Just got back from our annual trek to Lake George. We usually do all the touristy things, like a boat ride on the lake, The Great Escape amusement park, hitting all the gift shops and specialty stores on Canada Street - but this year we tried something new: horseback riding on a trail. My trusty steed was a very gentle horse named Bella.
It was my first time on a horse, although I had been around them before via a friend's family stable outside of Philly. In other words, I brushed them, fed them and scooped up poop, but I was too afraid to actually ride one. And when I climbed onto Bella's back, I realized why: sitting atop a saddle on an adult horse puts you about 10 feet off the ground! Once the horse starts walking, the saddle actually sways ever so gently as well.
What I realized though is that horses are incredibly sure-footed creatures. The trail we rode was rocky and muddy from the rain it'd gotten a few days before. Bella never wavered and kept right on keeping on up the rocks, through the mud and across streams. He was my four-legged hero, because I'm sure had I been asked to walk through all that, I surely would have turned back...
So, I guess the lesson to be learned is that fear can potentially make you miss out on lots of cool things (and yes, I was kinda afraid up there so far from earth), but sometimes you have to feel the fear and do it anyway.
Perhaps next year, I'll try parasailing...
