This morning at crew, the sky was seriously contemplating letting loose a pretty serious rain storm, but thankfully it changed its mind after a few threatening sprinkles.
Fast forward eight hours. I walked Stephanie to her Blount class in Toumey at two o'clock, and was heading back to the Ferg to meet up with a Bible study group from UCM, and again, steady, fast, yet light sprinkles moistened the sidewalks and windshields of cars. I hoped that things would dry out in the next hour, so I could get back to Riverside fairly dry and swap stuff to go meet up with Person to row our afternoon workout at the Aquatic Center. Well, I was not watching the windows as we were talking and discussing, but after the closing prayer, I glanced out the large corner window, and sheets of rain greeted me. I walked outside to survey the situation, and with a wry comment (Well, you get wet to a certain point and then you don't get any wetter), I stepped out into the deluge. The main Ferg parking lot for residential and faculty/staff parking was flooded pretty badly, the drainage plan for such torrents is pretty bad. There was a lane's worth of water, two to three inches deep, the entire length of the lot, making it a soggy option to effectively take a straight line to the pedestrian bridge to my dorm. I made it back to my room with minimal wetness, and as I reached my door, so did Stevo, looking rather much more bedraggled than I, having traveled a significantly longer distance in the rain. By the time I got back outside with my water bottles and workout journal, the rain had subsided, leaving only large puddles in its passing.
Thankfully, the rain did not cause intramural cancellations for the evening, so the SuperFriends' final game of the season still went down earlier tonight at eight o'clock. We faced off against The Nations, the first place and undefeated team in our bracket. For the majority of the first half, although we did not have any substitutes, we dominated the field. I was playing defense, and I made several cutting runs deep into their defensive third to rip off some shots. Finally, all that firing paid off as I slipped a left-footer through some heavy traffic and into the far side netting of the goal. I was fairly ecstatic. :-D Seriously though, I had been hunting for a goal in all of the last three games, and especially in the most recent face-off, I was incredibly close so many times, only to completely shank the shot. So that, combined with the fact that I had really been working for that goal for several minutes, resulted in a joyous whoop and yell of excitement. Sadly, the rest of the game did not turn out nearly so well. We kept that one-point lead through the first half, but in the second half, they managed to work the ball down our right sideline, and one of their girls poked one in past our goalkeeper. However, unlike in normal soccer, that did not merely tie the score, it gave them a one-point lead, because with the intramural rules here at UA, since men and women are equal, when men score a goal it is worth one point, and when women score, it is worth two. Sure, sounds fair to me--not. Anyway, Stevo graced the netting with a second goal for us to tie up the game, but then they got a final fluke goal (those seem to be our Achilles' Heel) to seal our fate of not advancing to the playoffs. Still, it was a very intense game, and I played hard. At one point, I was working the ball down the sideline out of our backfield, and one of their guys was right on me; I was faster than him, so he was a half-step or so behind me, but he kept grabbing at me and holding my arm to keep me back, and I got fed up with his antics, so I yelled, “Get off of me,” at him as I continued to dribble. I never shy away from a solid, physically played game, but I abhor those kind of underhanded tactics, so I was “hopping mad” there for a bit. I shook it off though, and got back into the game, but grr, that irked me, for sure!
At the close of the game, SuperFriends planned to reconvene in the spring semester for indoor, where hopefully our success will be better. Then Brendan, Matt Loop, Keri, Erin, Stephanie, and I went to Cold Stone for some celebratory ice cream. :-)

