Last Saturday in "THE AL"

We went on a hike in Monte Sano State Park, which is a 15 minute drive (or less) from our house. It is BEAUTIFUL! Northern Alabama has so many lovely trees. They are green and lush (even in the midst of a drought). I love trees. The weather was fabulous over the weekend. We enjoyed a reprieve from Southern Summer weather - cloudy, hot, oppressively humid, thunderstorm, clearing (repeat cycle from late June to end of August). Instead the weather was bright clear blue and 85 degrees with very low humidity and gentle breezes.

Why is Emma wearing white dress pants and a white t-shirt for hiking and playground in the Orange Alabama Clay Dirt? So she can be Princess Leia. She wears all white, and has a cape. DUH!

Before the hike we had a picnic lunch and enjoyed being entertained by the "Alabama factor" that is more accessible in the state park than in trendy Hampton Cove.

Emma: Look! A real see-saw. I've never seen a REAL see-saw. We don't have those in CA!

Carol: Wow look at the sweet mullet!

Scott: Awesome

Emma: What's a mullet?

Carol: Daddy had a mullet once.....the thing is I can't tell if the mullet wearer is a man or a woman.

Later while swinging Emma on the swings:

Man (to the mullet wearer): Hey, Jerry! How many kids do we got today?

Jerry (the mullet wearer): Ummm (looking around the playground)......I don' know......a whole bunch.

Man: Well, I'm startin' the bbq and I want to know how many hot dogs I got to cook.

Jerry: I tol' you, baby. A whole bunch.

Jerry: Oh sh----t! Did you see that - that boy straight busted his face on the see saw! Are you ok, buddy? Where's yo mama, boy? (to the general crowd as she picks up the boy who apparently is NOT one of hers for the day) HEY! WHO DOES THIS BOY BELONG TO? He straight busted his face on the see saw. He's crying REAL good. (Directed to me) I try to watch ALL the kids when I'm at the park.

And then .......as we were leaving the picnic area.......we saw these kids:

The picture doesn't even begin to convey the awesomeness. Notice the rainbow striped pugilist/ stick/bat thing flying in the air. These kids were having some kind of imaginary sword fight practice with these bats and shields they had made themselves. Notice also the giant igloo cooler, denoting that this is a regular planned activity, which they feel requires substantial hydration. Emma astutely observed that it looked like they were practicing to be in Star Wars. It was exactly like a scene out of Napoleon Dynamite, only Alabama style. I laughed so hard it hurt. We took another lap around the parking lot when the hike was over so that I could try for a photo.