Road Trip: South - Capitals Tour
Day 8: Wednesday, May 24, 2017 - Montgomery, AL
Weather: 87, scattered showers
Steps: 7,760 (Steve); 8,088 (Linda)
Drove: 311 miles
This marks our fourth capital. I can't say we stayed one night in each state, because we already stayed in Mobile (plus there were the Baton Rouge and NOLA stays). So one night in each city (except for NOLA) is the proper term.
The breakfast today was the same as yesterday's - continental super light with no eggs. Also, the toilet and shower were designed for shorter people (not that there is anything wrong with it). But I'm only six feet tall and I had to literally bend over backwards to get my head under the shower.
Today's first target was the First White House of the Confederacy. Today was also the first time we had a significant
issue with Google Maps. We entered the address of 644 Washington Avenue. Google Maps showed us this.
And this is what the houses on the street all looked like (nothing resembling an old house).
So we called the FWHC to get an idea where they are. THIS is where it REALLY is,
all the way over here on the left near the capital.
Anyway, we finally got there. It isn't as grandious as most of the other homes we
visited, but that wasn't the point of this visit. It was the history.
While we were visiting the FWHC, we had a visit by the one and only Jefferson Davis, the first president of the Confederacy.
We saw all the rooms and their original furniture and artifacts.
We were talking to the docent about various things and he wound up giving us a small bunde of cotton wrapped in
Saran wrap. We took it home and planted it and within two weeks, there are buds already.
After Mr. Davis got a parking ticket (he wound up staying longer than intended), the docent, Bob - who happen to be from
Pennsylvania - told us about a free parking lot one block over. It wasn't the cost that was an issue but we didn't have
to worry about the meter because there was a two hour limit on the spot. So we moved the car. We passed the archives first.
And walked to the capitol, approaching from the side first, then the front.
Once inside, stamp!
Here are the book pages:
And our shot glass.
The dome and the artwork in the dome, the house and senate.
Outside we saw flags from the fifty states. The flags are also in the picture above of the outside side of the capitol. With the
wind blowing, I was able to capture Delaware's flag. This was the only capital we visited that we saw anything like this.
This is of no historical significance, but I found the situation humorous.
And some other buildings near the capitol.
After the captiol, it was late enough for lunch. Time to go to
Sam's Barbeque. They are only open five days
a week, from 11:00 - 3:00. But we couldn't find the place and drove back and forth about three times looking for
it. Google Maps showed here it comes.. here it comes... there it goes. Repeat. OK, let's make sure they
are still in business. The Interweb showed they were still open until 3:00. Did they move? Oh, no, they
didn't move - but it sure helps to have the right address. I had noted 2118 Livingston Rd, while the real address
was 3 118 Livingston Rd (this error was our error, unlike the problem earlier in the day). We
eventually got to our destination and went in. Linda had a pulled pork sandwich with a side of slaw and I had the
pulled pork plate that included fries, beans, slaw and a slice of white bread (why the bread?).
The lot was full when we arrived. When we left, our car was the only one left.
Onto the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. It was a little buried in the
middle of a neighborhood and it was set way back, but the grounds were nice and sprawling. There were plans for them to
add a labrynth too - construction was underway. We saw some interesting artwork - including some Rodan. This was
a surprise. But there were only four pieces. And photography of it was prohibited. There was a spectacular
knight on a horse in charcoal and graphite, but it was borrowed and photography of this was prohibited too. :-(
This first
set were by a woman who is 89 years old. Not fantastic, but pretty good.
Some of the pieces we thought were a little more interesting, for one reason or another, are these pieces
(the first two are Hills Before Taos, a Georgia O'Keefe; and the girl is an oil painting [amzing
detail on it]). The sculpture was out the window by the Rodan display.
And the outside (I didn't even notice there was something written around the pool until I posted this picture here).
There is something in the lake - the brass pieces move in the slightest breeze, much like a weather vane.
We spent a couple hours at the museum and did a good amount of walking. We decided to scrap our original dinner
plans and as I was driving, Linda was in charge of the phone Google search a la Trip Advisor to find a good dinner
place - and she succeeded. Dinner was to be in a location in Birmingham, Alabama, at a location called
Saw's Soul Kitchen (lunch at Sam's and dinner at Saw's...) Linda
had the Carolina burger (a big burger with cheese, chilli and slaw on top) and I had the chicken sampler, which included pulled
chicken, 3 wings, pulled pork and a side of slaw (have to have a veggie, right?). You'll notice the sauce is poured on
top of the meat (that was the same thing that was done at Moe's in Mobile). In the south, it is about the meat - you pick
the sauce to put on the meat; in the north, the meat tends to be cooked in the sauce. You'll also notice the barbeque
sauce is a white sauce here. It was different, mayo based and peppery, but good, and intended for poultry.
We headed north toward Tennessee and, more specifically, Nashville. We didn't capture every "Welcome To..." sign,
but we captured as many as we could. One of them didn't come out quite right. I am told that it was the vehicles'
velocity that caused it. I beg to differ... Regardless, this should read "Tennessee Welcomes You". I think.
We arrived late, a somewhat common theme this trip (but not as often as the last trip), at Roadway Inn. The fact that the roadside marque was not illuminated did not help much. When we arrived, I went in to register. I walked right past a woman talking to a man just outside the front door. As there was no one at the desk, I assumed one of those two was the clerk. And the front was all windows and I could see them as clearly as they could see me. After about five minutes of waiting, the woman finally came in to register me. Sorry, but your cigarette and your friend can wait - do your job. This was really the only problem we had checking in, so we faired pretty well.
FUN FACT: The world's first Electric Trolley System was introduced in Montgomery in 1886.