In the immortal words of Keith Jackson...Alabama! (5/1 to 5/3)

We finally crossed the Florida/Alabama line about an hour and a half after leaving Panama City Beach heading north toward Montgomery, Alabama.  The route, including one rest stop and one fuel stop was mostly 2 lane highway and the landscape started to show some hills and valleys as we drove.  We arrived a little later than our preferred time of 3 to 4pm due to the delay coming out of Panama City Beach.

Gunter Hill Park was a bit of a drive off the main highway, but we were pleasantly surprised by its beauty once we got to our campsite.  It was a long easy back-in site that backed right up to the lake.  This is our first Army Corp of Engineers park, we actually have another one upcoming Tennessee.  They are difficult to book a full week as they are always full on the weekends. I can see why.

Mike had scoped out a few things for us to do on this 2 night stop.  Upon arrival we got through our set up routine quickly and headed out to the Montgomery Motor Speedway.  It was literally right across the street from the campground entrance. It was a fun, if not loud, evening of stock car races. It was very well attended and had a quaint small town family atmosphere. It felt nostalgic and normal for a change given the past year.  The track was so close we could hear the cars racing well after we came back to the RV, but it was buttoned up by 10pm and all was quiet in the woods. 

The next morning we drove into Montgomery where we had tickets for the Legacy Museum, founded by the Equal Justice Initiative.  This museum displays the history of slavery and racism in America.  This very difficult and disturbing material was presented in thought provoking ways meant to broaden understanding of history and the path that slavery and racism has taken in the US. 

Affiliated with the museum at a separate location is the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.  We also walked these grounds which is a national memorial to commemorate the Black victims of lynching in the US.  Again, the scale of this memorial was sobering and you could feel the weight of the shame and sadness this place represents.

Montgomery is a city whose disgraceful past has defined it for many years.  It was once called the "cradle of the confederacy".  While the city transitions from that past to the future, there is much to learn from its history.  

Mike had also scoped out a local restaurant to try on our way back from the museum.  It was so crowded with locals, we couldn't get in.  We then tried two other restaurants in downtown Montgomery that were also packed.  We waited over an hour for a table.  Staffing shortage signs were posted at both restaurants.  We finally had a very late lunch at an Italian restaurant, it was good, but not the local flair we were hoping for. 

More storms rolled in overnight.  We buttoned everything up and got ready for an early, stormy departure to have some preventative maintenance done on Ruth. We dropped her off at 8am at the repair place and went to get some breakfast at Cahawba House. The Southern Biscuit sandwich (pimento cheese, fried green tomato and bacon on a homemade biscuit was a blast of South for your Mouth! 

The skies were black and brewing a storm, but we motored on our way to our next stop, Guntersville State Park, Guntersville, Alabama.