Run 34: Dear Huntsville, I Love You

Miles: 7

Other Runners: 2

Women pushing orange tabby cats in prams covered with mesh: 1

Today was breezy, sunny, and not humid at all, so when all of my research-y tasks were concluded, I drove into town to run Huntsville’s historic district. I parked the car,  jammed on my running shoes, and then commenced one of the loveliest hours I’ve had in a long time.

The full truth: I didn’t expect dissertation fieldwork to take me to Alabama, and once I arrived, I didn’t think I would find much more than wacky immigration policies and the space center. Well, shoot. (I’m trying to say “shoot” these days because my usual sass is too fast and crass and seemingly unSouthern). Here’s the thing: it’s gorgeous. I took off down the street, and the sun warmed my bare arms as the sweet smell of blossoms saturated the air. Light flickered on the heavy cobblestone sidewalk and across the fluttering leaves, and I slipped steadily past antebellum mansions and a civil war-era cemetery. Sound idyllic? Yes. It was. Here are some photos:

I ran for about an hour, then went back to my car and grabbed my phone to take photos. For the next twenty minutes I was that person, bounding excitedly from house to house, click-clacking away and hopelessly failing to demonstrate any sort of class or discretion. No one really seemed to mind.