Blogs from Alabama, United States, North America - page 18

Where Iron is Forged and Men Are Destroyed

North America » United States » Alabama » Birmingham May 7th 2011

Sculpture outside Birmingham Museum of Art

Today I visit one of the most important historic sites on the entire trip. It tells the history of iron smelting in the US. Iron smelting, as noted earlier, is the reason Birmingham exists. Before that, however, I wanted some culture. I found it at the Birmingham Art Museum. Birmingham Art Museum The museum is a relatively small encyclopedic museum. I enjoyed it more than the Speed Art museum in Louisville (see ) even though they are close to the same size. Part of the reason was that they have more art that I like, and it was arranged better. Contemporary work in this museum gets an entire section, while at the Speed it was limited to one corridor. The other reason was the through explanati... read more

Welcome to Hell

North America » United States » Alabama » Birmingham May 6th 2011

Minister's monument

Roosta

Bombingham I woke up today near Birmingham, Alabama. This city was the place the civil rights movement exploded. The movement was born as a formal force in Montgomery, but it reached critical mass in Birmingham. I studied the history earlier (see ) but that can’t compare to being here. For long months in 1963, the city was a vision of horror as Public Safety Commissioner Bull Conner and the Ku Klux Klan waged war against Martin Luther King and other civil rights organizers. Today, I explore that painful legacy. I started in Kelley Ingram Park. This park is the actual location where marchers were met with fire hoses and snarling police dogs. On one level, it’s hard to imagine that type of violence, because the curre... read more

Moving Companies, tornados, and good-bye

North America » United States » Alabama » Crossville May 3rd 2011

Front porch is a staging area

jdkinley

We arrived back in VA on April 18 and the cats were very glad to be "home". They walked the yard, checked out smells, and seemed very happy to be back. Our big job was to finish packing, clean the house, and prepare to move out. I had contracted with a moving company to move us for what seemed a reasonable fee. They would not pack (except for furniture and a few other items) so we had to make sure it was done right. After 7 moves with the government and another 5 on our own, we felt comfortable and competent that we could get it right. I had contracted with Mayflower moving in January and the move coordinator, Tyrone, came to the house, gave us a binding estimate, and walked us through what was expected. ... read more

Beginning the move

North America » United States » Alabama » Crossville April 21st 2011

Trish packing

jdkinley

I "retired" on March 26. I spent 3 days camping (a previous blog) and then, it was back to work. First we finished packing in VA. Kim came over the first of April to take her cats to our favorite vet and helped a lot. We got 95% of the house packed, packed the car and the RV and the pickup truck and prepared to move out. Monday we left for 'Bama about noon and in strong crosswinds, headed south. This was the first time we had driven separately and we kept in touch with a small handheld radio set. We needed more frequent breaks since we couldn't spell each other. Weather reports got ominous the further south in VA we went. Finally, around Blacksburg, we pulled over for dinner and decided to call it ... read more

Island life

North America » United States » Alabama » Dauphin Island April 1st 2011

leaving the winter behind

brpaws

Hi ya-all, Our first chance to get on this rig. Free wi-fi at the Dauphin Island visitors center. Friday, day 5 at Dauphin. A mix of clouds and sun. 60' to 80'. Don and Connie have been great guides. Bob and Sharon arrived Wed. Biking and bird watching. Lots of oil rigs etc. I'm going to try the photos again so bare with me. We're leaving Sat. AM for New Orleans and then on to Dallas. I'll try to get on more frequently. Doug / Judy ... read more

Travel to Gulf Shores, AL on a Budget

North America » United States » Alabama » Gulf Shores February 27th 2011

montytravels

Gulf Shores, Alabama is known as "Pleasure Island". What a great place to plan your next vacation! Imagine not only helping out your fellow man, but planning a vacation on a budget. Whether your budget is big or small, there is something to do in this great city. Try one of their Championship golf courses or go deep sea fishing. Visit one of their top notch festivals or visit one of their historical sites. Check out How to Travel to Gulf Shores, AL on a Budget.... read more

Our New Home

North America » United States » Alabama » Crossville February 27th 2011

Front view of home

jdkinley

OK, we finally closed on the house in Alabama. It is 2800 sq ft on 5 acres in Crossville. It is located on Sand Mtn, which is a large plateau running from TN down south in AL. We are at @ 1020 ft elevation and have small ponds around us. We also have woods and fields (as you can see from the photos.) The community is rural and yet we are 9 miles from Boaz which has a WalMart and plenty of stores and also about 8 miles from Albertville where there is a Piggly Wiggly, KMart, Waffle House and plenty of shopping. We are 15 miles from a couple of state parks, one on Lake Guntersville, and about 25 miles from Weiss Lake with camping, fishing, and swimming. We have an outdoor basketball court where ... read more

Getting into a routine (ish)

North America » United States » Alabama » Gulf Shores January 31st 2011

Jackie D

Whoops. I am so very sorry everyone. I have kinda epically failed at blogging about this latest adventure of mine, so I am truly sorry about that. I will try to be better, but I can't promise anything. It's tough cause there is less going on than some of my previous experiences, and my internet time is less frequent. But enough with the excuses. Things have been going very well. I am enjoying the job very much. I had a pretty stressful week two weeks ago, mostly just a lot of stuff happening a few days' time, but it all turned out okay, so that was good. Our guided tours start tomorrow (hopefully... I am supposed to give the tour tomorrow, but it is also supposed to be crazy storming tomorrow so we may have to ... read more

The ferry ride

North America » United States » Alabama » Bayou La Batre January 27th 2011

kreynolds

Burr!! It is cold this morning. It got down to 30' & my sleeping bag isn't designed for the extreme cold. I slept in my hot sox, lower long johns, a tee shirt, my fleece vest, a pair of gloves and a stocking cap. With all this on I was still cold. I bought an extra blanket later in the day for the next time we camp which will be in a couple days. Zoe, the camp pig, was trying to get in my tent while I was in the bathroom. Sam had to run her away. When we finally met up with Bob & Mary we started out on a bike trail. This was nice to be on a trail but we crossed several driveways which was a pain. We Rode to Fort Morgan to ... read more

One down

North America » United States » Alabama » Gulf Shores January 26th 2011

kreynolds

We left Pensacola about 8:10 (Bob was slow) and rode out of town. We were out of the traffic real fast and the riding was nice. Yesterday I stopped by Cinnabon and bought some cinnamon sticks and save them for today. When we stopped for second breakfast I got them out and we had a feast. When we rode along the beach we stopped twice and walked to the beach and took pictures and we got some postcards for the folks back home. We were not in a real big hurry and the day was fun. Around 12:30 we made it to the state line. We started out by crossing the road and taking some pictures on the Florida sign. We then rode 200 yards and did the same with the Alabama sign. I'm sure those ... read more

Brief history of United States

Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the origina...more history

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