October is here and that can mean only one thing — time to travel to Alabama for the Fiddlers Convention. The past few years Ali and I have combined this trip with a weeks stay in Anniston. This seems to be about the only time we are getting down there, and it sure would be a shame to travel all that way and not get to visit with family and friends.

Ali planned a pseudo-surprise party for me on Sunday. I say pseudo because she told me we were doing something, but didn’t say what it was. It was at Jen’s house and she had cake and ice cream waiting. It was a lot of fun, most of the family was there, and a few friends showed up too.

Overall, we had a typical week — each morning Ali and I would go walk on the rails to trails trail behind Dad and Nancy’s house. Our days and evenings were consumed with trying to see everyone. This is getting more difficult as a long time friend recently moved back into the area, and I’ve reconnected with another friend. So we’ve gone from lackadaisically getting to everyone, to having to plan out when exactly we’ll see people to ensure we don’t miss anyone.

The local museum had Sue the Dinosaur on loan from the Field Museum in Chicago. So we met Jen, Daleigh, Leigh, and Granby at the museum and made a morning of it. We got there with just enough time to quietly view the exhibit before 500 rambunctious elementary school students showed up.

We did our obligatory kite flying day mid-week. The wind wasn’t really blowing down at ground level, but it was blowing good about 200 feet above us. Needless to say, it took quite a bit of effort to get the kites aloft, but we were successful. Kite flying is always a highlight for me, and this outing was no exception.

One day Ali and I were supposed to meet Courtney for lunch, but she ended up bailing on us. We went to the mall to kill some time, and I came across these great Styrofoam swords in the dollar store. So two dollars later Ali and I were making our way through the mall sword fighting. Eventually we went into Dillards where Ali bought a shirt, and the whole time she was in line waiting to pay for it, I stood there whacking her with my sword — priceless.

On Friday it was time to say goodbye, and make the two and half hour drive to Athens for Fiddlers where anticipation reigns supreme, and disappointment is always just a conversation away.

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