Journeys in the South

It's been a while since I last blogged about my life this summer here in Atlanta, Georgia. Since my last post I have done many things that have kept me fairly busy during the past couple weeks.
Last week I traveled to Dothan, Alabama for a funeral as my step-mom and her side of the family mourned the loss of their mother. I am not sure about some of the details involved with her passing but I do know that she had been pretty sick days before she passed away. Although I had never met this woman, I wanted to pay my respects to her for Mama's sake. My step-mom (Mama, as she is affectionately known by me) and I have a pretty close relationship and I have come to regard her as my second mother, so naturally, when she asked me to be there with her, I wanted to give her all the support I could. So Dad, Grandma, and I packed up my truck and headed down last Friday morning.
We took my truck because Grandma had some furniture that she wanted to give to Mandie, (my oldest sibbling) who lives in Birmingham, Alabama, and I figured it would be an appropriate time to drop by and say hey. Also, I have some friends from Furman who live there, so I decided that I would make a weekend out of it.
In total, I probably drove close to eight or nine hours that day, leaving for the four hour journey to Dothan early in the morning and then drove roughly three to four hour up to Birmingham after paying my respects to Mama's mother. Man it was a drive, but seeing as how I had never ventured into Alabama before, I just sat back and took in the scenery. I especially enjoyed driving on I-20 through downtown Birmingham late on Friday night. The interstate cut right through the center of town and rested above the land making it somewhat like a subway ride or something. All the city lights and late night ambience was unforgettable. The city lays in a valley surrounded by large rolling hills which made for a great scenic drive through this urban jungle.
Finally, I arrived at my friend Cyrus' house around ten at night and just hung out and caught up on the time appart. My other friend, John (known as Buggins to me) took me to this restaurant called Al's that served this gigantic baked potato filled with all the regular fixin's along with chicken and barbeque sauce. Man! It tasted good but by the plate's end, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It was nice hanging out with friends I hadn't seen in a while and I must say experiencing Birmingham was fun too.
In other news regarding my life, I've been pushing myself into a pretty good exercise routine after deciding to adopt some healthy habits over the summer sometime near the end of school. I've been running between two and three miles a day, five times a week. Also, I have been playing some racketball with the old man, and surprisingly, he's pretty good and I haven't gotten to the point where I can beat him on a regular basis. None the less, he and I have started exercising on a regular basis, something that is very crucial for a family that loves to eat!
Other than that, I have just been hanging out around the house. I did buy a season pass to Six Flags and White Water and I took my niece and nephew, Hannah and Jordan to the water park yesterday. We had a lot of fun!
This weekend, my brother and his roomates are throwing a moon bounce party that seems to be shaping up to be a pretty big deal. After it's over, I will be sure to tell you how it goes. Also, I am planning a trip up to Charlotte next week to see Katie and some other friends from school. Should be a good time. Until next time, be easy and keep it real and always remember to look at the positive side of life. If you don't, life will be a huge let down for you.