Alta Vista Hotel And Conf Ctr Birmingham

Since nothing too terribly exciting happened while in Birmingham, AL, I'm going to take this time to talk a little bit about Continental Breakfasts.<br><br>One of my favorite exchanges in a movie is from Tombstone when Wyatt Earp asks Josephine "What's your idea of heaven?" and she responds "Room Service". I still love that and think it's quite true... but there is a vast chasm between Room Service and the Continental Breakfast. <br ...

We had a one night stop over in Moody. We passed Talladega raceway on the way there but as it was a longer drive we didn't stop off along the way. We also got held up in our first traffic jam. A truck had gone off the interstate and crashed. Delayed us by about 40 minutes. The Super 8 wasn't the worst or the best motel but we both slept well after dinner at Cracker Barrell.

As most of you know I have been sick since my last blog and yesterday was pretty much a write off. I arrived in Birmingham at 11.45am after taking a 4 hour ride on a Amtrak train. The train ride was quite comfortable. I was able to get two seats to myself and there is a lot more leg room on a train than an airplane. The taxi driver had never heard of the hotel I was staying at and couldn't find it on his GPS. Luckily I had the additionally information that it was off a certain ...

A few days ago we realized that the day we leave, marked in our brains as Memorial Day, comes a week earlier than we'd been thinking. Oops. At least we saw the light soon enough so we won't miss the flight. (Memorial Day this early in May feels very odd.) This trip is no big deal but will serve well as a test travel blog. Something to play with between meetings and meals.

... inside the camper, a pair of camp chairs, our walking sticks, a few guidebooks, and some basic kitchen supplies (electric teakettle, French press and Melitta one-cupper for his coffee, Mountain Research pot and lid). We'll take basics like tea, coffee, peanut butter and other sandwich-makings, and then pick up fresh fruit and vegetables at farmers' markets and ...

... GUESS WHO WON...ME, YEAH!! THE NEXT MORNING WE ATE BREAKFAST. THEN WE CHECKED OUT AND HEADED TO THE BOTANICAL GARDENS. BESIDES SEEING ALL OF THE PLANTS AND SOME WILD LIFE WE, ALSO, TOOK ONE OF THE TRAILS. THE GARDENS WERE VERY PRETTY. WHAT I LIKED THE MOST THERE WAS THIS HUGH ALOE PLANT. THEN<br>WE HEADED ON HOME. ANOTHER WONDERFUL SHORT TRIP FOR TWO SENIORS! THANKS, FATHER!

Here we are in Alabama, the birthplace of Marty. She found a map at the visitors center that actually shows the town where she was born. Yesterday was good. After the trip down the Natches we had a drive on I-20 with a lot of trucks. Why don't they put all that freight on the train? We are planning a stop on Huntsville to visit Martys cousin and to see the old family home; then on to Chattanooga.

We rode with a local rider on the beautiful backroads of Alabama. we stopped in a town called Blountsville and met the local people at their fall festival- what a hoot. we looked at the old farm equipment and car show. one half of the town was in the parade that we participated in and the other half watched the parade. during the parade, I was run over by one of my co-riders and fell in front of the whole town on Main Street- we ...

Alright, so today started out with a semi-early breakfast at Cool Moose. Some delicious sandwiches, blueberry coffee, and a few teary goodbyes later... we were on our merry little way. We headed out of Jacksonville on the never-ending I-10.... Good God. Longest, most boring stretch of interstate in Florida. Upon finally leaving I-10 and turning into Alabama, we decided ...

... I had such pretty little curls, we must have gone there on a Sunday afternoon, Vulcan and Vestavia. I find it, easy as can be, Temple of Sybil, just an open portico and garden all around, and picture-worthy, yes. Nobody else in sight. Where next? There's something else I want to see, I can't remember what. The trees are blooming spring, the dogwood white is everywhere, the gentle streets, the neighborhoods you'd like to live, Shades Valley, Mountain Brook ...