This past Saturday morning, when most college kids were enjoying a day to sleep in and relax, or getting up to watch College GameDay, or getting over hangovers from Friday night parties and pre-gaming, I was up at 7:45 (over two and a half hours later than normal, so I suppose that could be counted as sleeping in for me) to meet up with Stephanie and drive to Moundville, Alabama, about 15 miles south of Tuscaloosa. In Moundville, a Ph.D. student at UA is doing an anthropological study on the different stages of occupancy in an area historically inhabited by an indigenous people that built huge mounds for residential areas, places of business, and burial sites around a large, open “plaza” area. Cameron has been carefully excavating units in different locations around the plaza to study the artifacts and ascertain the cycles of inhabitation by the varying items unearthed and the differences in the soil itself.
Now you are thinking, “That is all well and good, but why in the world would you want to spend a lovely late summer Saturday morning out in the middle of some field in rural Alabama digging holes?” Hold on, I am getting there! :-)
Stephanie is enrolled in Anthropology 103 this semester, and her instructor informed the class about the dig during one of the sessions, and it piqued her interest. During a subsequent class meeting, the teacher informed the students that she would be offering extra credit for those who decided to spend a day or part of a day over the weekend working on the dig. Stephanie went that Saturday and really had a lot of fun, and she told me all about it when she got back. I was mildly interested, but eight hours on a Saturday is a long time to not get anything done on my own to-do list. The next weekend came and went, and although Stephanie had planned to go again, her ride never showed up, so she stayed on campus. However, this past weekend, my homework held nothing pressing, I was up-to-date in my classes, and a pleasant day outside playing in the dirt was appealing.
That brings us back around to “This past Saturday morning....” So at 8:33, after some quickly munched instant peach oatmeal and finagling Stephanie's Bonneville into a wee little apartment parking space, we were off to the dig in Moundville with Erin, a graduate student helping at the dig. We were out there in the field from about nine o'clock in the morning until a little after 3:30 in the afternoon--with a 45-minute lunch break--and we got to work on excavating two units (a plot about one yard square, my my approximation...I never thought to ask about the dimensions). The spectacular oversight of the day was a lack of sunscreen, and we both paid for it with matching ,bright-red “muscle shirt” tan-lines around our shoulder blades. Fortunately, I was drinking a lot of water, and as soon as we got back into town, we pulled out the aloe. Since then, aloe and lotion have been liberally used, and thankfully, it has helped tremendously.
Ironically, my left shoulder was worse off than my right, and when Stephanie commented that it would probably hurt a little to row and stretch out that shoulder, I said, “At least I am not rowing port.” Monday morning, at the next practice, Alison had me rowing port! :-P However, now just under three days later, our shoulders are doing much better. And that is the story of a well-spent Saturday.

I keep having close encounters and almost-encounters with enforcement of regulations for campus and the closely surrounding area. Today's misadventure was nearly seeing my Volvo get towed for being parked in a park overnight. Parking passes and on-campus parking have been nightmares this year, and right now, because vehicular travel is minimal, Stephanie and I have been just using her car, because both of us can drive automatic, and it has better air conditioning than my ride. Anyway, long story short, we are sharing one parking pass between the two vehicles, and so some creativity has been required in maintaining ease of access for those times when we do need the car to get somewhere. Over the weekend, I swapped the cars, pulling mine out of the Ferg deck and parking Stephanie's in there instead. Come Sunday night, I had the brilliant idea of parking my car at the riverwalk down the hill from Riverside. I could bike down to it in the morning to drive to practice, and I would not need a parking pass to avoid receiving a ticket.
All was serene as I coasted down the hill and across Jack Warner Parkway to the riverwalk to my car. I locked my bike to a convenient lamppost and drove off to the boathouse. When I returned, I took a longer loop around the parking lot to see if I could find some shade. As I did so, I spotted a sign stating that the park was closed from 10pm-7am, towing was enforced, and violators would be prosecuted. I thought, “Whew, I did not realize that! I am glad I did not get towed,” and I parked and went to retrieve my bike. Then the tow truck pulled into the parking lot. Seriously.
I calmly panicked and realized that I had parked in nearly the exact same spot as I had during the night, so it was not as if they would think, “Oh, they moved, so I guess they were not there all night.” So, acting as if it was the plan all along, I walked my unlocked bike over to my car and proceeded to fumble with the bike rack for the next several minutes before I achieved a proper rigging of it to my trunk. My bike attached, I pulled out as quickly-yet-not-suspiciously as I could.
So much for that idea.

Through that whole long post I uploaded last, I skipped over a few parts here and there. Monday night, when I arrived in Huntsville, I spoke with Mr. Casto to ask for his permission and blessing to propose to Stephanie. That conversation went very well, although it ended on an odd note: he granted his blessing, but not his permission at that point, because he wanted to talk to both of us first. Then on Wednesday night, Stephanie and I sat down with both of her parents to talk about this whole “marriage thing” and our thoughts and ideas on our future together. After about an hour, we wrapped things up, Mr. and Mrs. Casto both granted their approval, and the following morning, on Thursday, August 16, I proposed to Stephanie...and she said yes! So, that is the significant news of the fall semester--and even the summer in general! :-) No, there is not a set date yet, even though that is usually the first question we are asked when we tell people of our engagement. However, we are continuing to plan and take stock of things, and are tentatively looking at next summer as a timeframe.

For some reason, I have been posting about food quite a bit lately; hopefully this will be the last installment of the “series.” :-P So, yesterday, as I noted in my post, Burke and the Ferg were open over lunch, so I went to Burke at 12:30 to grab a bite to eat as I got ready to drive up to Huntsville. Well, I walked in the door, and what met my eyes was a frightening sight: it was a flock of flighty freshman females in their sorority rushing regalia. The entire dining hall was packed! For the first five minutes of my tentative venture into the cafeteria, I did not see a single other male student. After I had navigated my way through the general press of people and collected a large plate of fresh, crispy green salad (I like salad, remember? :-) and a similar plate of chicken pot pie, mashed potatoes, and carrots, I realized I had myself a new dilemma: having food was good, but now I had to find a place to sit and eat! I filled two cups with water, and then spent the next several minutes meandering about the area, trying to find just one, little, empty table. Finally, nearly in the back corner, I spotted one! And then as quickly as I could--with a full tray of food and little room to maneuver--I slipped between a few other tables and squeezed myself into that spot, gratefully giving thanks for both the food and a place to eat it on! When I had finished with my meal, I cleaned up the table (once a busboy, always a busboy) and took my tray over to the kitchen, at which point I then made a beeline for the door and freedom! :-)

