Every time I visit my daughter who lives in Alabama I learn something new. This past week I learned an amazing ten things;
1. I scare easily, especially when confronted by Alabama spiders that are larger than any I have ever seen.
2. Running on the trails at Oak Mtn. State park near Birmingham might be fun for some people, but not for me. I spent more time falling than running. The first fall was fairly normal and only resulted in bloody knees and one elbow (and a bruised ego). The second fall I don't remember going down, only the umph that came out of my mouth along with a few choice swear words. It turns out I sprained my shoulder and haven't run in a week, can't swim and only bike while on a trainer.
3. Jan and Andrea can put a 16'x32' heavy tarp on horse stall rafters 12' up in the air without my help.
4. I love deep fried pickles.
5. The majority of cars in NY are silver, just check any mall parking lot. In the deep south white is the color of choice.
6. People drive fast, don't use signals and feel they have the right to just pull into any space on the expressway that they want, regardless of your car being there and going 75-80mph. If they want to go 90+ (which many, many do), just get out of the way.
7. I can lose money at an Alabama casino just as easily as one in NY. It is odd though that they have a casino (slot machines only) in Alabama. The state doesn't allow lottery games, many counties are "dry" and even bingo is tightly regulated.
8. We drove 1,000 miles through NY, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. NY is the only state with tolls. NY has the worse roads by far. NY is the only state that doesn't have a tourist/rest stop when entering the state. I guess promoting our state and letting people pee is not important.
9. The shoulders of the road in many southern states are, well, there aren't any. I'm not sure how you bike or run on the roads safely.
10. Hills. For years I thought Alabama was mostly or all flat. I couldn't be more wrong. There are hills everywhere. Bernabi hill, the .5 mile one we train on a lot in this area of NY, is a warmup for Alabama people.
You were helpful with the tarp. You kept the horses from knocking the ladder out from under me, which I will be eternally grateful for!
ReplyDeleteI also wish I could have taken you on a hilly trail. The one we did was fairly flat. Maybe next time we can attempt the one I use for training. It will at least be a nice hike. :)