Last Year We Went to Prison

This year we went to Alabama!

For the past 2 Memorial Day Weekends, my mom has come to watch the kids for 2 nights while Ryan and I go off on a romantic getaway... Don't ask me why but last year we went to Andersonville Prison, the largest POW Camp during the Civil War. It was designed to hold around 3000 Yankee soldiers. It wound up holding 10,000. Needless to say, many men died there. Including Ryan's great-great-great grandfather. We even found his grave. It was a memorable experience. But this year as we planned our trip, we thought hmmm-let's not got to a prison- let's go somewhere a little more upbeat. We chose Huntsville Alabama and we had a blast. We visited the US Space and Rocket Center. This place is actually very cool. And on Memorial Day... drum roll... I ran in my first race!!! Yes, that's right, I ran a race! The Cotton Row Run. It's an event the people of Huntsville have been doing since 1980. I saw something about it online when we were planning our trip. I had originally intended to do the 1 mile fun run. But when we got to our hotel on Saturday I found out it was just for kids. So, that left me with the 5k or 10k option. Since I'm only about 2 months into the jogging world I decided on the 5k. Ryan ran with me and we really had a great time. The last mile I told him just to go ahead. I didn't want to cramp his style anymore. Although I am proud to say I only finished 4 mins after him. I was surprised at how much fun it was to be a part of something like this. And I will definitely do one again. Some of my favorite parts about it were- The race watchers cheering for you as you run by, the Boy Scouts handing you water along the way (I took some, dumped it over my head, tossed the cup for dramatic affect and kept right on going , I've always wanted to do that) the energizing music towards the finish line and the police cadets running in time while doing cadence.

In closing I would like to share 5 things I learned while in Alabama. And as an 8 year resident of the fine state of Georgia and a girl raised in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia, I think I can get away with it...

1. The floor of an elevator is an acceptable chewing tobacco spit receptacle

2. The local Shop Rite grocer does not have a spreadable gourmet cheese section-unless you count Velveeta

3. Do not ask where the gourmet cheeses are unless you want to be laughed at as you walk away

4. Shirts in hotel lobbies are optional...
5. Beer apparently tastes better without a shirt while sitting in a hotel lobby