Well folks, after a record-breaking 13 1/2 hour short drive, I have arrived safely, in one piece, with no injury to body or vehicle, in Tuscaloosa, and I am currently sitting in the Ferguson Center on the UA campus. :-) Actually, it was probably closer to...no, that time is right, I was going to subtract some time that I had already taken off of that total. Yesterday, I left home at 8:32, stopped briefly two hours later in Virginia to tighten the straps on my bike carrier, and then I went the rest of the way to the Miller's nonstop. I arrived at 3:07 after six hours and 35 minutes of travel for a trip approximated by Mrs. Miller to take between six and a half and seven hours.
For the rest of the afternoon, the activities varied from putting together a desk with Greg, to playing Wii...(the Ferguson Center is closing in five minutes, so I need to scoot; I shall finish this later!)
Alright, it is now 7:48, and I am completely moved out of my car into the suite, cleaned up, and much cooler and more relaxed. :-) I was drenched--with sweat, that is--by the time I finished pulling everything out of my car and into the room! Matt got me into the suite, and helped me grab the first couple items, but then he had to go to a school to prime the walls for a painting project, so I finished up by myself, and even so, I had my car unloaded and parked in under an hour, which is much better than last year, if I recall correctly...large boxes and fewer items overall definitely make a big difference in time spent packing and unpacking.
Anyway, back to the trip.
...to playing Wii tennis with Greg and Daniel, getting a surprise call from Stephanie as she was on the top of le tour eiffel in Paris, beating Daniel at air hockey, eating barbecue wings and steamed corn on the cob, talking about future plans for Stephanie and I, and watching Monk and Psych before hitting the sack around 11:15. I arose this morning at 7:28, got dressed, and moved my few belongings to the door so I would have everything together when I went to leave. I had breakfast (a bowl of raisin bran, a banana, and a glass of cran-apple juice) with Greg and Dan, and after thanking the family for their hospitality, I was back on the road shortly before 8:30. I stopped for gas at a Citgo (I had made it the entire 432 miles to the Millers yesterday on one tank) and then got back on state route 52 to get to I-85. Let me see...between Bedford and Tuscaloosa, I drove on I-70, I-81, I-77, I-74, I-85, I-285, I-20, I-459, and I-20/59, not including the smaller state roads and rural routes. All told, I think the trip was just over 930 miles, and my car's total mileage is up to 199,850-something I think, so when I drive to Huntsville on Monday, I will indubitably hit the 200,000 “milestone” so to speak...yes, the pun was intended. :-P
I arrived in Tuscaloosa on MacFarland Boulevard at 3:04 CST, and I pulled into Riverside a few minutes later. However, there were no RAs in sight, so I was unable to check in. However, I did run into--very gently, mind you--Jackie and Bekah, two of the student-staff members on Outdoor Action last year; we chatted for a bit about this year's activities for OA, and then I received a call from Stephanie, so we talked for 20 minutes or so before I went to find some wireless so we could chat online (and that turned out to be quite the ordeal...finicky wireless is such a hassle). I got in touch with Matt, and after he was done running some errands at Lowes', we met up here at Riverside so I could move my stuff in; he had already been able to check in, so he had his key to the suite and his room, so I am now sitting in the living room, amongst all my stuff, waiting until tomorrow morning to officially check in so I may actually move into my room.
But, with all that, the trip went very smoothly and uneventfully, even through the middle of Charlotte and around the edges of Atlanta and Birmingham I did not hit any traffic today--the advantage of traveling on a weekend day versus a workday.
Well, that is pretty much the scoop from this end. I am safely in my second home, and looking forward to the new school year! :-D

Well, tonight, on my last night in town, I surprised Laurrel by bringing her to The Noteworthy to see Krystal Meyers in concert. Last year, one of my final hurrahs of the summer before leaving for school also took place at The Noteworthy, except that time I went to see Kids in the Way. :-D The common denominator between the two--besides being at the same venue--was that Eleventyseven, a four-piece, high-energy punk band on Flicker Records played on both days. This time, that was definitely the highlight of the evening; if you are at all familiar with Relient K or MXPX, combine the two, add a generous dose of lighthearted and engaging banter, a frenetic “astronaut,” and you have Eleventyseven, a sure crowd-pleaser most anywhere!
Oh, I forgot to include this in the original post, but here is the “quote of the night,” courtesy of Krystal Meyers: “Let's all do 'anticonformity' together!” Wait a second, Miss Meyers, if we all do it together because you tell us to, does not that defeat the whole purpose of “anticonformity?”

