Montgomery, July 14th

We spent the whole day in downtown Montgomery! It wasn't anywhere near as busy as we thought it might be, considering it's the state capital. We paid $2 at the visitor's center, jumped on a trolley, and rode around, stopping at museums and monuments all over downtown.




The first White House of the Confederacy, home of Jefferson Davis and his family. It was neat to see so many of the family's personal possessions...including Jeff Davis' own chamber pot! So in the last two days, we've seen the pots where two presidents have "relieved" themselves! (remember FDR's bathroom at Warm Springs?) One of the best things about this museum was that it was FREE!





Yes, this was an actual museum...also FREE!




















The three desperadoes!













Learning to be a cowboy!















This is my new friend Coco.




















At Chris' Hot Dogs, where Hank Williams loved to come and eat the special chili sauce hot dogs, just like Angel ordered. The waitress was amazing...she would take your order, bring your food within minutes (literally; in fact, it only took seconds for us to get the fries, and they were still ridiculously hot after we'd eaten the hot dogs). When it was time to get your bill, she would just tell you what your total was. She didn't check her notebook, she just knew how much each meal would be, and she remembered what you had eaten.









Look at me! I'm part of the Montgomery Bus Boycott! While we were driving around on the trolley, a lady asked the driver where the original bus that Rosa Parks was arrested on was located. The conversation went just like this (I know because Angel wrote it down):

Lady: Where is the original bus?
Driver: Detroit.
Lady: Why?
Driver: She moved there.
Lady: She took the bus with her?



This was parked in the spot marked for the First Lady at the State House. Later on we saw a very official-looking guy carrying a very official-looking briefcase go over to it and open the back.











By the end of the day, the girls and I were really tuckered out. It was a great day, however. The city of Montgomery is clean, friendly, and full of great sites to visit. While the morning started off cloudy and somewhat cool, the afternoon warmed up to a typical blistering hot Southern summer day. Ashlynn was glad to get back to the hotel and into the pool!












While we only drove about 21 miles today (thanks to being able to take the trolley everywhere), we did a great deal of walking: at least 18 blocks!
Total driving miles is now at 601.
We did not see any license plates from new states. :(

Tomorrow: F. Scott and Zelda Museum (it was closed today), Selma, and Birmingham! Of course, if there's anything interesting to see along the way, we'll stop and check it out!

ANNOUNCEMENT!

If any of you know me, you know that I'm just like Angel in the fact that I really hate when people type in all caps. So for me to type the title in all caps, it must be a big deal. If you read the blog last year, you know that I hung out with Angel in the front seat for most of our journey. T. Horton, the Canadian BABW moose joined me once we got to Canada, but I was alone most of our journey. This year will not be like last year. While T. Horton is still my BABW buddy (unlike those other spoiled BABW brats Ashlynn has), I will not be the only sock monkey on the trip. I would like to introduce all of you to Stripes, my new girlfriend. Ashlynn got her for Christmas, and well, we've been getting to know each other since then and have grown rather close. I'm excited to have her on the trip with us and hope you enjoy seeing her in some of my pics.

Macon, West Point, Langdale, Tuskegee, Montgomery--July 12 and 13

Well, so far the trip is going well.

Sunday started off with Jansen's 3rd birthday party in Walterboro,

then off to Georgia for the six degrees of Macon. OK, I guess it was only two degrees, since we were staying with the parents of a friend of Angel's from Savannah. What a nice visit! The girls wanted to sit around and talk with the Prettyman's, but the road was calling, so we were off by 8 am on Monday.



Sunday's drive: 285 miles
State license plates spotted: 16 different states represented, plus Quebec










Monday's drive was supposed to take us straight west from Macon, via backroads, to Warm Springs, GA. Well, then Angel noticed a little, tiny dot on the map labeled "Lifsey Springs" and the route changed. And then the trip got interesting, because Angel got lost. Now, sock monkeys are not the type to stereotype, but bear with me for a minute. Like I said, Angel was lost. We were lost on roads that were not on the map, that's how 'in the country' we were. Serious boondocks. We pull into a little gas station in the middle of nowhere, and there are three people inside: white man, black man, Indian man (not the Native American kind). Guess which one was behind the counter. Guess which one was eating fried chicken with hot sauce (btw, you're wrong on that last one, it was the white guy). Angel tells them where we're trying to go, and the gas station owner starts telling me where we need to turn. She cannot understand a word. The black man seems to sense this, so he starts trying to tell her. He has a lovely, beautiful soft accent, similar to Isaac Leach (those of you familiar with Magnolia Gardens will understand this). Then the white guy jumps in, just as country as can be. You know, the kind that say "right" like "riiiiight." Angel is totally confused, but manages to get a few directions written down. We were back on the road in the right direction. Until she made another wrong turn. This time, however, it didn't take long to find another gas station, so we pulled in to ask. THEN we were headed in the right direction to Warm Springs.

If you don't know, Warm Springs was a home for FDR for over 20 years. He would come down from DC as often as possible to seek relief from polio in the warm springs of the area. In fact, he was in this house, having his portrait painted, when he died in April 1945. It's a really nice little site; you should stop by if/when you're in the area.
















We drove from Warm Springs over to West Point, GA, the home of Angel's father's maternal grandparents. We crossed the Chattahoochie River (the same one we tubed down in Helen, GA last summer) and drove around the town, just checking out what it's like now, and imagining what it must have been like decades ago. We even went by the cemetery. Then we crossed the border (which is right at the edge of town) and drove to Langdale, AL to do the same for Angel's father's paternal grandparents. Are you following all that? Of course, you'd be hard pressed to find Langdale on a map, as several small towns were lumped together and renamed Valley.

