Sunday in the Bible Belt: Day 6 at CASA

So there's not much to report service-wise...today was our day off in Huntsville.  We were met with many challenges mostly due to the fact it was a Sunday in the Bible Belt. 

First, there was to be no sleeping in, since church services started at 8am and people started moving around 7am.  We got up at 6am to get ourselves to Monte Sano State Park first thing in the morning.  Monte Sano is actually the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.  The view from the mountain was beautiful, and our 3.5 mile walk was brisk and refreshing.  It gave us a chance to cool off in the higher altitude and shade and take a break from weed pulling for a leisurely walk through one of the easier trails.

After that, we had some errands to run, and managed to keep ourselves out of the church until 11 when things started calming down...or so we thought.  We came back to the church and place was still hopping.  Everyone was there in their Sunday best.  It seems church is much more of a celebrated event down here in Alabama than in Kansas, where jeans and a T-shirt are perfectly acceptable.  We felt a little ashamed scurrying up to our room in our shorts and frat tanks and reeking of sunscreen and bug spray while they were all dressed in their lovely pastels.

We kept quiet by putting on Elf and taking a LONG mid-day nap before lunch.  Then we headed off to the Botanical Gardens.  Paula, the CEO, was so impressed by our work in the CASA garden that she invited us to hers for free.  We saw all kinds of beautiful flowers, herbs, trees, and bushes, but we skipped the vegetable garden.  We've seen enough of that this week.  There was also a butterfly house with frogs, turtles, and snakes, too.  Flat Jay loved being able to encounter his natural habitat today, both in the Monte Sano woods, and among his bird friends at the Botanical Gardens.

Now we're at BridgeStreet, a new outdoor shopping center similar to the Legends or the Plaza in Kansas City.  We've got tons of time, so we're just going to stroll around and find some place to eat.  There will be people in the church as late as 9pm, so we're trying to stay out of their way, but I see another game of Sardines or another movie night in our future.

All in all it's been a nice day relaxing in Huntsville.  Back to work tomorrow.

Ciao for now.