This morning, I met Chris at Shawnee to go sailing. His family has a sailboat they got from a neighbor, and they have tried it a handful of times at the local state park, which has a fair-sized lake, and from which the name of the park originates. I actually arrived a little late, because there was some construction on the way, the existence of which I had been oblivious to up until that point. He had already started putting the rigging together when I pulled in, so I hopped out of the car and helped him set the masts in the boat and attach the sails. Then he backed the trailer down the ramp as I held onto the bow rope so the craft would not drift away without us. It was a small sailboat, maybe 25 feet in length, and, according to Chris if my memory serves, rigged as a “ketch” with the mainmast taller and placed fore of the aft mizzenmast. There was room on the deck for the two of us to fold ourselves more or less comfortably, while allowing a little bit of room for me to handle the jib sail and Chris to control the tiller. The wind was very light at first, and it took us a while to to get out into the lake; there were two paddles aboard, so we moved ourselves off shore a little ways with them before subjecting ourselves to the mercy of the unpredictable and sporadic wind. Chris had brought along Mark Twain's Roughing It to read in case it got too slow and “boring.” We had drifted lightly before the wind for about 10 minutes before we decided it was serene enough to pull out the book for a bit, and he read the short story, “A Genuine Mexican Plug” from the volume. By that time, we had come about once or twice, and were finally starting to catch some good wind, so he put the book away, and we worked with the boat to try to get the best speed out of it that we could. We made it to the dam by 11:30 or so, and decided to turn around and head back at that point, so we could meet Jono at 12:30. We switched places, with me taking the tiller while he moved to the bow seat to control the jib. Then we started really moving along well, and we both put our weight to one side so that our speed in combination with the wind direction would not capsize the boat. (I just thought of this: besides being in a launch at crew practice or helping out with the women's regatta, this was the first time I had faced forward in a boat since I paddled on the Coosa with the Outdoor Action group at the beginning of freshman year!) Figuring everything out on the fly was a challenge and a lot of fun, and by the end of it, I was getting a little better idea of everything it takes to sail a boat; even on a craft that small, there are plenty of complicated details to pay attention to, especially to get a firm mastery of the skill. Hm...this is definitely something I would do again! :-D Plus, it was an excellent way for me to use the knots I have tucked away in my memory. :-P

So...last night after we finished watching a movie, I went out to the bungalow, changed into some comfy clothes, and then went out to Maple Grove to call Stephanie. Connrad followed, and I heard him head into our quarters and close the door. I did not think much of it, since it was about 12:30 and closing the door at night--or early in the morning--is rather typical. Stephanie and I chatted for a while, but because it was the wee hours of the morning and I was going in to work later in the day, we said good night--actually, we said good morning--and goodbye.
That was when the problem started.
I opened the screen door, and pushed my shoulder into the main door as I usually do. Except, on this occasion, the door did not open as it usually did! I was locked out of the bungalow, I could not rouse Connrad with my knocks, and so I determined to find a way in without going to the house and waking Dad or Mom up. The only feasible way I saw to get into the bungalow was through a small window in the southeastern wall, which was about 12 feet off the ground. I tried pulling myself up directly from a raised ledge, but that did not work because I would not have been able to twist enough to both pull myself up and slide through the window. I thought that the extension ladder would serve my purpose, but then I realized--as I looked at it--that it would be too much of a hassle to get the thing out from between the eaves of the bungalow and the large pine tree behind it. However, there was a section of pallet there, leaning against the tree, so I grabbed that and brought it back around to the side beneath the window.
First, I tried again with the pallet sitting on the ground. That did not give me enough reach, so I placed it back up on the ledge against the stockade there, and climbed back up. I was able to get a foot onto the window ledge and by pushing on the top of the stockade with both hands, I swung myself up into a sitting position in the window. With the window pushed the entire way open, there was just barely room for me to sit. Then it got a little trickier. I braced one foot on one of Connrad's shelves and slowed my descent by holding onto the wall outside. A loud *CRASH!* later, with Connrad sitting bolt upright in his bed in alarm with a yell of “TREVVOR!” I moseyed over to the bunks and said, “Hi, Connrad. You locked me out of the bungalow, so I had to climb in the window. I knocked over a couple of your shelves, but I'll take care of them in the morning.”
This morning, around 8:15, I awoke to the intercom buzzing, and Connrad picked it up. He groggily grunted into it and then dragged himself out of bed, and I rolled out of bed as well, moving to address the mess on the floor. After I finished up damage control, I made my way inside the house, and related my midnight escapade to the rest of the family. Of course, as I told them, they thought up other options I had to get in, like calling the house with my cell phone, using the spare key to get in the house and then find a bungalow key, etc. I said that those ideas would not have been nearly so fun!