Of course it would be that one of the first Alabamians we "meet" is a cashier at Wal-Mart, who not only has no bottom teeth, but also has no idea how to add money to the gas/gift card. While she taxes her brain, she's sucking her bottom lip in and opening her eyes really wide, as if these two motions will suddenly jump start her brain. Thankfully everyone else we've meet has been wonderful (and fully teethed, as far as I can tell). The man at the welcome center even gave me a new pin for my shirt. It says "Sweet Home Alabama," the new state slogan. I wonder if they had to get permission to use that, since it always makes me want to break out in song.

We then jumped on I-85 South and headed toward Montgomery. We took a pitstop at Tuskegee to check out the Tuskeegee Airmen National Historic Site, then drove over to Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site.

















Airplane at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site













The Oaks, home of Booker T. Washington and his family.















Statue of Booker T. Washington on the campus of the Tuskegee Institute
















We finally made it to Montgomery and checked into the hotel. If you ever in town, Angel recommends the Red Roof Inn on Carmichael Road. Very clean and excellently priced.

Monday's mileage: 278 miles (total: 580)
License Plates: Only saw 3 new states (total: 19)

On the Road Again...

Isn't it crazy to think that it's Summer 2009 already? Seems like just yesterday we were packing up and heading to Canada. Well friends, Angel, Ashlynn, and myself are back on the road! The summer of 2009 is dubbed "The Dixieland Whirlwind Tour." We'll be cruising through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina from July 12-31. Here's a bit of what's to come:
July 12-26: Road Trip
Georgia--Macon, Warm Springs, West Point
Alabama--Langdale, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham
Mississippi--Tupelo and Oxford
Tennessee--Memphis, Shiloh, Chattanooga, Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg
South Carolina--Spartanburg
July 27-31: Centri-Kid Camp, Anderson College

What are we going to do in all those places? Well, I guess you'll have to check the blog for updates through each place to find out!

We've already done a few fun things this summer:



We took a harbor cruise around Charleston. There's Ashlynn and me with the Yorktown behind us.












Capt. Bryan even let me steer for a bit!













And here's a few pics from our trip to Bee City with Emily, Abi, and Wyatt. Those lemurs sure are some cool cousins to have.









































The girls have also made trips to the beach, gone to the movies, and spent lots of time with friends and family. They're ready to pack up and get going on our road trip though!

Helen--again!

Getting some ice cream in Helen.













Our cabin was located by Duke's Creek, and Riley had a great time splashing around. Angel and Ashlynn would throw rocks for him to "fetch." He'd bound after them, but of course couldn't get them.









Our cabin. It was a little rustic.

Of course you know I jest. Duke's Creek Cabins are very nice and we loved it. We even had a hot tub on the deck!










Since Helen is only allowed to have one fast food place (Wendy's), we drove over to Cleveland for some McDonald's after our day of tubing down the Chattahoochee. And you cannot make a trip to Cleveland without going to the Cabbage Patch Hospital. You already know, dear Reader, about the first trip we made there. But DJ had never been, so the girls had to take him. It was indeed an experience for him.
























I mentioned above about tubing down the Chattahoochee River. Angel, DJ, Ashlynn, and Riley spent the day doing this. I'm sorry to report that we do not have any pictures from this event, because it was really something to see Riley curled up in a tube (it had a flat bottom, not a hole in the middle) floating down the river. The family got lots of comments on it. Riley actually stayed in the tube and had a marvelous time. Many thanks to Cool River Tubing for the day's fun.

We do plan to return to Helen. There's several things we did not get to do that are a must for us--putt putt and gold/gem mining. And we'd love to go tubing again. There's only so many times you can piddle around the town. It's really just a bunch of trinket shops decorated to look like Germany, but the food in town is good and the people were all friendly. It makes for a fun family trip. And the town is quite dog-friendly as well. It was nice not to have to leave Riley behind.

August 5--Lavonia, GA (again)

Yep, this is where our summer began. Lavonia, Georgia. Ever heard of it? Not unless you've been reading my blog! This is the town where we stayed back in June for the Lifsey Family Reunion. Well, we're back with two new travel companions--DJ and Riley (and Maple, that new Build a Bear Ashlynn got in Canada). DJ and Angel felt it just wasn't right not to do a family vacation, so we're on our way back to Helen. DJ's never been there, so this should be fun. We'll be staying the next two nights in a cabin. We're in Lavonia because we couldn't leave until late today, and there was no reason to drive all the way to the cabin just to sleep. So we're off in the morning to Helen!

July 23?--Charleston Harbor Boat Ride

So the family went on a boat ride around the Charleston Harbor one evening after returning from the Grand Adventure of the Summer of 2008.










Gotta love the battery!













Even upside down she's the cutest thing ever!



















Our favorite thing to see in the harbor--dolphins. There was a lot of them out, but it's really difficult to take pictures and watch at the same time!










A place Angel would LOVE to go and walk around--Castle Pinckney. What's stopping her? For one, it's an island, and she has yet to perfect walking on water. Two, she's been told it's a federal crime to get out there and walk around.
The fort was used during the Civil War, but has fallen in disrepair and disuse since. There's tons of birds nesting on the island, and the shore was littered with pelicans taking a break. Ever seen a pelican dive for fish? Quite impressive the way they dive bomb into the water. Angel never gets tired of watching them.