Alabama, here I come!

Fortunately, my trip to Alabama was NOT an adventure. I ran slightly late getting to the airport, but my bags and I made it onto the plane and I was able to take advantage of the NOT ANCIENT battery in my new MacBook Pro and get some work done while flying. I took a brief nap in Dallas and then used my computer again to continue learning PHP until I landed in Alabama.
Unfortunately, when I landed I found out that Seamus Powell, a friend who I was planning to share hotel costs with, had decided not to come because of multiple delays at the Albany airport. Not only was I hoping to get to hang out with him, but now I have to figure out how to pay for a hotel room that was supposed to be split by 3 people (Kat also couldn't come because of finances). Oh well, I guess now I don't have to share my king sized bed and pull out couch.

The huge hotel room that I have all to myself...

In Alabama, I ran into Georgia Gould and Lea Davison in the airport, chatted for a bit, then set about getting to my hotel. Here is where things got less easy. First of all, the taxi driver I spoke to estimated that the trip to my hotel would be about $50. Not only was that expensive, but the hotel website had quoted the trip at about $35...I wasn't real happy, to say the least. I spoke to him for a bit, asked about alternate modes or transportation, and finally, he offered to take me for 20% off what the total came to. I accepted and made it to the Hampton in Pelham for $41.
For dinner I headed to "Krystal", a fast food restaurant 100 yards from the hotel, because I wanted something cheap and didn't want to deal with the crowds at the "Margarita Grill", another restaurant 100 yards away that had live music and tons of people. Here's a shot of my tasty dinner (kinda):

Now I'm off to bed so that I'm rested for pre-riding the course tomorrow!