Montgomery Day 1

I labeled this Day 1 because there is a lot to see and some of the sites are not open on Monday, so I'll go back on Saturday. In the meantime, I'll head up to Birmingham on Thursday ...


Stopped by the post office first thing this morning and was pleasantly surprised to find this one opens at 6:30am!  They are closed the usual lunch hour, but, wow, 6:30am, six days a week!  I'm finding these smaller town post offices have limited open hours, so I was pleased with this discovery.

The two postal workers were very nice, friendly and helpful.  Their suggestions for the local delicacies were fried dill pickles and craw fish.  Well, craw fish are just nasty, so that will never happen.  ha.   Most of their other suggestions were things I have tried either in North Carolina or elsewhere in the south.  I will try the pickles however.  Apparently, there is also a dill pickle dip I need to find ...  They also suggested two restaurants in Montgomery, so I'll be checking those out as well.

I was telling one of the postal workers about the chocolate covered bacon I got at the factory in Daytona Beach, FL, and she thought that was just gross.....and yet .... craw fish.  ha.

My first stop in Montgomery was the visitor's center.  It is housed in what used to be Union Station.  A truly beautiful old building.

Did you know, Montgomery was the nation's first city to introduce an electric streetcar system to local travel?

I see I took over 50 pictures, so I better get started ...

When Rosa Parks refused to get off of the bus in Montgomery because she was tired and exhausted from working hard that day, she never thought the gesture would make her become "The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement". Visit the very spot where Rosa Parks was arrested for her refusal to get up.

 

 

 

Countless crosses line the yard of William C. Rice, who was told by God to build a cross garden to spread the message of Jesus Christ to the masses.

 I spent most of the day in Old Alabama Town - The pre-Civil War era comes alive at Old Alabama Town, an open air museum where visitors can tour the Ordeman-Mitchell-Shaw House, which is an 1850s town house, and other buildings restored as examples of 19th and early 20th century Alabama architecture. The six-block area has an authentic cotton gin, grist mill, store, country doctor's office, school, and church. Artisans can be seen working at various period crafts.

Hank Williams was such a prominent member of both the rock and country music circles that he has three different facilities dedicated to his life and memory; there is even a Hank Williams Trail "The Lost Highway".  Here is picture of his statue and his grave.  There are also museums ...




Surprisingly little traffic in the downtown Montgomery area.  You do have to pay to park everywhere you stop, but it was fairly easy to maneuver around, even with all the one-way streets. The postal ladies told me it was unsafe to go there at one time, even in the daytime, but the city is trying hard to clean it up for tourists.


I did have my first piece of catfish yesterday.  It wasn't bad at all .... a nice white fish.  I still prefer flounder, haddock, or even tilapia, but it was good.  It was served with mac and cheese.  As much as I love cheese, mac and cheese has never been a favorite and I'm not sure I see the attraction, but it is popular.

Driving south on I-65 coming back from Montgomery, there is a billboard that says FRESH SEAFOOD straight ahead until you run out of land.  I thought this was funny because this highway dead ends in Mobile and the Gulf.


I do have a couple of additional categories to add to my Greatest Hits and Misses list -

Best aquarium EVER:  Atlanta, GA

The dirtiest my car has ever been, hands down:  The trip from GA to Alabama.  I don't know why this happened, as the roads weren't bad, but my car was beyond filthy when I arrived in Alabama.  I could not see out any of the windows.

Most emotional place I have been:  911 Memorial (with the Civil Rights Museum in Atlanta being second)

Prettiest golf courses:  PEI

Saddest looking golf course:  Montgomery, AL  (I realize this is a general statement as I've only seen the one, but it was "ruff" ---)

Florida will take it hands down forever for the buggiest state.