Sara Sails Away…to Alabama

Over the years, I have had four or five solid blueprints on how I was going to start traveling and what road trips I would take when the time came. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic really did away with all of that!

At one point, I had a plan for leaving my job right when the pandemic hit and the country was shut down. But after a few months, my co-workers started going on vacations so I felt like it was time to leave. After putting in my notice, my last day of work was July 10. Then I found a family to rent my house and moved out on August 13.

And then I was suddenly homeless! I hadn’t really booked anything in advance because I wasn’t sure when I was moving. And when a renter was found, the move happened so quickly! (As my moves tend to do,) I moved in with a friend for the weekend and during that time, I somehow decided to drive through Alabama and end up near the Gulf Coast.

Why Alabama?

The short answer is that I’ve never been to Gulf Shores before and…I wanted to! I’ve also always wanted to go to Montgomery, Alabama, the home of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. And I had read a news article about the new National Memorial for Peace and Justice that had made me cry, so that was on my list as well.

Alabama Civil Rights Trail

In the end, I decided to roughly follow the Civil Rights Trail through Alabama and down to the beach. It seems timely and gave me a framework for my trip. I used this US Civil Rights Trail website to plan my route.

I won’t make this a proper “Alabama Civil Rights Trail” post because almost all of the museums are closed right now and it’s not a complete picture by a long shot. But I was still able to see some things and have moving experiences while staying safe from COVID.

Instead, I’ll post some pictures and light reviews of the stops I’ve made.

Scottsboro

First, I made a quick stop in Scottsboro and drove by the Scottsboro Boys Museum.

It’s only open the 2nd & 3rd Saturdays of the month, though it looks like I could make an appointment. I felt bad asking for one just for myself on a Tuesday morning, so I walked around Scottsboro’s cute downtown instead.

Pit Stop: Noccalula Falls Park

On my way to Anniston, I stopped at Noccalula Falls Park in Gadsden. The falls didn’t have much fullness and it looked like some of the trails were closed. But I saw a train and decided I needed to ride it! $6 got me a narrated train ride, a walk through a pioneer village, fat man’s squeeze, and a pretty covered bridge. I’d say it’s a good place for kids or a minor diversion if you need to get out of the car and walk around a bit.

Anniston

Anniston is a pretty town in Alabama with a lot of really beautiful architecture. But down one alley you’ll find an ugly part of its history. Here, the riot surrounding the Freedom Riders’ bus got started. This new monument is really well done and I spent a full 30 minutes reading every word. There will be an indoor museum in the future but it isn’t ready yet.

Birmingham

The big Birmingham Civil Rights Institute was closed but I was able to walk around the Bethel Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park. Both have informative signs that walk you through the church bombings, marches, and demonstrations that have occurred on these sites.

Tuscaloosa

A slow roll through the University of Alabama got me to the Foster Auditorium, the site of the “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” event. There’s a nice square there that commemorates the first black students at the school.

Selma

The interpretive centers for the march from Selma to Montgomery are closed but you can still walk across the Edmund Pettis Bridge. Downtown Selma is a pretty riverside town as well, if a little underpopulated.

On the non-downtown side of the Pettus Bridge is a small park, which is a little run down. If you walk down the steps into the woods, there is a small boardwalk down there where you can stretch your legs.

Also on this side of the bridge is the National Voting Rights Museum. Technically closed, I happened to drive into the parking lot when there was someone there and he motioned me inside. I don’t even think the air conditioning was on but he let me walk through by myself. It’s an excellent museum and well laid-out with some nice hand-lettered signs.

Montgomery

Even though the interpretive centers are closed, you can still drive the path of the 5-day protest march from Selma to Montgomery. Also closed is the Montgomery State Capitol. But there is a bicentennial park in front of the capitol building with a semi-circle of monuments to Alabama’s past and future, all the way from prehistoric life to technological advances in space. It is REALLY cool, I think every state capitol should have such a succinct and hopeful story of identity for its citizens.

