We started out this morning learning about animals and the marine environment at the Five Rivers Delta Center. The surrounding areas were beautiful, but it was early and just a little too chilly to do too much wandering around outside. The animal exhibits inside were great though, and they had a number of live animals as well.

We next drove down to Dauphin Island where were visited the Alabama Aquarium at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. The kids got to touch the most friendly stingrays I’ve ever seen. One of them loved being petted. This was a small facility, but very nice and we all learned about the delicate coastal ecosystem of Mobile Bay and the devastating effects of the Deep Horizon Oil Spill.

We drove around the island, explored Fort Gaines, where the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay took place, and found a swing set next to the beach for Mer to get her swing on. This may have been the widest beach I’ve ever seen; we never even made it all the way down to the water.

We drove on into Mississippi where we hoped to visit a gator ranch and take an airboat tour. Sadly, it was closed (despite Facebook and website notices to the contrary), but we quickly pivoted to the next possibility on our google map options, the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. Ever since we were introduced to Sandhill Cranes, we never miss an opportunity to learn more about them. The Mississippi Sandhill Cranes are a critically endangered subspecies. There are only about 135 left in the wild. We were amazed that we got to see 5 of them! The visitor center was closed, but we happened upon two volunteers who were walking around and they spent 15 minutes telling us all about these birds, the refuge, and the efforts to help them breed and repopulate. They were so knowledgeable, friendly, and eager to share their passion. We saw up close the tracking devices they use to study the birds too. This was such an exciting experience for us, and it’s amazing to see the things we’ve learned during our travels come together.

We stopped finally in Biloxi, where we decided to gamble on a different kind of hotel, a huge casino. It was an experience, to say the least. The rooms were great (and super cheap), the buffet dinner was out of this world, and the kids oohed and aahed over the elaborate decor and the neon games.

And because I LOVE signs that tell me how to do everything, this one might take the cake for most ridiculous. The kids were floored by this one. At least it didn’t tell us not to talk (or breath). Insert big sigh and eye roll.

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Today was amazing; we all had a blast. It warmed up quite a bit, and the sun was finally shining. It surely helped to be doing fun things fun for a change, instead of just studying the darker parts of U.S. history. What a fun city Mobile is. We started the morning at the Mardi Gras Museum (Mardi Gras was actually started here in Mobile, not in New Orleans, although I will be curious to see if they agree with that assessment in NOLA). The kids knew nothing about Mardi Gras, so this was a whole new learning experience for them. The museum had a huge collection of costumes and we were awed by the artistic handiwork in them. We also spent any time in the car today listening to zydeco and Dixieland jazz, two of my favorite genres.

My favorite part of homeschooling — besides getting to spend so much time with my kids — is combining history and geography with the literature, art, music, and food of an area. I am also always pointing out the many careers that exist. I don’t care what they grow up to do for a living, but it would be nice if it afforded them an easy way to move out of my house one day. 🙂 Today was a perfect example of how cool it is when it all comes together. I still laugh when I think about the guy who asked me a few months ago, “How will they learn anything if you are traveling?”

We walked around Mardi Gras Park and Fort Conde, and then visited the Mobile History Museum. Oddly, there was also a traveling exhibit from Sweden about the early Vikings there. It was a great exhibit, but we weren’t sure what the connection to Mobile was, other than being maritime-related.

Our final visit of the day was to the enormous Gulfquest Maritime Museum, where we learned about all things nautical and the history and ecology of the Gulf of Mexico. This was an amazing museum; there were so many fun and educational exhibits. The museum focused primarily on shipping and navigation, but it also included excellent information about the Deep Horizon oil spill and its consequences, and about the need to protect the world’s oceans and their biodiversity.

Our final stop was dinner at Wintzell’s Oyster House in the Dauphin Street historic district. The kids were introduced to oysters, cheese grits, gumbo, and bread pudding. There’s really nothing like Southern food. I have a feeling we are all going to gain weight on this trip; it will no doubt be worth it though.

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Yesterday was a great learning day, even though it left us exhausted and emotionally worn out by the end. We started in the Museum of Alabama, inside the state archives building. I always try to visit these, as each state’s capital city has one. They are the perfect way to get an overview of a state’s history, geography, geology, and economics. We’ve seen numerous of these, and this was hands down the best one we’ve ever visited. It was clearly renovated recently; the exhibits were modern and high-tech.

