The Explore All 50 States Project
Let's Go!
After visiting Alabama, it's hard to not think about this state without imagining the struggles between the races. It is something that just hangs in the air, a tension that somehow still exists in the shadows and we felt in through the length and the breadth of the state as we drove from Selma to Montgomery to Birmingham and the north to Tennessee. Alabama is full of natural beauty whose peacefulness contrasts the … [Read more...]
When we arrived in Selma, it felt as if we'd come upon a ghost town. There were a few buildings and not very many people. The town seemed desolate and deserted right near the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the historic site of the start of three marches to protest segregation and the discrimination against African Americans. The banks of the river that flowed under the bridge were so peaceful and beautiful that it was … [Read more...]
If you’ve read my other itineraries, you know how fun Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World can be. Yvonne’s kids had never been inside one of these and were blown away at the size of this enormous store which sells everything for hunting, fishing, camping, and cooking under one roof. The kids could not believe the size of the fish in the huge tanks which represent all the local fish that you can catch. We all tried on … [Read more...]
The Alabama State Capitol Building is not as flashy or architecturally significant like others we've seen. What was unique about it was the enormous white columns on the front steps and the clock in the small tower. The Alabama State Capitol Building served as the first capitol of the confederacy in 1861 and has since been declared a national historic landmark. In fact, this is the site where Jefferson Davis was … [Read more...]
Right down the street from the Alabama State Capitol Building is the bus stop where Rosa Parks stepped on in 1955 and sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she was arrested for not moving to the rear of the bus because she was African American. We stood here for a moment taking in the energy of this place and trying to imagine the scene that played out here on that fateful day. There is something very special … [Read more...]
The Rosa Parks Library and Museum is worth a visit but be forewarned it was very pricey and lacked the rich and wonderful content of others places we'd been like the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis or the Little Rock High School Visitor Center. We weren't allowed to take any photos so sadly I have nothing to remember and nothing to share with you here. Probably the most interesting exhibit is a model of … [Read more...]
The U.S. Space and Rocket Center was our fourth space museum that we'd visited on our Explore All 50 project. Many of the exhibits were things that we'd seen before but there were plenty of others that were unique enough to make this visit interesting. One highlight was going inside a model of the interior of the space shuttle. We got to see how the astronauts sleep, eat, and even use the bathroom in space (pretty … [Read more...]
Sadly, we missed the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute but even so I thought it was important to cover here because it was on our itinerary. On our trip #10 Civil Rights and American Music we'd been to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, the Little Rock High School National Historic Site and Visitor Center, the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, the Rosa Parks bus stop and the Rosa Parks Library and Museum in … [Read more...]
Wow, I can’t believe we are already up to trip #10. This trip entailed exploring the deep South with all its charms and eccentricities. I did not expect how lush and beautiful Tennessee would be (and I can see why it has inspired so many country songs). Simply gorgeous! In fact, all of these states were uniquely beautiful and offered important lessons to be learned. Civil rights played a very important theme, from … [Read more...]
