Trapped in the Park

My neighbor Kim and I went walking today at the park near our neighborhood. We've been walking there through the winter and have our own little routine down-which way the hills are lower, Kim on the outside, me on the inside, where the best breeze is...

Well today, as we drove up, we saw the bright orange Gwinnett County Corrections Facility bus with its fine, upstanding citizen work crew. The crew was out at the entrance to the park and we were going down to the walking path around the lake. So we made a couple of jokes and pulled on in, parked and started our walk. The loop is 2.2 miles and we usually try to go around 3 times. On our second lap, as we went through the marshy area of the loop, one of us (not me!) screamed and moved as fast as I've ever seen anyone move. Because she saw this:

Needless to say, we didn't hang around! As we continued around the loop (warning every mother/stroller combo we passed!) we discussed whether or not we were going to make our third lap. (Because it was hot- not because we were afeared of any little ol' 3 FOOT LONG BLACK SNAKE SIX INCHES FROM THE WALKING PATH). We got almost to the end of our lap and we see the bright orange prison bus coming down the walking path with all the convicts, leaf blowers, etc. It took up the entire width of the walking path. (And you can be SURE neither of us was going to step off into the grass at this point!)

We were trapped! Both exits blocked. Which way to go?

We turned around and walked our third lap in the opposite direction. When we got to where the snake was, of course it was gone. Which is even worse than seeing him there, because now he could be ANYWHERE! Several tense moments later, it was over. We made it out alive. And celebrated our survival by going to Chili's and eating all of the calories we had just walked off.

(Based on "extensive" research, i.e. google, I think the snake we saw was a king snake. Not poisonous, thankfully, but a constrictor!)

We should TOTALLY be on Survivor...don't you think?