Over the past few weeks we have become fully acclimated to life in Tuscaloosa. I finally have my bearings and can get pretty much anywhere I need to go without having to ask how to get there. Chris has gotten a job and subsequently quit as the hours were making him an old man in a hurry and me a work widow in a town where I know very few. It was in the best interest of our sanity.
I think my favorite part so far is the UA campus. I obviously spend a lot of time there and the best parts of my day are my walks across the Quad. People watching is a fascinating time passer and the squirrels are amusing as well. Did anyone ever think that I might end up a squirrel watcher? LOL, guess the slower pace down here suits me in ways I didn't know were possible.
Let's see what else....Oh yeah, the SUNBURN. My pasty carcass took a float down the Cahaba River about a month or so ago. Tubing is something I love that I have not had the opportunity to do in some time (thanks to the GA army corp of engineers for reducing the 'Hooch to a mere puddle) so I was very excited. Tubing the 'hootch was about a 2 or 3 hour affair so I thought the Cahaba might be similar. So, I lathered up TWICE in the 30 SPF and took a somewhat scary and unexpected ride in the back of a pick-up truck driven by a dude who did not have a solid grasp on the English language and might have been a shoe-in for a leading role in the re-make of "Deliverance". About 15 or so tubers climbed out(or untangled themselves, I wish we had a picture) of the dilapidated pick-up and hauled our tires down a hill and jumped in. The river is awesome. Fabulous times were had by all, from rope swings to small rapids. We were having so much fun I did not notice how much time had passed but at this point were about 3 1/2 hours in. This is when I first noticed it. Not that there was anything to be done, it's hard to re-apply the sunblock when your only option to get dry is to brave Moccasin country on the banks. I'll take the severe sunburn over a poisonous snake encounter ANYDAY.
So, after five and a half hours I still had a pasty ass but now my legs were looking a red that can only be described as "Nuclear". The laughable part of this is that there is a white strip at the very top of my thighs where my tank top was covering my legs. I look like I'm wearing red leg warmers up to my...well you know. OR maybe like those sexy red hose that come up to mid-thigh. Only NOT sexy.
Lesson learned. Base tan before Cahaba = Sunburn avoidance. I'll give it another try next summer. :-)
