are you okay Sarah?" he asked me.
"Oh I was just thinking," I said," watching them makes me want to have a baby."
"Really?" Matt seemed surprised.
"I know we don't want to have them while we're in medical school and all, but seeing those two makes me want my own, you know," I explained.
"Well, I was kind of thinking the same things," Matt said," seeing Lucy and Kevin with their baby, they're just so happy."
"But we have to remember, we're both in medical school, we don't have time for kids just yet," I sighed," give it another couple years."
"You're right, now's still not the right time," Matt kissed me.
"One day we will be parents though," I smiled.
Matt walked back to join the others and Mary came over to me.
"Hi," she started.
"Hey Mary," I replied.
"I was just noticing how you were looking at the kids," she said.
"Oh, Matt and I were just talking about how cute they are," I smiled at them. They were awfully cute.
"I just can't believe I'm going to have one of my own so soon," Mary continued," I wasn't sure if I was ready until I talked to Lucy. She has me convinced I'll be okay. It's just scary because I'm alone. Lucy has Kevin, if you and Matt had kids, you have eachother. I've always got the family, but I'm still nervous."
"You'll do fine," I told her," I've seen lots of new mothers, working in the hospital, and they're all scared, but once the baby is born, they just seem to be okay. They're not afraid anymore," I told her.
"Yeah, those two sure like eachother," Mary gestured at Sammie and David giggling on the pony's back," at least I know my kid will have someone to play with. Now that I'm living here."
"That's the best thing about a big family, you're never worried about not having someone else around," I agreed.
David and Sammie got down from the pony and David ran over to us.
"That was so fun Mary!" he exclaimed.
"Was it?" she asked.
"Too bad you're a grown-up, or I think you'd have fun too," he said.
"Yeah, I think I'm a little too big for riding ponies," Mary laughed.
David grabbed her hand and pulled her over to pet another animal. I rejoined Matt and we watched the kids running around, excitedly petting all the animals.
A/N: I think that was the last of the chapters in Hawaii, next chapter will be everyone going home. Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading my story.