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Published: June 10th 2009
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Hi Y'all (yep Ive picked it up)
Installment from Alabama below.
Being on course and in Athens Georgia, the weekends have given me a chance to get away. I was caught speeding on the way to Athens which I talked my way out of 75 miles in a 55 mile zone to which I pleaded Aussie... the State Trooper who told me "We Dont Speed in Georgia Maám" gave me a warning so I have been more mindful of my speeding (somewhat).On 9 Jan I headed to Montgomery and Birmingham Alabama in order to begin my Civil rights trail journey of the US. After leaving at 0630 in the morning I headed out on the road and with my faithful GPS and some handy hints from one of my classmates about where to go and stay. After 2.5 hrs I decide its time to grab something to eat and head to Waffle House.
Its not difficult to find places on the interstates to eat and with 5 places every 20 miles or so you are sure to find what you want. Now Waffle House is a 24hr chain restaurant that should be eaten at 3am or to assist
with a hangover. Having neither I headed in and was taken into an all American diner with 4 women serving and cooking on the grill. After paying $7 for a massive unhealthy breakfast of which I ate half, it was time to hit the road. Now earlier when I said there are rest stops everywhere 20 miles...it can seem forever when you need to go and have put it off. About and hour down the road breakfast was clearly not agreeing with my stomach and my mild efforts to stave of the inevitable (including cold air, trying not to think about it, trying to get the alphabet out backwards and then realising I may have to do twosies on the side of the road) I was saved by Jacks roadhouse. I run in....literally to an empty roadhouse, 5 workers eyeing me and my "Ive really gotta go face" suspiciously, and an old man spitting tobacco into a jar. 20 mins later Im good and back on the road on my way to Montgomery.
Montgomery is an area where the civil rights movement began, essentially starting with Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a
white man. The bus station is still there and still used....I wont give you a history lesson but its an amazing place and the civil rights movement museum is a very moving and inspirational place. Its focus in not only on famous moments in time but those who died and may have made the 4 page in the paper or not at all, in a time where racisim was the norm and accepted. Its a must to see if you are in the area and gives a non political account of the times that were faced and the sacrifices made by normal everyday people. Also in Montgomery is the church where Martin Luther King Jr was the pastor for 6 years. Behind it is the house where he lived before he later moved to focus soley on civil rights. The church is still active and you are likely to get an invite to attend the Sunday service which is the same as it was all those years ago with a mural down stairs depicting all those that helped and hindered the cause. While the city itself has suffered from heavy urbanisation it remains a place enshrined in modern history and
well worth a visit. The black wall with the writing has large compass lke contraption with the name of those who were killed during the time and a quick detail of what happened, a very moving tribute.
After the serious stuff which we know I can't last that long with, I had a few hours to kill and decided to do some shopping and have a few beers at a local 'pub'. While not up to Australian standards I met the owners got free drinks and chatted until midnight.
Next day I was on the road to Birmingham which is about 2 hrs north and headed to the civil rights centre and the 6th St Baptist Church which was bombed in the 60s which killed three little girls. Because Sunday here in the US is very much church day I caugh the post church crowd at a BBQ place where I dined on amazing ribs and tried fried green tomatoes (which are great). I headed to the church, museum and then it was time to return to Athens. I stopped by Talledaga speedway, home to the international motoring museum. Talledega which is complete redneck ville...the sign on the
side of the road says hot showers $5 so go figure, and when Nascar visits it home to 100,000 gun toting, tooth missing loud drunk rednecks. There was no-one around when I went so it was easy to grab some shots...except when security saw me in a restricted area from which I bolted and drove off before they could approach.
On the way home I saw a sign worlds best flea market and with an hour or so to spare thought why the hell not....Ill tell you why...OTHER PEOPLES USELESS SHIT. It took me 3 minutes to go in and out and about 3 days to get the smell of old out of my system. So it was back to Athens for another week in the classroom which equates to me googling my next adventure which is Charleston South Carolina..stay tuned.
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