Montgomery Recon

Friday, 25 January
Maxwell AFB FamCamp — Montgomery, Alabama
Temps: Lo 50F / Hi 71F (10C / 22C)

Amazing … just amazing.  We’ve barely left our campsite, yet the four days since my last post have passed in the blink of an eye.  Or that's how it feels.  If anyone has figured out how to slow down these retirement days, do share ;-)

We’ve been enjoying very nice days.  The nothing-but-sun weather in the 10-day forecast gave way to mostly sunny days this week.  The temps have ranged from a low of 30F (-1C) one night to a high of 71F (22C) today.  There was to be some rain today, but we haven’t seen any wet stuff … just cloud-studded blue skies.

The murals at the 42nd Force Support Squadron ITT Office represent some of the things for which military members can get discounted tickets.  The mask mural is for the Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery.

So, what have we been up to?  Talking to Mui about it just a few minutes ago, neither one of us can recollect anything special — except for our short wander around Montgomery on Thursday.  The rest of the time — well, most of it revolved around planning out this year’s travels … a few bike rides on base … a few walks near the campground.  Oh, and I got my military dependent ID card renewed today — I’m good to go until 2017.

As faithful readers know, I enjoy photographing murals.  It doesn’t matter whether they are elaborate works of art or simple drawings; painted or tiled.  I just like them, and they almost always make me smile.  Sometimes I find them in unexpected places.  Like at the ITT (Information, Tickets & Travel) Office where we stopped to make reservations for a campground later this year (collage above).  Or at the Bowling Alley ...

This mural at the Bowling Alley inspired us to get a couple of cones for ourselves ;-)

The interesting thing is that these murals were all painted by inmates at the federal prison on base.  And they were done freehand.  There were a couple of other murals, but I am saving them to post on my Viewfinder blog for the Monday Mural challenge.  (Here’s my first contribution to the mural meme from this past Monday.)

Enough about murals.  Onto yesterday’s recon trip into Montgomery.

Thursday, 24 January

We took off under cloudy skies, but by the time we got to the Visitor Center at Union Station — a mere 3.3 miles (5 km) away — the sun was out and there was plenty of blue sky to cheer us up.  Our goal was to collect information on things to do when we come back through the area sometime in February.  The short 15-minute video was a good introduction to the area, and thanks to the very helpful ladies at the center, we came away with a lot of ideas; they even showed me how to get up to the second floor to photograph a stained glass window.

The Montgomery Union Station — opened in 1898 and closed in 1979 — houses
the Visitor Center as well as some businesses.

Love the colored glass detail in the roofline of what was once the train shed.

I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t notice the beautiful detail on the floors while I was there;
not even when I took this photograph.  But I didn’t miss the carved newel posts and the corbels.

One of four identical stained glass windows on the second floor of the visitor center.

With the brochures stashed in the car, we took advantage of the free “tourist parking” at the visitor center to walk around town for a bit.  The small map that one of the ladies marked up for us proved most useful, and we found it quite easy to get around and see a lot of the important sites.  Plenty of sightseeing awaits us when we return.

The story goes that one of the owners of the Steiner & Lobman Building wanted to be
buried on top of the building; hence the the casket-like structure atop the dome.

Thanks to a friendly local, Two to Travel has a photograph at the spot where
Rosa Parks boarded the bus, thus sparking the Civil Rights Movement.
[click here for a more legible version of the sign]

Court Square Fountain, crowned by Hebe, the Goddess of Youth and Cup Bearer to the Gods.

A little side story about this fountain.  A well-dressed gentleman asked me if we were tourists, and when I acknowledged that we were, he asked if he could share some information.  Sure, I said.  According to him, “Contrary to what THEY would have you believe, the spot where the fountain sits was not just an artesian well, but a slave pit as well.”  I did find some information on the web that seems to verify what he told me.

The ladies at the Visitor Center had suggested Chris’ Hot Dogs as a place to grab a quick bite.  We’re not hot dog people, but when they told us that this landmark eatery has been serving since 1917, we figured it was worth checking out.  I will tell you now that if you’re a finicky person, you probably don’t want to go to Chris’.  But the dogs with chili were good; the fries were perfectly crisped; the server was efficient and friendly; and the diner-like atmosphere was right out of the past.  As for the rest — keep your sunglasses on and don’t study things too closely ;-)

Serving since 1917; the painting hangs just inside the entrance; it was painted by an R.P. Adams.

The prices are right!
[the menu and the collage in the bottom right downloaded from the website]

On with our meandering tour …

I had no idea that Montgomery had served as the capital of the Confederacy until it
moved to Richmond in 1861.  According to this marble marker, the inaugural parade of
Jefferson Davis went up this road and Dixie  was played for the first time on that occasion.

I did something here that I never would have attempted in Washington DC …
I stood in the middle of the road to take this photograph of the Alabama State Capitol;
and I lived to tell about it!  Where’s the traffic anyway?

First White House of the Confederacy, built in 1832-1835.
Moved to Dexter Avenue in 1921 from Bibb and Lee streets, President Jefferson Davis
and his family lived in this house until they moved to Richmond in 1861.

The Civil Rights Memorial stands in front of the Civil Rights Center.

The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Civil Rights Memorial as follows:
“A circular granite table records the names of the martyrs and chronicles the
history of the movement in lines that radiate like the hands of a clock.  Water
emerges from the table’s center and flows evenly across the top.  On a curved black
granite wall behind the table is engraved Dr Martin Luther King Jr.’s well known
paraphrase of Amos 5:24 – We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like
waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

The Riverfront Park overlooks the Alabama River, which, as indicated by the high water
mark on the column (left), reached 58 feet 1 inch (17.7 m) during the 1961 flood.

As we wandered around Riverfront Park, the clouds started moving in … our cue to go home.  We really enjoyed our few hours in Montgomery; we look forward to exploring it further next time we’re in town.