Plantation, Rockets, Civil Rights and Music

Our next plantation tour was at Belle Mead in Georgia.  This was once a working farm and dairy that also raised dogs and horses.  We enjoyed walking the grounds.

the mansion

the maze we went through

in the tennis court

We drove through southern Georgia with its many cotton fields.  Since it was harvest time, there were cotton clumps all over the roads, and trucks filled with bales too.  We picked up a handful of cotton alongside the road.

bales of cotton on the truck, and cotton on the roadside

We drove from Montgomery along the Civil Rights Trail, and stopped in Selma to see the famous bridge where three marches to Montgomery for voting rights were started.

 

In Birmingham, we went to the Civil Rights district and saw the 16th St. Baptist church which was bombed, and the park where many protests were held for civil rights.

 

16th St. Baptist Church

beautiful Fall colors at the park

The Ave Maria Grotto in Alabama was our next stop. This lovely little grotto was on the grounds of a monastery and school. The works were made by one of the monks, and were fascinating to see. There were famous buildings from around the world, as well as scenes from the life of Christ.

 California missions

St Peter's Basilica in Rome, and other Italian buildings
See the leaning Tower of Pisa in the top right?

Thanksgiving arrived, and we spent a quiet day cooking and watching movies.  We had our favorites:  green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, turkey, cornbread dressing, cranberries, rolls and butter, and pumpkin and pecan pie.  It was delicious!

The next day we went to Huntsville for the Rocket and Space Center.  It was amazing to see all the huge rockets, a space station, a space shuttle, and more.  The Army's defensive rockets were there too.  It was really interesting to see all those rockets, tried the similators to understand space travel, and see the technology we have now from the space research. 

multi rocket launcher

We drove on through farms to Nashville, Tennessee where we saw some famous places . . . .  

the Grand Ole Opry . .

the Ryman Auditorium, the former site of the Opry . . .

the Parthenon . . .

then we drove to Memphis to famous Beale St, where we ate at Dyer's, a place known for its grease fried burgers.  It was delicious!  We had to have some Memphis BBQ, so we had a rib plate complete with baked beans, coleslaw, and a roll.

We also saw many Memphis sites including....

Graceland . .

  . . . Took a tour of the Gibson Guitar Factory and learned all about making these world famous guitars. . . .

Beale St.. .

the wreath marks the spot

the motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot





We made a brief stop in Mississippi, then drove across the Mississippi river into Arkansas.

Florida, Part 3: The Gulf coast

We headed to Everglades National Park for a boat tour.  We excitedly climbed into the little 6 person boat.  We went out through the mangrove bordered waterway into the park itself.  There were all kinds of birds along the way, including ibis, herons, egrets, kingfishers, and birds of prey.  The tide was a low-low tide, so there were mud flats and sandbars full of oysters, but our captain knew the way around them all.  We found out after the ride that sometimes there are snakes hanging from the trees we were traveling under, luckily we didn't see any!



Roseate Spoonbill

an osprey






an alligator peeking at us in the brackish water

a pelican



a Great Blue Heron

We headed north from the grassy, swampy area full of alligators in the canal alongside the road, into a more forested area.  It was just as eerie with all the panther signs.

 

  

We stopped for lunch and had the famous batter fried hot dogs in Sarasota.  Very different and very delicious with the crunchy coating.

 

one plain and one with chili cheese

 We reached Crystal River where we swam with the manatees there.  We got up early and headed to the Dive Center.  We put on wetsuits, and climbed aboard the boat which took us to the manatee area.  We put on our fins (which were cumbersome and difficult for us), snorkels ( I didn't use mine), and masks, and climbed down into the 70 degree water.   The boat anchored a short distance from the viewing area, so we had to swim.  When we got into the viewing area manatees came right up to us and we could touch them.  It was really cool.  They are protected and there was a huge area where we weren't allowed to go, but it was really neat to see and touch them in the water.  I brought along a waterproof camera, so we'll post those pictures when we get them developed.  When we were tired, we headed back to the boat, climbed on board, and watched some manatees swimming right up to the boat.  It was a really exciting adventure! 

 

It was my birthday next, so Rebekah made my favorite, Pineapple Upside Down cake, in a microwave!  It was wonderful!

 

that's just my piece!

 We drove up to White Springs and visited the Stephen Foster center next.  It was an old plantation mansion filled with pianos that he had played, displays about his life, and dioramas with moving parts, of his most famous hits.  They also had a unique tubular carillon that played some of his songs that we were able to hear.  Afterwards, we walked down to the Suwanee River and looked into the black water surrounded by trees covered in Spanish moss. 

 

 



We camped one last night in Florida . . .

 

 

 then headed into Georgia.

Florida, Part 2: Miami and the Keys

Heading south, we drove through miles of sugar cane farms to Lake Placid, the town of murals.  There are all kinds of beautiful realistic looking murals on all the commercial buildings in town.  It was fascinating to see!

 the Boy Scouts building mural



We went into Miami the next day. The city was just like we imagined, brightly colored buildings and all kinds of palm trees everywhere.  It reminded us of Baja.  We had to use our Spanish when we stopped at a Cuban place for lunch, I also had a fresh coconut.  Yummy!

Ropa Vieja with rice, beans and
fried plantains

fresh squeezed mango, pineapple,
and sugarcane juice

Cuban sandwich

Then we spent the afternoon at Miami Beach and enjoyed the sun, waves, and sand.  The water was clear and such a pretty shade of turquoise!  It was a great way to say goodbye to the Atlantic Ocean.

After the beach we had some delicious Cuban coffee with milk.  It was strong, sweet, hot, and really hit the spot.

The next day we headed into the Keys.  Our first stop was in Key Largo, where we went on a glass bottom boat out to the coral reef. The water was clear and the color of turquoise.  It was beautiful and we saw lots of corals, fish, a shark, jellyfish, and even a sea turtle! 

some fish and corals

the mangroves along the coast



 Afterwards, we drove down the Overseas Highway through the keys.  I was apprehensive about the 7 mile bridge and driving for two hours over so much water, but it ended up to be really easy.

a small island off the coast

 We reached Key West and headed to the southern part of the island to watch the sun set.  We enjoyed walking around the shops in the square, and we stopped for a piece of real Key Lime pie.  It was creamy, cool, and just delicious!

 

Then we had some conch fritters with key lime mustard sauce.  They were wonderful, and not at all fishy!



The next day we headed to the southernmost point of the continental US, which is in Key West,

and then it was time to head back up that long overseas highway to the mainland.