I guess since it is June, it's probably time to blog about my Christmas trip to Alabama. I had a nice Christmas celebration with my family here in Utah on Christmas Eve. Fun was had by all (as you can well imagine). Christmas morning I went to church and then headed to the airport. I flew from Salt Lake to Denver, then on to Nashville. Dale picked me up in Nashville and we headed to his house. Just FYI, Waffle House is the only place open to go to the bathroom at midnight on Christmas.
We spent a day in downtown Hunstville.
We went to Harrison Brothers Hardware, which is a museum and store. It's like stepping back in time. It's staffed by volunteers and is definitely worth stopping by.
There is a really nice park downtown (Big Spring International Park) that we walked around.
We fed some fish in the pond off of a red bridge donated to the City of Huntsville by Japan.
We saw a Muscovy Duck (the first bird I identified for my life list).
Next we went to a children's science museum at a local college.
Dale realized his dream of becoming a weather man.
And here he is combining his dermatology knowledge and rock climbing skills.
Who didn't want to do this after seeing the movie Big?
Giant bubbles!
Dale and I became birders. We saw whooping cranes! You can sort of see one of them in this photo. It's the specks that are more white than the other specks (which are sandhill cranes). It reminds me of the time I discovered my true talent as a wildlife photographer while on a dolphin cruise in Florida. Click here to see that post.
I saw my favorite trees.
We spent a day in Birmingham. On the way down, you could see the scars from one of the
April 27, 2011 tornadoes. This is where it crossed the interstate.
We went to the Civil Rights Institute. When buying my ticket, I thought the lady asked me if I was cold. I told her "not really, it is much colder where I am from." Imagine my embarrassment when I realized a few minutes later that she asked me for my zip code. Ha ha, too funny. Well, the Institute was such an amazing experience. I'd even say it was life changing. I highly recommend it. They don't allow photography in the museum, which we were bummed about because we were hoping to get good photos for my brother, the history teacher. There was a Ku Klux Klan robe in the museum (donated by an anonymous donor...imagine that). Seeing it sitting there in front of me was surreal. It made all the things I've learned about all my life become real. Real people did these things to real people. Wow.
Across the street from the Civil Rights Institute is Kelly Ingram Park. Police dogs and firehouses were used on children who were protesting segregation. When images of these events reached national television, it brought the struggle for racial equality to the nation's attention. These protests then lead to the end of public segregation in Birmingham, and eventually helped ensure the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
And across the street the other way is the 16th Street Baptist Church. It was a meeting place for Martin Luther King Jr., Fred Shuttlesworth, and other civil rights leaders. It was bombed in 1963 killing 4 girls who were there attending their sunday school.
Next we headed somewhere to find boiled peanuts (not a huge fan...but they are okayish) because Dale learned to love them on his mission in Georgia. Then we were off to find some lunch. We wanted to go tour this plantation so we figured we'd head that way and find some lunch near it. The plantation is in the middle of the ghetto. We don't have ghetto in Utah like they do in Birmingham. It was interesting to see the projects right after coming from the Civil Rights Institute. So many of the people living there are still trying to overcome the inequality of the past. I, for instance, started on a totally different playing field than they did. It really changed the way I think about some things (but that is a whole different topic, for another post, some other day). Anyway, we ended up not having too many options for lunch, so we ate at a McDonald's in the ghetto. The plantation was closed, so we headed to Vulcan Park.
His back side?
A view of Birmingham.
Then we went to a Botanical Garden. It was really pretty (especially considering it was the middle of winter). Some people in Dale and Amy's ward had an exchange student from The Republic of Georgia living with them. Her name is Anna and she came with us to Birmingham. She was really fun to be around and it was fun to learn more about her country.
This is their mail truck. I thought it was hilarious.
Looks like an ordinary cabinet, no?
Surprise!
A dog too?? I bet mom is super happy about this! Aunt Juli, on the other hand, encourages this behavior by laughing and taking photos.
This smile (and the giggle to go with it) make me happy!
What I love about kids... yes, we just met, but since we are both on a slide we are now BEST FRIENDS!
I just love him (and her too of course)!
We rang in the new year, Alabama style. What does that mean? Well, they drop a giant moon pie in Mobile. We tuned in to watch that instead of the ball in New York. We had a fun night of junk food, movies, and games.
Following a yummy breakfast at Cracker Barrel (they are EVERYWHERE down there), Amy drove me back to Nashville to the airport, but since my flight wasn't until much later in the day, we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame first. It was awesome!
I had such a great time visiting my family and spending the holidays with them. The one advantage of waiting so long to write this post is that I will be there with them again in just two weeks! Woohoo! Can't wait!
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