Have I mentioned my friend with the donkeys?

Recently we went on a road trip.

My husband had a bit of time off and really wanted to get out in our trailer again. We used to do this a lot - get out in our trailer. This pretty much stopped the moment we moved to the farm.

As I began loading our sweet little apartment on wheels, I realized that I hadn't slept in it since August of 2007. Wow. That was pre-farm, pre-chickens, pre-goats, pre-farmgirl and...pre-donkeys. How different my life is now.

I digress.

My husband was the instigator (call him the pusher) of this trip. He really wanted to get away. However, he was very flexible on just where we went. So, I had this grand idea. As much as I have been dreaming and thinking and plotting and planning about having donkeys in my life again, I felt that this was the *perfect* time to go and visit my friend, Cindy, who lives about five and a half hours south of us.

In preparation, I packed a small treat basket for Cindy. In it was freshly baked artisan bread (4 varieties), homemade raspberry jam, and some freshly picked Critter Farm raspberries:

Then we loaded Roxy, Porkchop, the trailer donkey, and Bubba, the giant zucchini, into the car:

...and we hit the road:

Almost immediately, we needed to stop. There's something about being responsibility-free that makes us crave a bit o'junkfood. We stopped and picked some up:

Now, my friend, Cindy, has donkeys. Lots of them. In addition to donkeys, she has horses and goats and chickens and dogs and cats, as well. Getting to visit her and her critters was the best vacation destination I could think of!

Oregon, if you don't know, is tremendously beautiful. Even the view from the major interstate freeway is pretty:

Once we got a few hours south of Portland, there were sheep farms everywhere. I had no idea there were so many sheep in Oregon:

And then we arrived at Cindy's. I may not have stopped smiling the whole time I was there:

My farm pup, Roxy, and Cindy hit it right off. Roxy felt it was her job to be in the middle of everything Cindy needed to do:

We spent the night in our trailer smack dab in the middle of the farm. The donkeys, horses and goats were directly outside our front door. The chickens and roosters were about thirty feet to the north of us (imagine Jim's face when the rooster started crowing at midnight, tee hee). I couldn't resist peeking out the door that night. The poor animals couldn't figure out who the crazy lady with the flash was:

It was wonderful.

The next morning, everybody was hungry:

Cookie and Donut are two of Cindy's beloved longears:

I even got to meet Patty Cake, the naughty mini horse that I'd heard a lot about:

This is Cindy with her beloved horse, Hoodini (or Hood for short):

Cindy loves her animals and it's clear they all adore her:

All too soon, it was time to leave. The redwoods in California were calling to my husband.

This is Miles, saying goodbye. Isn't he gorgeous?

We had so much fun. Thanks for the wonderful hospitality, Cindy!

p.s.
If anyone would like to check out what life on a southern Oregon animal farm is like, you can read Cindy's blog: here