Iceland

Like so many things in my life, the Iceland trip was born on the trail. 

As we'd ride along down the trail, sometimes in a group of three...

but more often in a group of four,

we'd talk about places we'd ridden...

and places we wanted to ride.

This was a real staple during the pandemic era, when the world was feeling extra small and closed in.

I was able to contribute three riding countries, aside from the U.S. - Mexico, Germany and the Netherlands. Everyone else was better traveled. Between the four of us, we'd ridden almost everywhere.

But no one had been to or ridden in Iceland.

This was notable because Iceland is a horse girl mecca.

So we started talking about the four of us going on a trip to Iceland.

I thought it was just idle talk, things to say as we rode down the trail.

Then someone actually booked a trip. She sent a confirmation notice to our group chat, and I was horrified. 

"I can not afford that," I said. "There is simply no way."

"It's not as expensive as you think," I was told. "You have a whole year. You can make it work."

I did the math, and while it was still pretty daunting, it did seem possible. I set up a new savings account and started picking up extra shifts at work. Instead of buying model horses, I started selling them. I didn't go to BreyerFest.

It worked. By the time spring rolled around, the trip was entirely paid for.

Unfortunately, by that time our friend group was no longer a friend group.

I will be forever sad that we weren't able to do this as a group of four...

but at this point, that's not just water under the bridge, it's water under a bridge we crossed a long time ago.

Later today, I will board a plane bound for Iceland with my best barn buddy.

It's perhaps not the Icelandic trip of my dreams, but it's so much more than I ever expected. My bags are packed. I am so excited.