Alabama and Tennessee

After a week in Oregon, I flew to Birmingham, AL on a work assignment. For whatever reason, I do not have a single picture of Birmingham. I attribute this mostly due to the fact that I was under a pretty heavy amount of stress, every day seemed to be a whirlwind, and taking pictures just never crossed my mind when all I desired was my sanity. Thursday morning after I flew in, I had some time to kill so I drove south of town to Oak Mountain State Park and suffered through a painful, slow, hot 'n humid run along one of the park's many trails. I could only muster 45 minutes. Four days after the 100 miler and I was not ready to run yet.

That weekend, however, things got better and I had a chance to head up north to Nashville, TN for an afternoon on Sunday (my only free day) and yes, I finally got the camera in action.
















What's going on here, you might ask? Only 1,000 yoga-ers ready to get their yoga on in downtown Nashville.

















When would there ever to be a better time to try yoga for the first time?

















Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh................................




























Later that afternoon, I found an REI (My people!) just down the road and got a sweet tip about a nature park nearby that had trails. Percy Warner Nature Park holds over 2,600 acres of preserved woodlands with a variety of roads and trails that crisscross the park. I found the 4.5 mile rolling loop trail that follows the park's perimeter and ran it once counter-clockwise, then turned around and ran it clockwise. Including the 1 mile approach from where I parked, I managed an 11 mile run the week after a 100 miler and by then, I could just barely feel the twinge in my left foot. I got to chat along the way with a few different local runners which was cool. Nice people out there.

























And I almost stepped on this owl who was sitting in the middle of the trail! I just about gave me a heart attack when it burst off the ground five feet in front of me and swooped up onto a tree branch. Who does it think it is? Who would pull such a stunt like that? Whoooooooo?























And then, after finishing the run at dusk, I drove back into town, changed into something a little fresher, and set off to enjoy what the nightlife in Nashville had to offer. This city has one of the best downtown scenes. I loved every minute of it and after enjoying a couple of hours in BB King's blues club listening to one of the best blues bands I've ever heard and enjoying a tradional southern fried catfish dinner, I certainly didn't want to leave and was not looking forward to the 2 1/2 hour drive back down to Birmingham. But alas... My short time there was worth it. I only spent an afternoon in Nashville, but I loved every minute of it and would love to go back.