Selma AL, Montgomery AL, Stone Mountain GA

May 28, 2009. A terrifying almost rush hour ride on the Atlanta freeways, under construction, heading for Stone Mountain yesterday. Gene at the wheel did a fine job of being squeezed, cut off, braking, while I nervously navigated, overriding Amy, our new GPS. Speed limit was 50 mph and everyone was doing at least 65-70 mph. Stone Mountain is a huge entertainment complex built around a 'big ole' granite mountain,' with carvings of Confederate generals, etc. Fireworks last night, sight seeing today.

Yesterday we drove through the Garden District of Montgomery, an area of homes large and small, in stles ranging from neoclassical to bungalow and everything in between. Most of these homes built between 1870 and 1940; strict architectural controls keep them in their periods. Still home to area business people, civic leaders, etc. and their families, it's a vibrant mix of styles, races and socio-economic groups.

Entered Georgia, another wonderful Welcome Center, meandered into a COE campground at West Point Lake. Blue Heron flapping and gliding, red cardinals flashing, poor, slow ,dead armadillos, a turtle or two on the road. Lucy went swimming after sticks so had her second bath of the trip. Learned kudzu can grow 12" to 18" a day. Tick score: Lucy 2, Gail 1, Gene 0.

Yesterday we went to Pine Bluff, Georgia and ate grits with breakfast. Warm Springs was our destination....a very lovely setting, interesting small house where FDR retreated, and where he died (his mistress Lucy Mercer and the portait painter left when he suffered a stroke). I clearly remember the shock of adults when we received word (I was about 11?) and we were living in NYC. I still have great admiration for the man.

Callaway Gardens is a very impressive development of thousands of acres, including gardens, butterfly house, veggie garden, golf course, homes just being developed, a Birds of Prey section and show (which was fun). Did you know owls have longer necks than giraffes, in terms of numbers of vertebrae? They have 11 as opposed to our (and giraffes) 7, and can turn their heads 270 degrees. The rhodies were all gone, several stands of azaelas remained, oak leaf hydrangeas in full glory.

Warm Springs town is somewhat ragged; entered a funky complex of junk shops in search of promised ice cream, and found a man who opened the shop for us, talked our ears off, and gave Lucy a tiny vanilla cone, which she loved. Found a roadside stand with fresh veggies and gorged on just picked silver corn and Georgia peaches.

Then the terrifying freeway thriller, to Stone Mountain.

May 26, 2009. Here we sit in Soggy Selma, enjoying the muggy morning, looking at the 6 Mile Creek as it joins the Alabama River. At least the temp is only 72, while the humidity is 79. Brief foray into Selma yesterday produced little of interest except wonderful old houses and a wrought iron balcony on the hotel. Word is the town died about 20 years ago, so I guess it can't be blamed on the WalMart. But the bridge from which the famous march to Montgomery started is still there.

This campground is a paradise for catfishers, bullfrog hunters, boaters and gatherers...lots of families gathered here over the weekend. Industry: still some manufacturing in this town which made half the munitions, a major canon, and an iron clad boat for the Confederates.

Wildlife: dead armadillos on the road, guess they are really slow. Live turtles, noisy bullfrogs, mosquitos, snakes which we haven't seen, large bugs, no-see-ums, possum and racoons.

Architecture: Pre and post Civil War; the railroad depot, now a museum, Romanesque and really ugly, of brick with a false front, a turret and tower, painted bright red. Came past a prosperous lookiing development in Demopolis of large homes on several acres, perhaps around a golf course judging by the golf cart dealer on the highway.

People: Sunday morning breakfast at the Western Skillet in Meridian was an experience..watching the after church crowd come in, and trying to understand what the waitpeople were saying. This is truly another world where the local dialect is a unintelligble to us. And where everyone is friendly beyond belief, so the guy who inadvertently pulls his cart in front of us in the market, turns with a big grin and says "HI! How y'all doin' today?" and the woman who checks us in to the campground gives us her life's story woven through a short history of Alabama. The women and men who came in for brunch were dressed, dressed, dressed. The women, uniformly large, were in chiffon, silk, polyester dresses with matching shoes and hats. Wonderful hats. Dresses of all colors, some print, some with spangles, all flowing. The men were in suits, with softly colored shirts (yellow), lovely ties (blue), with stick pins (diamond). The white women were marginally less flashy, and less interesting. If only we could understand what they were saying! Can I help you? sounds like 'kin ah hep yew?' but it takes twice to get it. We're embarrassed; they think we're both deaf.

Of all the things we knew about Alabama, no one mentioned that it's very pretty, and green. Of course, it's raining.