Alabama Is Hugely Underrated…The State, Not The Football Team!
- Dec 11, 2022
- 4 min read
Between, the people, the food, and, the what-to-does, Birmingham, Alabama hugely exceeded our expectations. The travel there from Chatanooga was a little more than a two hour drive which for us, is alway convenient. To be able to be in a completely different state, in a very different town, in such short travel time, is always an intriguing part of our journey.
Our first visit was to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. After purchasing our tickets we were greeted by a wonderful women from Philadelphia who was the museum monitor. She welcomed us and gave us insight to our visit while recommending a brief movie introducing us to the space and the culture. After our visit Brad and the monitor bonded over Lee's hoagie talk which turned into a cool three-way conversation about Philly and our visit.
Across the street from the Civil Rights Museum is the 16th St. Baptist Church. The church was only open till 3PM so we couldn't get to go into it. We'll try again tomorrow.
That Friday was Veterans Day so when we went back to the church it was closed again. We were so interested in seeing the inside of the church because this was the site that some KKK members planted a bomb that killed four young black children. It was a sad day in the fight for equality back in the early sixties. The death of these four innocent children, who were simply attending school, became part of the national battle cry of the Civil Rights movement.
Across the street from the Museum and caddy-corner to the church is where the Freedom Walk in Kelly Ingram Park took place. Birmingham Police dogs terrorized these peaceful protestors as well as turning their firehoses on these defenseless people. It was ugly. It was horrible but was a part of American history so we wanted to see it and we wanted to feel it.
We knew that Sunday Services at the 16th St Baptist Church were going to prevent a third attempt to a visit. So, we opted for a drive to the Vulcan Park Center Museum and Tower. It is the world's largest cast iron statue and its surrounding 10 acre park are both wonderful sights. The Visitor Center had a museum that laid out the "Pittsburgh of the South's" steel industry along with detail on the construction and design of the statue. The enormity of the statue's foot below gave us a perspective of the size of the sculpture. You'll see the tower next to the statue. Our next move is to take the elevator up to the base of the Vulcan.
Here's a look up the tower, through the elevator ride, and, from the top of the tower down. Along with a close-up look of Vulcan ass. Betcha never saw Vulcan ass that close-up?
The last part of the visit to Vulcan Park was the Lone Pine Mine. A 15 mile long mine was a huge resource to the Birmingham Alabama steel industry back in the day. The purple muhly grasses were the prettiest part of the park. Those last two pics feature each one of us long-distance.
We hit a couple cool eateries while in Birmingham. The first one below was Saw's at the Outlet Shoppes at Grand River. It was a barbecue joint recommended to us by the cashier at Vulcan Park. Brad continued his collard greens bender here but this time they were turnip greens. Yum! Pizitz Food Hall was recommended to us by our new Philly friend at the Civil Rights Institute. We had Oysters and a Bloody Mary at the Southern Kitchen and then we went to Tina and Gina's Sandwich Shoppe. We were told by our preparer: "this will be the best sandwich we've ever had". It was good... but not the best ever.
Three restaurants recommended by locals. It shows you how nice the people are in Alabama. Darn Nice!
Wait till you see this...Barber Vintage Motorsports. Five floors of open concept motorcycles and Lotus". We took over 125 pictures here so we'll try to select only the very best to share with you. It'll be hard but up for the task.
If you want more inside Barber Motorsports here's a YouTube link to our page that we shot while there. You'll dig it if you have the time. https://youtu.be/CPme7rFpjB4 They also had a Porsche racetrack at Barbers. You can pay for a two hour classroom styled learning experience then run a car around their racetrack. When we were leaving the museum the guys who paid for the experience were just coming in and were all fired up about it. They said it was worth every penny! Here's a link to our YouTube page if you want to check out a racetrack video we shot. https://youtu.be/KhWnLKktY4E
The bridge overlooking the racetrack had a glass floor so you could see the cars racing underneath. Brad took a couple still shots, catching the Porsche's racing in action .
On our way back to our campground we stopped at Buc-ees. It's a kind-of-famous gas station slash store. Yep, gas station! It must have had over 100 pumps and a department store instead of a convenience store. Its was so awesome we took a video of it. Check it out and you"ll see what we are talking about!
We bought some gummy bears and Buc-ees Beaver Nuggets..two outstanding purchases!
Last stop on the Birmingham travel train was to the Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens. It's an 1840's Greek Revival styled home with 19th century furniture and decor. It was in a nasty part of town but once past that it was an okay visit.
Thank you Alabama! We never imagined enjoying Birmingham as much as we did. Our next stop is Atlanta, Georgia. Thanks for following our journey and reading down this far. Happy Trails! Kathy and Brad
wow!! the vintage motor museum looks ridiculously cool! I’d love to go see that!! … and can you please explain Beaver Nuggets?!? no offense to the local food, but is that exactly what it sounds like? the gas was much cheaper for sure in Alabama than Connecticut.