National Memorial for Peace and Justice

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice deserves its own section. Opened in 2018, this six-acre park memorializes the thousands of victims of racial terror from 1877-1950.

In the spiraling pavilion, 800 steel monuments are inscribed with the names of lynching victims, according to state and county. At first, you’re taken up with finding your own state and county but as the floor falls away, you’re confronted with the names themselves, and your focus shifts from yourself to the victims.

On a ramp downwards, as the monuments reach too far overhead to see even the names, there are plaques that detail specific violence and (horrifyingly) the massive crowds they drew. A water wall and stepped risers invite you to stop and consider.

Starting this summer, the Memorial is also open Wed-Fri evenings from 9-11 pm. With special nighttime lighting, the names of the victims are lit from within. It’s harder to see all the names so I recommend a first visit during the day and a second pass at night for the special atmosphere (though they do give you a tiny flashlight that you can strap to your finger.)

The Legacy Museum affiliated with the Memorial remains closed due to COVID, but in the Memorial Center across the street, they are showing a series of short films that are usually found in the museum. The run time for all of them is around an hour.

Powerful sculpture is found dotted around the pavilion, as well as quotes and informational signs. A beautiful, colorful garden is near the entrance/exit area, in case you need to see something bright and alive after bearing the witness to so much death.

Rosa Parks Museum

Many Civil Rights attractions in Montgomery aren’t open, but Troy University’s excellent Rosa Parks Museum is and I was again lucky to have the whole place to myself.

This one is presented in two parts, the main museum and a children’s wing on the opposite corner of the block. I managed to park in the small children’s wing lot and did that side first. It’s a kid-friendly speed tour through history on a hydraulic-powered time-traveling bus. As an amusement ride lover, this really got me in the giggle box (though in reality the bus barely moves.) I don’t think I was supposed to take pictures, but here you go.

The Children’s Wing side covers a quick tour of African-American history and Jim Crow laws from slavery up to the time of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her bus seat.

In the main museum, the high-tech presentation continues. You’re first held in a multimedia room until the doors automatically let you into a street set complete with a full-size bus in front of you. The scene inside the bus is projected on the windows and you see the whole event unfold in sort-of real-time. It’s VERY cool!

When that presentation is over (maybe 20+ minutes) you open the church doors into a self-guided museum where you can (and should) take your time reading how the consequences of Rosa Park’s actions played out. For kiddos and those with short attention spans, a cartoon bus marks a quick summary of the action.

Montgomery Museum of Fine Art

I did take a drive out of downtown to see where the Alabama Shakespeare Festival is located. And it’s in a freaking huge park! It’s amazing! There aren’t any shows currently due to COVID but you can catch some of their work online.

I ended up driving around the park and found an art museum. It is also closed, but the lovely sculpture garden is open and it’s free to visit. This ended up being a lovely surprise to my day! I loved how tactile the garden is–the spongy grass, the burbling water… It’s not big but it’s perfectly lovely. One small gallery indoors is open as well.

Tuskegee

Ain’t nothin’ open in Tuskegee. NOTHING. Not even a bathroom.

I was able to walk around the grounds of the Tuskegee Airmen’s airfield, but that’s about it. All the buildings are locked up tight.

Monroeville

Pretty much the last stop on my Civil Rights tour, I visited the Old Courthouse Museum in Monroeville. This is the hometown of authors Harper Lee and Truman Capote, who grew up here as neighbors and friends. Plus, the courthouse was used as the model for the movie of Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

This is a delightful museum with an even more delightful gift shop in a quaint town square. The buildings that might have been found in the authors’ works have long vanished, but it’s easy to imagine.

Gulf Shores

And now I’m down near Gulf Shore (about 30 minutes away, actually) for a few weeks before I head on to who-knows-where. I have some house sitting lined up, at least.

For those who are wondering, I spent one night in Birmingham, two nights in Montgomery, and one night in Monroeville, all delightful apartments on Airbnb (all affiliate links, btw,)

For all the best pictures and to follow me more in real-time, make sure to follow my Instagram, @roadtripsandrollercoasters.