Sweet Home, Alabama: My Adventures in the Yellowhammer State

During the past week, I had the opportunity to attend a training that is conducted by the Center for Domestic Preparedness and is sponsored by FEMA and Homeland Security. The training was located at an inactive military base (Fort McClellan), which is located in Anniston, Alabama. The purpose of this particular training is to help healthcare providers, emergency responders, community leaders, and others prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic.

I was a little nervous about attending this, but everything went really well. I flew into Atlanta, Georgia, where they had a bus that drove everyone into Alabama. The drive was so pretty! I just love the green, which is something that we don't have a lot of in Utah. The trees were dense everywhere - they are so thick on the side of the freeway, that you could hardly ever see what you were passing. There is also some type of an ivy-like vine that grew over everything. There were some places where it was so dense that it looked like someone had spread an ivy blanket over all the trees and shrubs. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture from the bus.

All of the training and accomodations were on the military base. I stayed in a dorm, which allowed me to have my own room, although I did have to share a bathroom.

This is the room that I stayed in...it was pretty nice considering it used to be military housing.

This is part of the base that I stayed on. It is hard to see from this picture, but in the distance, you can see the Appalachian Mountains in the distance. They look like hills compared to the mountains here, but they are completely green. In the evening, it would almost seem like there was a mist that settled, and it looked really cool around the trees on the base.

Each day was spent in a classroom setting learning about pandemic influenza. Everything was so interesting, and I learned a lot! The class ended by breaking up into groups and doing a drill that put everything we had learned into practice.

We had the evenings to ourselves to do whatever we wanted. The base provided a shuttle that would take you into different places around town. One night, some of us asked the shuttle driver to take us to the most exciting place that would be open, and guess where the driver went...WalMart! We asked if there was a Main Street or some type of historic district or anything like that, and we were told that was the "dangerous" part of the city. So, we spent the evening wandering around WalMart and the Tractor Supply Company. The Tractor store had these really cute cowboy boots, which I thought about buying, but I didn't have room in my suitcase. The next night, we decided to go golfing. We golfed eight holes, and honestly, my golfing ability has not improved. But, it was still nice to get out and enjoy the course.

I took this picture at the golf course. The picture is dark, but it shows the mountains in the distance. You can also see how there are trees everywhere. Seriously, everywhere you looked, it was green.

I would definately recommend attending a training here if you are involved in any type of emergency response/preparedness. They offer several classes besides pandemic influenza, and everything really was beneficial.