Last night, I was sitting in the bungalow, talking to Stephanie for a bit, and I glanced out the dormer window in front, and the entire sky had changed from a bright, cheery, light blue to a somber, threatening, angry-looking dark gray. Within a few minutes, the storm front had surrounded the visible sky, the wind was whipping up strongly from the southeast, and huge raindrops started pelting down. I scurried around the bungalow to “batten down the hatches” so to speak, closing the side window and the screen door, since they both reside on the side with southeastern exposure. For the next 20-30 minutes, we underwent a spectacular presentation of “lights and sounds.” Not to mention a good deal of water. As I was talking, I heard some clinking and clanging, and thinking that the canopy in Maple Grove had gone for a joyride in the wind, I jumped up to look out the window. However, the shelter was still firmly in touch with the ground. I sat back down, and then I heard the noises again; then I thought to look out the front window. Sure enough, there were Dad, Mom, and Connrad, frantically scampering about in the heavy rain, dismantling the canopy on the deck. I bid Stephanie a quick farewell, and then sprinted down to the deck to assist the others. The rain was chilly, but refreshing, and the heavy showers had significantly dropped the air temperature as well, so when I first stepped out the door, it was all as little shocking! Within a couple seconds, I was thoroughly drenched, and it felt wonderful, especially since I had been outside for seven hours earlier in the day, trimming a pair of large, ornery pines in 90-degree weather! So, that was our excitement last night, in lieu of going to HeBrews for a coffeehouse concert.

I slept very late this morning. Well, actually, the first time I woke up this morning was at six, and I entertained the thought of getting up then...but it was a very short performance. The next time I glanced at the clock, it was 8:29 (I saw it change to 8:30 and considered getting up then...and I still did not), and then 9:26, and finally, 10:49. I am not sure exactly why I was so tired this morning; I was up late, but I was in bed by one, and asleep by 1:30 or thereabouts. Anyway, I didn't move out of the bungalow until Connrad beeped me on the intercom to let me know it was time to make Grandpa his lunch. So I moseyed inside, prepared lunch for Grandpa Allison, grabbed a bite for myself, and then I changed into some work clothes and surveyed my task.
My current assignment outside has me clearing the area between our driveway and our neighbor's. It is not too large of an area, but it is truly astounding to see how many weeds can pack themselves into such a seemingly small area! Have they never heard of thinning themselves out to get more room to grow? I started on the jungle the other day, and I snipped down a fair amount of tall grass and miscellaneous smaller weeds. Today, I moved into a more heavily vegetated area, taking on wild raspberries and the like. It was a rather thorny situation I found myself in, if I do say so myself. I made some more progress there, and the area is looking much better. Once again though, I ran into a small swath of poison ivy, so I trimmed as close to it as I could without actually getting into the stuff, and then I sprayed it and some surrounding weeds with RoundUp. Hopefully that will help clear the area with minimal itching involved.

Then, this afternoon, I went to a pool for the first time this season. I had hoped to get to the rec pool at school before I left, but it did not open until it was too late in the semester for me to enjoy it (studying, although not usually as refreshing, usually takes precedence over swimming, especially during finals). So instead, I had to venture north several hundred miles, and wait for the obligatory Memorial Day (also known as the “Northern States' Pool Opening Day”) to arrive. That here and passed, Mom, Laurrel, Stuartt, and I went up to the pool in Blue Knob State Park. I remembered the pool as being much colder than it actually was. It was still chilly, but refreshingly so. So perhaps it is still nearly the same temperature, but I have a higher tolerance for it, or perhaps the pool actually has warmed up. We were there for a couple hours, splashing and swimming around, and then I got out and read for a bit before we wrapped up and headed home. Mom and Stuartt went to hike around a little bit while Laurrel and I read, and while they were out, they spotted a bear up off a trail they were on! That brought their explorations to a close for the time being, and they returned to the pool. As we packed up, we were snacking on some nuts, sliced apples, and iced tea (made with some delicious Good Earth tea bags). I had just placed my stuff on the passenger seat when Mom handed me her keys and said that I could drive home. So then I moved my bag around to the driver's seat, and remembering that I had brought a set of keys with me, I informed Mom of the situation, said, “Here are your keys,” and set them on the roof of the car above the passenger door. We finished up our snacking, I got a small cup of mixed nuts and cashews for the road, and we pulled out.
A short distance down the road, the four of us heard a clattering on the roof. We glanced around, looking up and back on the road to see if anything had bounced off the car in such a way as to make the noise. Nothing was seen out of the ordinary as we continued down the road. A few seconds later, the sound was repeated, and we all looked around again. Just then, as Laurrel and Stuartt were looking out the back window, they spotted Mom's keys--which she had never retrieved, not understanding where I had put them--sliding down the window! So I pulled over and Laurrel jumped out to rescue them...and then we had a good laugh about the whole chain of events.

