The Big Trip

It’s been just too hot in Alabama lately. Although summers are always hot in the South, this year has been particularly oppressive. Normally in the Birmingham area you can expect daytime highs in the low 90s, and overnite the temps generally will drop to around 70 or so. If you’ve been following the news, however, you’ll be aware that Alabama is in a drought of epic proportions. In my area, precipitation is more than two feet behind normal, and everyone and everything has been suffering as a result. For two weeks a blistering heat wave took daytime temps above 100 degrees, with the heat index often over 110 degrees.

With water usage restrictions across the state, this summer has taken a huge toll on every living thing. Old trees, overstressed by the lack of water and intense heat, have started dying, leaving brown reminders on the hillsides. Lawns have either perished or gone dormant. Human life has also been lost to the heat. It has been a very hard summer for us all, indeed!

So, what better time to head northward, away from the heat! I’ve been looking at jobs outside of Alabama, and am anticipating moving elsewhere to take a new position. Facing the prospect of being fairly tied down to a new job, I made a big trek up the eastern seaboard, with the goal of visiting as many old friends as I could squeeze in within the time I had allotted for trip.

If you’ve been wondering why there were no new posts appearing on Making Mirth, or perhaps have been awaiting the next release of PipeCAD, then I hope this post will explain my disappearance.

Now, though, my Big Trip is behind me, and I’m going full steam ahead with work again. Over the next few days I’ll be posting a few highlights of my trip. I hope you find them interesting!

Cheers,

Mirth Maker