Sharp's Travels

We had Grandma over for lunch. At 12:30 pm Grandma, Nikki, Cheri and I headed for Myakka City to see the Royal Lipizzaner Stallions of Austria at their training stables. We got to see all the young horses that are in training for the shows they perform around the world. The stallions were saved from almost certain extinction at the end of World War ll. Colonel Herrmann and his father smuggled their horses out of Europe under the protection of General George S Patton. It takes nine years for these horses to learn the capriole the move for which they are best known. Leaping from all four feet, they strike out with the hind legs. Once a battle maneuver of their ancestors, it is now part of this remarkable equine ballet. After the show we headed to the Roaring 20’s Pizza and Pipes in Ellenton. We eat pizza while the Mighty Wurlitzer organ was playing. The organ weighs 16 ton. A 20 horse power blower supplies air for its 3,000 pipes. Amazingly, the Wurlitzer has 26 miles of wiring and 350 controls. The Mighty Wurlitzer stated its life at the Oakland’s Theatre in 1931. On the way home we got a call from the nursing home saying they were taking Grandpa to the hospital with chest pains. When we got to the hospital he was resting and not complaining of any more pains. He was going to be admitted and have more tests tomorrow. We got home from the hospital at 9:30 pm.

For pictures of the day see Album Lipizzan Stallions