And I shall leave with saying this: avoid, if at all possible, Mork and Mindy...it really is not worth the time it takes to sit and watch.

Whew, after that trek yesterday, I have newfound respect for George Washington, David Crockett and Daniel Boone, guys that were among the first to see the great American frontier. Chris, TJ, Greg and I left my house, hiked across the fairgrounds, and started up a well-worn trail that led to a clump of towers on top of Kinten's Knob. Although the towers could be seen from my house, they were more than two miles away--and most of that distance was uphill. Chris and I were the frontrunners for much of the hike as we checked our location with map, compass, and GPS, and picked out the best route to take as we left the beaten path and ventured into the [relatively] unknown. Chris had hiked up to the fire tower on Kinten's Knob with his Boy Scout troop at one point, but beyond that, it was all new territory until we found Caleb's Trace, a trail on the back of White Sulfur Springs' property.
When we finally reached the clump of towers and dropped our backpacks off for a bit to rest, we had been hiking for well over two hours. There was a clear spot next to the cell phone tower where we could see down a small ridge that dropped into Manns Choice, and we could also see a stretch of Milligan's Cove Road, along which Chris lived. Chris pulled out the two topographical maps we would be using for the journey, and we took a good look at them to see the route we would be taking. After a little more rest, we slung our packs back on and headed out once more. About a mile further down the trail, the trail became nonexistent, and that was when the real fun began. (Hah! And you thought we had been having fun up until then!) Fortunately, the underbrush was not nearly as thick as either Chris or I had thought it would be, and the ridge of Will's Mountain was a pretty easy track to follow. I soon found a fairly worn deer path which ended up being our major highway along the ridge.
For the most part, Chris and I took turns leading since he had the navigational instruments and I was finding the trail. Plus, we were able to beat the path a little wider and inform Greg--who was unfortunately clad in shorts--about upcoming thorny patches. We took several breaks to catch our breath along the way, and a few longer respites so Chris could ascertain our location along the ridgeline from landmarks in Cumberland Valley which was down the mountain to our left. [Read More!]

In the next couple hours, I will be meeting up with Chris and TJ hike from my house to Chris's between this afternoon and tomorrow morning. It has been far too long since I camped out; the last time I remember was my bike trip with Chris last summer on the C&O Canal. We only used a tent twice during the five day trek because the weather was very pleasant. Sleeping under the stars is quite an experience. Oh, and that reminds me of another thing: stargazing at school was difficult because of all the light pollution from the city. Now, back home in rural Pennsylvania, it actually gets dark at night, and it has been wonderful to see stars again. For a long time now, I have been interested in constellations and astronomy in a very basic sense. I think it would be fascinating to be able to navigate using the stars; we will be orienteering for this trip, though. Chris has some good topography maps of the area, so we will be using them and a compass to get from here to there since there are no trails along our projected route. It will be an adventuresome time to be sure!

Finally, now that some technical difficulties are fixed and time to write is found again, I sit down to [hopefully] finish my account of the first weekend of spring break in Huntsville.

*Ahem.*
So, after we nibbled the last tasty tidbits of yummy frosting that had fallen into the cookie bags, we moseyed back to the car. Stephanie's brother, Chris, was singing in his boychoir at some large todo, so we went and met the rest of her family there and listened to them sing several songs. After that, we headed back to the house to change and chill for a little while before picking up Ginny and heading to her brother's place for a Bible study/hangout/ADD convention. Yes, that's really what it was. Tangents and bunny trails were the fare of the evening, making the discussions quite entertaining. :-) That was a lot of fun and I enjoyed getting to know another of Stephanie's circles of friends. We finished out the night with some lively DDR action and then headed back to Stephanie's house.
Monday morning arrived, my last day--half-day--off before heading back. For our last outing, we went hiking on Monte Sano. I haven't hiked in quite a while; the last time I remember doing so probably would have been with Chris, Seth, TJ, and possibly Jamin, which would have been a very long time ago... Anyway, we parked in the parking lot that was perched on top of the mountain, and then strolled to the lookout to take in the panoramic view. Armed with a camera, we began scrambling and scampering down the trails on the steep, rocky hillside. There was a wispy little waterfall that we clambered behind on the outset of our adventure. Another interesting sight was a large rock with a smooth, worn-out “seat” in it; we took a quick break there to try out the unusual piece of outdoor furniture and then continued down the mountainside.
There were some wildflowers that had already started to bloom, and I tried out the “flower” setting on my camera in an attempt to capture some of their fragile beauty. Gradually, the trail ceased its random wanderings and began winding switchback down the hill, determined to reach the valley at the bottom. There were even more flowers to be found down there, and Stephanie discovered a small underground stream. It was quite loud in a few spots, and she was able to find a couple places where we could see it from the surface. After splashing around in the cool rivulet for a moment and taking a few more pictures, we started the long hike back up the mountain. Despite the grade, we actually made the hike back in less time than we made the hike down. Once we reached the top again, we had lunch in a cliffside pavilion before heading home, punctuated by a stop at Checkers (my inaugural visit) for fries and milkshakes. 'Twas a good first impression, with the exception of the straws. Of all the many fast food establishments I have patronized, Checkers has had the lousiest straws; mine constantly collapsed on itself as I tried to drink the milkshake!
When we arrived back at Stephanie's, I had about 45 minutes to gather my belongings, repack, and head back to Tuscaloosa, for the remainder of my break was to be spent with the crew team, rowing two-a-days and getting ready for the Augusta Invitational, our first regatta of the year. By 2:15, I had said my farewells and was back on the road, looking forward with mild anticipation to the week of work that lay ahead.

