Safe Arrival, Now On With The Tours

Despite all the anxiety about flying today, the trip could not have been more perfect. Every newspaper I saw today, every radio station, every TV station had something about the 9-11 attacks. It did sort of give me butterflies as the plane took off, but I was never really scared. It did cross my mind that the people who were on the planes that day were just like me - going about their business on what they thought would be a routine flight.

The Montgomery to Atlanta flight was uneventful.

The leg of the trip from Atlanta to Rochester was a bit interesting. The young lady seated next to me had a slight anxiety attack as we left the gate for departure. She was fighting back tears and rocking in her seat. I tried to make her feel at ease by telling her this was probably the safest day she could ever be on a plane. Our conversation helped take her mind off it, I think. Her name was Xena and she lives in Rochester. She is originally from South Africa. I told her I had a horse named Xena one time - our conversation turned to horses and away from her fear of flying. The trip was uneventful and pleasant after that.

We had a welcome dinner at the hotel. This, after all, is the Beef Tour, so we had....you guessed it - STEAK! Everyone in the group introduced their self and told what county they were from. There are 45 of us from all around the state, most of them I've come to know personally over the last 13 years. I'm the only person here from Pike County and one of only three staff members attending. Nate Jaeger, our beef division director, and Lynn Cook of our in-house travel agency Destinations, are the other staff members. They have put together a wonderful program for us this week.

Tomorrow, we will visit Cornell University, among other stops. The bus leaves the hotel at 7:30 a.m. Gonna be an exciting, fun day. Monday is supposed to be the warmest day this week - a high of 78! A nice change from south Alabama.

Watch for photos on the Alfa Farmers Facebook page tomorrow.