I had never been to Alabama until my colleague Richard Radcliff Trice invited me there to spend a week with his family, a lovely gesture and one which I couldn’t really say no to. If I am being completely honest I really had zero expectations of this state, I had never really heard much about it and I never really saw it as a tourist hotspot. As it happens I had an amazing week down there and I enjoyed so much of the culture, history and the attractions which Alabama has to offer. If you do manage to get down to Sweet Home Alabama, here are 5 cool things whichI’d recommend that you try to see and do.
Orange Beach
The first thing that springs to mind in Alabama is most certainly not the beach, but there is actually over 30 miles of coastline in the state which sits on the Gulf of Mexico. We didn’t have loads of time to get to the beach but the day we spent on Orange beach was a lot of fun. Down here there are searing temperatures and the beach is the perfect place to go when the sun shines down.
Unclaimed Baggage Center
Ever wondered what happens to all of the unclaimed bags throughout the airports in the USA, well they all head down here to this center in Alabama where 7,000 units per day are brought down and sold. If you fancy taking a chance on a bag, come here, pick it up and see what is inside, you never know what you may find.
Art Scene
Something which you don’t hear much about is the vibrant art scene which they have down here in Alabama and if you are an art lover there is plenty of beautiful pieces which you can see in the state. The Birmingham museum of art for example houses over 27,000 objects, from a wide and diverse range of cultures, The Jule Collins Museum of fine art has a vast collection of local art and fine national art and the Mobile museum of fine art features modern displays and exciting collections which any art lover will enjoy.
Space and Rocket Center
This center in Huntsville is the largest space flight museum in the world and it features the Saturn V which was the flight which first put humans up there on the moon. The exhibits here are fascinating and educational in equal measure.
Spectre
For the 2003 movie Big Fish director Tim Burton needed a town created for his principal character and so the fictional town of Spectre was built. The town still stands today and is an eerie and entertaining way to spend an afternoon. This is a really surreal day out but one which I believe is well worth doing.
There you have it, 5 very cool things which you can do in the state of Alabama, which one will you do first?
