In the south

We made it to Alabama and we're getting settled in here. We already feel right at home.

A snapshot from our travels. We made it. That's all I can say about that.

Scott and I met while we were living in the panhandle of Florida (aka Lower Alabama) and we lived there for 6 months after we were married. So, like it or not, the south now holds a special place in both our hearts.
I always romanticized "the south" a bit when I was younger, imagining it was all like the book Huckleberry Finn, or New Orleans Square in Disneyland. This is the first time I've been back since I moved away in 2006 after living there three and a half years. I think it's become a part of me.
Scott and I have been driving around Montgomery for the past two days excited to see a lot of our old favorites from Florida like Steak and Shake, Tropical Smoothie, Moe's, spanish moss, southern architecture, fried catfish and hush puppies, Chick-Fil-A, Publix, and good ol' southern barbecue.

Spanish moss in Montgomery

Before coming for this trip, I'd only driven through Montgomery, and it's a lot nicer than I remember. Of course, when I drove through before it was after evacuating for a hurricane and the part of town I saw kind of looked like a shambles (or it had been hit by a hurricane). My post hurricane visit really biased my opinion of Montgomery, so I was pleasantly surprised by what I found this time. Sure, there are still lots of old abandoned parts of town (eerie) where the store fronts just sit empty and decaying, and even in January I was feeling uncomfortably warm, but southern hospitality is still alive. There's something about the south that feels slow, ancient and timeless. It's feels like standing side by side with history sometimes.

Sign for the Civil Rights Memorial Center, Montgomery, Alabama

Maxwell Air Force Base is one of the nicer looking bases I've seen, beautiful southern style architecture and a lot of new buildings. Our accommodations aren't new, but they aren't falling apart either. I think we'll be comfortable here. The weather is nice, there is a play structure just downstairs from our room and we've found a favorite grocery store (Publix) within a short drive - I think I need a break from the commissary. Also there is a Target nearby. Hooray!!
The area around the base (like many bases) is VERY rundown and mostly abandoned. It's like a ghost town really, but the base has been there a very long time, and I guess that happens. There are lots of nicer parts of Montgomery to see. I heard there's a zoo and a few museums and if we get a chance, we might try driving up to Birmingham or down to the coast for some "throwed" rolls.
Scott and I got lost on some back country roads on the way home from shopping tonight. We didn't have a proper map and ended up going the wrong way down a back road...we figured it out eventually, but it brought back a lot of memories of driving little country roads when we lived down here. If you were expecting things to be clear cut or straight forward (or for there to be unambiguous signage), you're going to be disappointed. We are back in the south for sure.