*Edit* The first person I met at the depot was Winter. In many ways, Winter reminded me of Pappy, my dad's dad, but in most ways, he was a character all his own. Stephanie had told me about him before, and while at EarlyWorks, her friend Susan brought him up again, so I was very curious to meet him. To be sure, he didn't disappoint; we hung out with him and talked for a while, and then Stephanie convinced him to do his spiel on the history of the place. When we had finished exploring the three floors of the depot, we went back outside and climbed on a couple of the parked train cars that were on display. Since the depot was closing up, they were already locked, but we were still able to clamber up a caboose and sit on the roof for a moment. On the way out, Stephanie popped back inside for a moment to say farewell, and she came out with Laura and Winter in tow. Walking out to the parking lot with the latter, he said goodbye and told us to behave and not do anything he wouldn't do. I remarked, “I don't know you very well yet, but I'm guessing that gives us a lot of leeway!” Anyway... */Edit* Our options for evening activities involved either a visit to an orchestra concert or visiting Stephanie's friend Ginny and her family. Having heard a lot about Ginny, I was definitely more eager to meet her than get all dressed up to go to a concert...as it turns out, that was an excellent decision. :-) We hung out at her house with the rest of her large family (six siblings, five of which are still at home) for an hour or so before going to Rolo's for dinner. I enjoyed a tasty country fried steak with mashed potatoes and corn while Stephanie indulged on a scrumptious roasted chicken-half and the same sides. We topped off the meal with some delicious peach cobbler before heading back home and finishing Father of the Bride.
In the morning, Stephanie and I made breakfast (French toast) and then we got ready to head over to church. The South is definitely the place to go to find large church buildings in large quantities. The Casto's church, Mayfair Church of Christ, is housed in one of the largest structures I've seen for that purpose--and it was nearly directly across the road from a similarly enormous building! We arrived a few minutes late, and after someone had finished praying, we slipped into the auditorium and spotted the other three Castos, easily identifiable by Chris' wheelchair (he broke his leg when he fell of his bike a couple weeks ago and is now in a full leg cast on his left leg) at the end of the pew. After church and Bible class, we quickly (to “beat the Baptists”) drove to O'Charley's for lunch. Like so many other places, O'Charley's was one of those establishments I hadn't had the pleasure of dining at, so it was another new experience. I got an omelette which was quite enjoyable, and I tried some of Stephanie's coconut shrimp, which was also excellent.
Stephanie had planned for us to meet up with another friend of hers for coffee or something, but that unfortunately fell through, so we had nearly three hours to kill before meeting back up with her family for Chris' boychoir performance. Since it would've been impractical to go all the way back to her house to change and find something else to do, we stayed in town and went to THE mall (not the be confused with the mall, as I've learned) and walked around for a bit. After she browsed the dress offerings in several different stores, we purchased a pair of cookies at a *Edit* Great American Cookie Company */Edit* stand (I think that was the name of it, but I can't recall it for sure) that were melt-in-your-mouth-sweet-and-gooey. :-P Yes, quite yummy indeed...

Alas, this must be “to be continued” yet again, as I must go workout with a few of the guys and get to our second practice of the day.

Today marks one month until my 19th birthday. Time has sure been racing by...

