Orange Beach, AL to Gadsden, AL
We said goodbye to the beach this morning and started heading towards the mountains.
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| Orange Beach |
The kids loved their first experience with the ocean and were sad to leave. I, however, felt like it was just the right amount of family time at the beach -- seaside with the kids is constant vigilance, sunscreen, and sand everywhere -- but it was wonderful to see them enjoying it so much! I enjoyed it, too, I was just ready to move on.
And move on we did. We added a bonus state to the trip as our GPS determined that due to current traffic conditions there was a better route than the one we originally planned for leaving Orange Beach. We ended up driving through Florida for a bit (state #8 of the trip).
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| GPS Added A Drive Through Florida |
We had a quick car-side snack break in Florida. Lunch was back in Alabama at Zaxby's -- another fast food chain we don't have in Illinois -- it reminded me of a southern Chick-fil-a (though they have those here, too). I liked it.
Today was mostly about driving but we didn't want to pass up the opportunity to visit a few Civil Rights Movement landmarks as we passed through Montgomery, AL.
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| Court Square Fountain in Montgomery |
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| Rosa Parks Bus Stop in Montgomery |
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| Voting Rights March to Alabama Capitol in Montgomery |
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| Crosswalk Commemorating The March and Dexter Avenue Church Where MLK Was Pastor in Montgomery |
We continued our drive, taking notice of the change in scenery as we progressed from the Gulf Coast towards the mountains.
We ended the day in Gadsden. Dinner was nothing new to us, we just went to the Ruby Tuesday near our hotel. I didn't report, though, that yesterday on our beach day, my husband got a fish po' boy at a local spot which fulfilled both his desire to have fish while at the Gulf and get a po' boy while down here.
I used the guest laundry at the hotel to do a quick wash & dry of our still-damp-from-the-beach swimsuits. Now, we are just trying to get to bed early. We lose an hour as we cross time zones in the morning and our goal is to be at Lookout Mountain by 9:30a to avoid the crowds. Goodnight.