Kentucky Day 4: Only By the Grace of God.

It was only by the grace of God that I reached my post to work at the World Equestrian Games this morning and got out of there again when I was finished for the day.  I had reviewed the directions to the park the night before and managed to get several hours of sleep despite some nervousness about the uncertainty of what today would bring.  What I hadn’t done was factor in my previous reliance on the good old GPS while cruising about Kentucky and that it had all been done in the light of day.

It was before 6am when I darted across Main Street to the City Hall parking lot across from the Training Center where I am staying.  It was not only dark due to the hour, it was raining.  I didn’t have a precise address for the Horse Park nor was it listed as an attraction on my Garmin.  I headed out anyway, expecting everything to fall into place as it usually does as I followed Main Street back toward Lexington thinking, “turn when you get to Walmart.”  Well, as you may have already guessed, I never got to Walmart.

I did end up going the wrong way down a one-way street in Paris, Kentucky.   A very gracious gentleman in a pickup truck pointed out the error of my way and re-directed me the best he could.  I never did find Walmart but I did somehow end up at the Horse Park (in the dark and in the rain) and not more than 10-15 minutes late for my first day “on-the-job”.

The rain and cold continued throughout not only my 6 hour shift scanning tickets at the dressage competition, but the entire day and into the night.  The dark however did subside and, although I pushed myself to remain on my feet for another 4 hours, mostly checking out the vendors at the park, I was careful to call it quits before dark once again fell upon Kentucky. I had no desire to enhance the challenge of finding where in the sea of volunteer’s vehicles I had left mine, in the dark so many hours earlier, that I knew lie ahead.  I thank God and the brilliant invention of the keyless remote that helped guide me to my ride.

And so ended my first day at the park.