Tuscaloosa

Julie and I went to visit Bethany and Robb in Tuscaloosa this past weekend. I had a bunch of projects at home that needed to be attended but we haven't been to Alabama in a while, so at the last minute, we tossed some clothes in a bag, asked Andrew to watch over the animals and left on Saturday. Bethany and Robb invited us to see the Crimson Tide season opener against Virginia Tech. The restaurant was packed and we had the good fortune to sit with a group of Virginia Tech fans, who were woefully outnumbered. There is nothing as exciting as college football in the south on a Saturday. Oh, yeah, Bama finished on top after a sloppy first half. It's going to be a great season.

Sunday, Bethany and Robb took us for a walk around Northport, Alabama, which has a really quaint downtown area. There is a wooden trestle train bridge outside the downtown. After we walked through the downtown and bridge area, we went to the dam over the Black Warrior River.

On the way home from Tuscaloosa, Julie and I stopped at a sporting goods store and bought two kayaks. We dropped in the river near our house later in the afternoon. We have a lot to learn about where to put in and take out in Ellijay, the rapids change from Class I ( flatwater) to Class III and if you aren't prepared, you'll wind up going for an unscheduled swim.

We hope everyone had a great long weekend. It was great to see Amy and Cameron, Kathy and Mel, Mom and Dad earlier this month.