Busy Monday in Montgomery.....

We are currently in Foley, Alabama, but for a couple of weeks we had no internet so I'm posting my posts in order. I will manage a few a day until I'm caught up. Sorry for the long dry spell. ~laugh~ 

Our Location: Gunter Hill Campground, Montgomery, Al

(Post for Monday, Jan 9, 2017)


Cold morning again but today is the day that it starts to warm up!!! So the weather folks say any way. We start off having a good breakfast of yogurt and granola to help tide us over until lunch.

Blue skies, bright sunshine but cold, below the freezing mark!!!! Brrrrr, even the Dogsled groaned at first. ~laugh~

Out the door by 8:45 am we were headed to Montgomery to see a few things. Our first stop was the Museum of Alabama. A huge stately building with varying shades of marble throughout the whole structure, floor, walls, steps, ceilings, everywhere you looked, it glistened and shone. The brass railings were shiny and elegant as they curved with the staircases. We started off chatting with a gentleman that gave us a heads up about what to see and where to see it. His military uniform from the Korean Conflict is in this building!! He is older than the building, it’s 75.

Museum of Alabama, stately columns, elegant marble and glittering brass.

We start off in a room that depicts the landscape of the time, moving on to the first inhabitants of the area, and moved up to the modern times. An interesting time line that offered a vast range of items and information on the lives, rites, survival, and changes in a period from the early 1200 to modern times. Small replicas of Indian villages, various artifacts from their villages, arrowheads, pots, spears, cloth, bowls, grinding stones, etc. The information was laid out in an interesting  fashion, allowing us to take in most of the information without suffering overload.



The pictures taken here were difficult to take as most had a reflection or a glare from the low level lighting, and glass cases.

Handwoven baskets of this style were used as early as the 1500's. 

The next room moved on to the time just before, during and after the the civil war and it’s many weapons, uniforms, various pieces and types of correspondence, chains, manacles, and of course cotton, coal, and industry. Spread among the exhibits were flat screens that told of various times in history, lasting only about 3 or 4 minutes but giving enough information to outline the times, disruptions, upheavals, confrontations, solutions, etc.

From there we moved forward into the modern age of computers, industry, government, and transportation of the city. Of course since Martin Luther King, Jr’s march ended here in this city, and Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in this city, it has a rich history of civil rights movement as well.

Indian stone disk carving depicting a snake, used for certain rites and a status symbol. 

From there we moved on to the First White House of the Confederacy, right next door to the Museum of Alabama. A small unassuming house it offers a glimpse into the life of Jefferson Davis the President of the Confederacy. It shows well in the rich and graceful furnishing, curtains, china and artifacts of the time. Ironically the volunteer working today was from up state New York, a Yankee!!!! ~laugh~

This pistol has four barrels, wonder how accurate it was? 

The house boasts 5 bedrooms, all with heavy furniture, ornate moldings, spacious rooms with amazingly large windows and doors. Jefferson Davis’ home office with numerous cabinets for his books, various tables and chairs grouped to provide a place to sit and write, read or discuss business. Rich dark wood, numerous chandeliers and thick carpets. This White House was eventually left behind when the Confederacy moved it’s ‘White House’ to Richmond.

2nd parlour in the First White House of the Confederacy.

From here we walked across the wide boulevard to the State Capital Building. A large, regal, imposing white columned  building with marble steps leading to the front door. At the top of these steps is a gold star depicting the spot  Jefferson Davis was sworn in as President of the Confederacy. This was also known as the CSA, the Confederate States of America. This building has security measures in place with Military or Troopers standing by to check your bag and assist you thru the metal detector. Asking for any and all weapons before allowing you cross the great divide. ~laugh~ We toured this grand old building with it’s stately rooms, ceilings were easily 20ft in each of the rooms, again marble everywhere, sweeping curved staircases, massive chandeliers, tall graceful windows and doors that must have easily reached 15 feet in height. A number of ‘old’ rooms here are preserved as they once were, senate chambers, house of representatives, etc. The seating is heavy, imposing, ornamental but also stark. A place of business with a goal in mind. An upper gallery that allowed people to stand and listen to the day’s proceeding at a time when politicians  worried about getting it right for the people. The beautiful rotunda is ornate with paintings/murals depicting the passing years of the area, it soars for 3 levels making one dizzy just looking up.

Mrs. Davis died in a hotel room in New York City, these furnishings were in her room at the time and were given to the museum. 

From there we headed home. Enough for one day. Back at the Igloo by 1:00 pm we were happy as the temps were soaring into more comfortable ranges. Riley opted to stay and have some lunch while I opted to go for a walk instead. I walked from here to the other loop in the campground, which is closed at this time of the year. It was a fairly long walk, took me about 45 minutes to reach the other campground. A quick walk thru it and back home to do some work before heading inside. Finally warm enough to hook up the sewer and take out the mat, BBQ, lights, chairs, etc. We will be here fore 11 nights so will make it cozy. No night time lights in this park so I put out our solar lights, a string of small lights to help light up the area when I barbecue.

These doors are massive, note where the knobs are located and they are at proper height. 

Inside to have lunch, it’s now 3 pm. Had a quick snack and read my book. Enjoyed just sitting and relaxing. Dinner tonight was left over soup, delish!!!!!!!

Looks tasty huh?

We’re having a problem with lady bugs and ants, that we picked up at Albany. I think I’ve managed to get most of the lady bugs out of the Igloo but they keep popping up, one or five at a time. The ants come and go, tiny black sugar ants but they do bite, so we need to get rid of them soon. We’ve been spraying but I don’t want to spray too much as it might bother the cat. Oh well, eventually I’ll get rid of them.

After dinner we played Yahtzee….one game. No one rolled a Yahtzee. ~laugh~

A very happy birthday wish going out to my oldest niece Amber, celebrating today. I hope you have had an excellent day!!

We’re both tired and off to bed. Riley to do whatever it is she does and me to write my blog. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to leave a comment. Until next time..be safe, take care…..