In lieu of a Friday Ramble, I’m getting it out of my system today as I will be on the road for the weekend (insert jumping for joy here!) and probably uploading images of my trip instead. Stay tuned…
BTW, Check out last night’s post and the new pages on the blog. And forward the link to this morning’s post to anyone that you feel would appreciate it.
The adventure begins
It seems as though there are several things beginning to happen around the region. Yesterday’s announcement about the name change at the amusement park formerly known as Visionland seems to talk about benefiting the region as compared to the park, which is good. Today’s Birmingham News talks about the changes for Alabama Adventure and the surrounding area. The benefits of having a park geared towards drawing in the region are endless. This will also provide a chance to expand offerings to conferences, conventions and large groups that seek additional activities. Hopefully part of this will be a way to encourage locals to consider visiting the park more often than they do now, if they do at all. I’ve been unable to experience it for myself as of yet; I’m hoping that changes this summer.
The conversations continue
Birmingham Vision is continuing with efforts made by several organizations to engage individuals in Birmingham. In this case, it is a panel discussion with some of Jefferson County’s political leadership, including Mayor Bernard Kincaid and Commissioner Sheila Smoot. The event will take place on March 30 at the West End library. The hope is that the discussion will lead to suggestions for solutions that the leaders will consider and use when moving forward with plans for the region. I unfortunately will not be able to attend the meeting, but would love if someone would post some comments about it to the blog about it if they’re able to attend.
The group does not have a website as of yet (at least not one that could be found), but it has been added to the list of organizations that I’ve collected in the region. If you have any additional contact information, please let me know by posting and we’ll get it out there for folks.
Getting on the good foot
Living on the coast for so long, there’s still something about running over bridges that is a lot of fun. So for my mini-vacation this weekend, I’m tackling the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, SC. I’m optimistic that somehow I’ll finish, and there may even be a picture or two that come out of it as well, probably of me stumbling across the finish line. This is the first year for us to run over the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston Harbor. While it just won’t be the same as feeling the pavement below you sway as we all “Get Over It” (it being the old bridge), it’s a great chance to take a step back and determine how things are going. I end up using running as thinking time anyway. Normally the route includes wherever I feel like running. My reward to myself for completing the race – a chance to hang out, eat wings and watch the first part of the Final Four tournament that evening – isn’t too shabby either. It’s also a great chance to see how friends are doing and practice taking some pictures like my friend Adrian, who’s doing this race for the first time. The race has grown substantially in recent years, with this year’s cap set for 50,000 runners from all over the world. Normally about the time I get to mile 2, someone has already crossed the finish line, in under 20 minutes. This is the easiest of the runs I want to do this year, there’s the Tour de Pain on my list next (#73)
Cheers.
UPDATE: New website for Alabama Adventure – http://www.alabamaadventure.com. And I’ve got to go with Possumblog on the name thing myself 
Relay for Life has become one of the largest single fund raisers for the American Cancer Society. Click here to learn more about the event. Last year I served as the team captain for the Birmingham Jaycees team. We participated in the Homewood Relay for Life event. We did quite well last year as well, raising more than $2000 as a team. This year, the chapter chose to particpate in the Leeds/Moody event as a way to continue efforts to do projects throughout the greater Birmingham metropolitan area.
Cancer has unfortunately become a disease that is all too common. This year it is estimated that more than 1.3 million people will be affected by this disease, killing nearly 500,000 of them. It is unfortunately far too easy to immediately bring to mind a family member or friend who has had to battle this disease. This year I will once again attempt to stay awake for most of the evening for this worthy cause (though last year this whole idea of not sleeping the night before didn't help matters).
This link will take you to my personal Relay for Life webpage where you can give if you feel like and see why I choose to participate in this event. There is also the option of creating a team yourselves and participating in one of the Relays that will be taking place that evening throughout the metropolitan area. There is still time to give of yourself for this worthy cause this year. I would hope that this would be an example of working together for a common goal.
Cheers.
