It's true--I got so much better at hiking up slopes when I lived in Ithaca. :p Alas, Louisiana is, as far as I can tell, flat EVERYWHERE. Well, except where you sink up to your neck deep in swamp! One of my hopes is that the next place we live, even within Baton Rouge, will be more pedestrian-friendly even (or, if I'm really lucky, bikes!). The part of town I'm in is super-unfriendly to pedestrians, so walking anywhere even during the nicer times of year is risky because of scary drivers.