Last Saturday was the season's quarterly Zen hike, this time back up to the North Georgia mountains (are there South Georgia mountains?). We hiked from the parking area near the base of Springer Mountain, down to Three Forks along the Benton MacKaye Trail, and then back up to the parking area along the Appalachian Trail. About a 5 1/2 - 6 mile round trip, with 1,000 feet of elevation change.

It was a rather small turnout - four of us all together, all guys. But the small group and the single gender allowed for some very interesting conversation, particularly about relationships and the barriers they can pose to practice.

Sunday, I slept in and rested - the first day in, like, two weeks after last weekend in NYC. The Wednesday that I got back to Atlanta, I had to go to a Chamber of Commerce marketing/networking function after work - one of those affairs where you're constantly "on," smiling and shaking hands with salespeople. So, with Saturday's hike, it's been more go-go-go than not.

Or maybe I just have the metabolism of a sea slug.

Oh, and right now, I'm posting this from a Marriott in Birmingham, Alabama. If you know of anything to do in Birmingham, Alabama, please email me. Now.