Just wish I had got bit by the cycling bug when I was in Pensacola though I loved the group rides in VA beach through farm country with no traffic on Saturday mornings. If you find yourself there go Hit Fat Frogs down south near damn neck. Huge rides with A, B, C groups and the rides through farm country were scenic.
I would say if your going to get something spend the money to get something good which i learned the hard way from my road bike since I spent as much to buy a used one and get it fitted as I would have to get a new one though I dont ride trails enough to buy a nice MTB since I prefer being a roadie.
I ride a Kona Four Supreme which is pretty top of the line. It retails for $3000 but I didn't pay that much since I got a team discount on it. This is my first FS bike and I am not sure I really like it. Even with the nice rear Fox RP23 shock I still feel a lot of power being lost in the pedals.
With the pedals (eggbeaters) and tubeless tires filled with stans. it comes in at about 25.5lbs. That is lighter than most hardtails out there...
This is my first FS bike and its a love hate kind of thing. The average XC type trail you have no need for a FS and you just lose "pedal power" in the suspension. So generally when I am riding I have it locked out. However, when you are on a more technical trail with some fast descents or drops the FS is worth it. I still miss my old bike which was a Kona Kula Primo (hardtail) but oddly enough it is the same weight as my new bike (but about a grand difference in price).
I agree with the Full suspension being a bit of pain when on XC trails. I ended up having to make mine a lot stiffer when I was doing a ride a couple of weeks ago. I love the eggbeaters though. My buddy was getting rid of his old set and gave them to me, I liked them so much I put them on both my road and mountain bike.
As for a great place to ride XC Mountain I would suggest the Virginia Creeper Trail in extreme western virginia (despite its distance from alabama). Its a 34 mile long railroad right of way that the state converted to a bike/hiking trail. Most of it is pretty flat though there is about a 26 mile climb to the top of Whitetop mountain 1700 feet of climbing ( I started at mile 15 and went up) with the toughest being the last 5 miles with 500 feet of climbing. Ill tell you that climb doesen't look tough on the map but its a killer. I wanted to do the whole trail in one day (64 Miles total) but I cramped up after only 16 miles going uphill though I managed to gut it out to get back around 34 miles.
http://www.vacreepertrail.com/trailMaps/CreeperTrail.pdf