I've recently returned from a lovely weekend in Huntsville with Stephanie and her family. She gave me a grand tour of her city on Saturday and Sunday, and this morning we went hiking for a few hours at Monte Sano State Park.
Our English class was canceled Friday morning, so my day was completely free, with the exception of crew practice in the morning, and an optional choir session at one o'clock that I chose to skip. So after I went out and rowed my last practice for the next few days, I drove back to Lakeside and showered and then picked up Stephanie to go to Burke for the yummily scrumptious breakfast buffet. Then I walked her to French class and ran into Stephen in the post office on the way back as I was dropping off several items in the mail. We chatted for a short bit and then went back to Lakeside. He was already heading out, so I picked up my dress pants, jacket, and belt from him and bid him farewell before I began my own packing. A couple hours, two giormous bags of laundry, two full medium backpacks, a small backpack, a medium duffel also crammed full, and miscellaneous sackpacks later, I met up with Stephanie, Keri, Ben, Lee, Alexa, Matt, Ryan, and Mary at the Ferg for one last meal/hangout together before we left for break. Then everyone else walked over to Blount and I retrieved my car from the top of the Ferg lot and drove over to the same. Matt was riding with Stephanie and me as far as Birmingham, so we had to get all of us, plus all our luggage into my modestly-sized 850 sedan. I did it! :-D Originally I had some of my stuff on the back seat and the rest in the trunk; that was before I found out Matt was coming along. I was able to consolidate all five-plus bags of mine in the trunk, along with one of Matt's, and then I crammed the rest of Matt's and all of Stephanie's stuff into the passenger side of the backseat, and there was still room for a little more. :-) I was pretty pleased with that packing job. We finally hit the road around 3:20, nearly two hours after our original estimated departure time of 1:30.
Our belongings piled high and the three of us crammed as so many sardines in a proverbial can, we left campus for our first college spring break. There was some traffic in Birmingham, but otherwise the drive went very smoothly and uneventfully. Matt did an excellent job of directing me both to his house and back out of the city onto 65, and with the exception of a needless accidental rabbit trail going the wrong direction on 31, that segment of our journey went remarkably well. About an hour and a half later down the road, we pulled into Stephanie's driveway and were greeted by a roaring Chris as he surprised us by racing in front of us in his wheelchair. We spent the evening unpacking, lounging around, and watching a couple movies. Finding Nemo was the first showing of the night, and it was the first time I had watched it the entire way through; then after Chris went to bed, the rest of us started watching Father of the Bride, but I was pretty wiped out and started nodding off partway through, so we paused the movie and called it a night.
Saturday morning, I arose to the faint aroma of pancakes gently wafting into my room; I tread quietly up the stairs and greeted Mrs. Casto, who was tending to the pancakes that had caused the delicious smell. While she went to get the others up, I watched the last few cakes, and then we ate breakfast. Once we had finished eating and got ready to go, Stephanie took me through the sights of Huntsville. First we went to a Barnes & Noble so she could check on the availability of a book for school, and then we drove by one of the landmarks of the area: the so-called “Eggbeater Jesus,” which is a painting on the expansive First Baptist Church that sadly gives the distinct impression of Jesus looking like a giant eggbeater. A quick stop at the library was next, and then we parked in a little professional complex and started the walking portion of the tour. It was a beautiful late winter day in north Alabama, and it was quite pleasant to stroll through Big Spring Park and look at all the fat goldfish and catfish lazily swimming underneath a bridge, awaiting the offerings of breadcrumbs from generous passersby. Then we went to Harrison Brother's, a quaint little hardware/general store that was celebrating its 100th anniversary, so after perusing the sundry inventory, we enjoyed some free ice cream and ambled around the corner to Constitution Village, where Stephanie had previously worked. She stopped to chat with one of her friends and former co-workers, and then we tagged along with a tour of the village. It was quite reminiscent of Old Bedford Village, just more compact. After about an hour, we proceeded around the next corner to EarlyWorks, where Stephanie was reunited with a couple more old friends before we walked through the exhibits. By far the most engaging and interesting of the bunch was a giant globe with a surround-screen video and interactive floor. 'Tis hard to do justice with an explanation of words, but that's pretty much what it was!
We returned to the Village for a bit and conversed with a mother that had been in the tour; we had noticed that her two children had been remarkably well-behaved and unusually intelligent and attentive (“They're homeschooled,” we thought). It so happens that they were in fact homeschooled, and they were on the tail end of a two-and-a-half week trip from Virginia; the three of us chatted for quite a while about school, Huntsville, the different attractions around the area, weather, the blizzard of 1996, and a plethora of other things. Then Stephanie and I listened to a group of amateur bluegrass players jam on their guitars, banjos, fiddles, and harmonicas. 'Twas very entertaining. :-) Stephanie was able to borrow one of the fiddler's instruments, and she played a couple pieces for them before we left. We made a quick stop at Taco Bell to grab a couple “grilled stuffed burritos” for a late lunch, and then we drove over to The Depot, a restored train depot that Stephanie had also worked at in previous years. We ate in a picnic pavilion and watched as a birthday party group of children romped around the grounds, and then we walked inside the depot. In another scene that reminded me of my return to Ed's over Christmas break, Stephanie reconnected with a few more of her co-workers and we walked around the exhibits and displays that portrayed an early 20th century train station.

(To be continued...)