I was in high school and college, during the Vietnam War. Many of my classmates were entering the military and others were being drafted. It was a different era of protests and bombing of the north. There were many times we sat, in our college , watching the draft lottery balls drop, wondering if our numbers were going to be ranked highest on the draft, thus insuring we would be the next ones to go. Some elected to dodge the draft, others went and some never came back. Then when they did, they often were labeled; “Baby Killers.” A troubling time for all. The state of Alabama was one of these states that were brimming with controversy, at home and abroad, as this was the training ground for many military bases and the staging ground for many of this country’s greatest civil rights battles of the 1960s. Time does heal and the years and decades that have gone by, feelings have changed and many find there are heroes in the people that fought for their American rights, whether it was Freedom of assembly or the right to maintain our democracy. For this Memorial Day Weekend, I salute and give prayers to those that served on these multiple fronts, some giving so dearly so that we may be free. Thus, this was the beginning of my journey through the state of Alabama.
I often find interesting things, by just keeping my eyes open and most importantly, not having a strict schedule. This was the case as I was traveling, as two things happened, one, I found the USS Alabama Memorial and Museum and then the western portion of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
GPS: 30.681216,-88.014785
One of the most interesting parts of visiting this military park, is actually walking and sometimes just squeezing through small opening on the interior of the ship. I was able to go through the USS Massachusetts a few years ago, in Massachusetts, and it was just as interesting. With that battleship, there was more access afforded a visitor, than at the Alabama. Just saying.
Then of course, the life on a submarine has to be full of just squeezing by and through things. The submarine, on display here, is the USS Drum SS-228. The areas that were open to view, were very interesting. I wish that the submarine would have been more accessible, as I have seen others displayed.
I have traveled much, in the west, and have become use to the way rest stops and picnic areas are built and maintained. But, while traveling through the southeastern portion of our country, I was met with very different rest areas. They were truly rest areas, with generous areas full of trees, picnic tables, dump stations, potable water available and almost always, security guards patrolling these areas. Many of the rest areas will allow stealth an overnight stay, when asked. This particular wayside was just the right place and time for me, for an evening stop.
Even though many eschew the interstate highways, they sure do provide a great function, in my opinion, to skirt a metropolitan area. I typically choose to stop, before I arrive in a large town and dry camp in an adjacent community or industrial area. That way, I can offload my motorcycle and take day trips into the city. Parking and maneuverability is a plus in using my motorcycle for this role.
One of the things I am not able to get use to, is all of the water that seems to be down here in the south. There seems to be bridges everywhere and in the case of Mobile, a tunnel. For me, I am use to them going straight through mountains, so this tunnel came as a surprise, but very helpful in skirting one of the many Gulf Bays.
I am not sure what it is about state capital a building that is so interesting, but maybe it is how a group of people, in a less affluent time, could come together and build something that demonstrates their strong devotion to democracy. ,
Each capital, I have visited, has such unique and distinct differences. For me, I like breaking things down into detailed pieces and the Alabama State Capitol was a wonderful opportunity for me to do this.
The requisite historical events and paintings depicting occurrences grace many of the walls inside the state capitol, as well as many faces of politicians. These I find interesting to stop and look and read many of the details presented along with these paintings, but not the real reason I wanted to investigate this building. Years ago, I was one of the people, staid with guarding a state capitol and had learned my way around a building like this and soon, I was on my back. I was looking upward, from my position on the floor of the state capitol.
There always seems to be an atmosphere of respect and quiet, within the halls of a state capitol, sort how library use to be. It is obvious, that many capitols do not get a lot of tourists visiting, except maybe the occasional school field trip. I can really relate to the respectful dignity these places have. 
One of the things I enjoy seeing is the different state flags, as well as the history behind these flags and the [url=http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_flag.html]Alabama State Flag[/url]. Some of these flags have their own controversy and Alabama is one of those histories that many would choose to put in their past.
Many states are celebrating their fallen Peace Officers and Firemen, with memorials. Often these memorials are located in a place accessible to the public, but at training academies. Alabama is one of those states that have memorials for war veterans and their Peace Officers and Firemen on the capitol grounds. This memorial is very respectful, in the form of a uniformed officer.
That was when I was met with the sound of giggling, from a now present group of school children. They stood off to one side, watching me laying on the floor, looking up to the roof. With a few words of encouragement, from their chaperones, they too joined me, lying on the floor looking up at the detail of the inner dome of the rotunda.
Alabama is filled with many historical towns, as western expansion occurred in this country’s early history. With this, there were many dark times, with the splitting of south from the north, the racial strife and again, with the abject poverty that is prevalent in these economic times. Much of the early history revolved around train stations and the train station in Montgomery has now be wonderfully restored and a focal point in the revival of the downtown.
Union Station was left to decay and fall into disuse, as was the surrounding neighboring blocks, only to be renewed. Layers and layers of staining was cleaned only to reveal much of the detail of the era that once created buildings with character.
The revival of how steel can lead to design, just by exposing it outside of the structure it supports, can now be found in many of today’s modern sports stadiums. This is evident in the delicate steelworks of Montgomery’s Union Station.
Before I installed my solar, electricity was a challenging thing to find. Most people are able to walk over and plug in their laptop into a wall outlet, but for someone that travels fulltime in a Truck Camper, it is a little more involved. When I would work on my laptop for a few hours, I would seek out locations such as a public library or a fast food outlet. It was not important that they have Wi-Fi, but it was important to have an electrical outlet. It was not that unusual for me to plant myself in front of a Wal-Mart, at 1 AM, to plug into the outlet that powered their outside vending machines. The staff and security guards never said anything, in fact they found it pretty curious seeing someone sitting there, in a folding chair, dog at his feet, working on a laptop, in the middle of the night, while they busily power swept the parking lot. The fun thing is watching the staff, of these locations, as they bust out of their normal routines as did this local McDonalds in honoring their staff’s achievements, with a traveling trophy.
There were many areas, abandoned, buildings in ruin and a blending of lines of where the nearby Alabama River merged with the long discarded buildings. Scattered around these places were bursts of springtime color, Crimson Clover ~ Trifolium incarnatum.
No matter how you wish to celebrate your Memorial Day weekend, whether it is visiting the grave of a long gone loved one, or someone that gave the ultimate sacrifice in a war long ago, on a battlefield now forgotten, or a backyard filled with family, friends and a smoking grill. I wish to express my gratitude to those that are serving in our armed forces and those in harm’s way. To the families of those that have given the ultimate sacrifice, I thank you and express my gratitude in living in a country that remains free, greatly because of these sacrifices.
bryan
bryan
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