Even though I grew up practically next door in the Northern Panhandle of Florida, I learned so much during this visit. The geography in Alabama is amazing, and the state has such a diversity of biomes and landscapes. Mountains in the North, the Fall Line running from Northwest to mid-East, and the coastal areas in the South. I even learned that Spanish Moss is not actually moss at all, but part of the Pineapple Family. What?!? Mind blown.

I had hoped for us to do lots of hiking in the northern mountains, but we skipped this due to the cold weather. We love hiking, but alas, we all hate the cold. The kids will both be taking classes at NASA’s Space Camp in Huntsville this summer (Mer will be taking Cybersecurity classes), so we will spend time before and after that week doing all the outdoor activities we skipped. The visit to the Museum of Alabama made us all even more excited for that trip this summer.

Next door we saw the Capitol building, the Dexter Parsonage (where MLK lived and many civil rights meetings took place), and the White House of the Confederacy. We didn’t have time to visit any of the Hank Williams museums, but we did blare a medley of my favorite Hank Williams, Jr. songs during the drive to set the stage and mood. Tomorrow, I plan to introduce them to many great hits from the band Alabama too.

Next up was the Freedom Rides Museum, located in what was the Greyhound Bus depot during the 60’s. I am glad we visited, but sadly, this was a very small museum (just one room), and it just sort of missed the mark. I had hoped that the kids would get an emotional and ethical response to the bravery that the Freedom Riders displayed, but somehow the overarching “story” was lost in the details. It was worth stopping by, but it wasn’t all that I had hoped. In retrospect, I wish we had visited the Rosa Parks Museum instead. Also, no photos were allowed inside, for reasons that are beyond me. There was no way anything would have been harmed; there really weren’t any artifacts here, just informational displays and copies of photographs.

Our final stop for the day was the new Legacy Museum, which opened about four months ago. This was, hands down, the most beautiful, thoughtful museum I have ever visited (well, at least the first 2/3 of it). The subject matter was as ugly as could exist, but the artistry of the exhibits, displays, and architecture was amazing. This place is huge and really would best be visited over several days. The brain just turns off after a while, especially given the horrifying subject matter. We saw a few of the films, although we missed as many as we saw.

To my dismay, absolutely no photos allowed. In fact, you were told that it was against the rules to even have your phone out of your pocket during the visit. Talk about your missed opportunity to educate people! I’m sure I’m not the only person who reads travel blogs to decide what to visit in each city, and there is no way to adequately describe the beauty of this museum in words alone. The artwork displays spoke volumes. I truly don’t understand this rule, but because there were guards stationed in every room, I have instead downloaded photos from their website and news articles to include here. I was told that if I wanted pictures, I should buy the book in the gift shop. Sigh.

The displays and art installations devoted to the transatlantic trade were eye and heart-opening. The inhumanity and brutality of slavery were pictured, but without being so shocking that one had to turn away. It was a tight balance to walk as a museum, but I thought they did an amazing job. The exhibits chronicling the post-reconstruction period were the most shocking to me. In part probably because I went to high school in an area where lynchings took place, this wasn’t a topic that was heavily covered in my history classes. The details and photographs of lynchings were absolutely heartbreaking. I did not know the extent that lynchings took place, or that they were often printed in the newspapers in advance. Nor did I realize that they included the murder of women, children, and even infants. Words fail me. The most heart-breaking display was the collection of 800 jars of soil taken from the site of lynchings throughout the country. That is a sight we will never forget.

The following photos are Not Mine:

The museum also did a good job of illustrating and explaining the legacy of slavery that still exists today, especially in terms of economic effects and the biases in our judicial system. Where I got off the bus, so to speak, was the final conclusion by the museum that incarceration is another form of slavery. The museum was clear in its position that criminals should not be imprisoned, the Death Penalty should be outlawed, all Black suspects are presumed guilty, and all violations of drug laws should be decriminalized. To say it was an extreme position would be an understatement.

Once the lynching period was over — presumably, the writers thought those murderers should have been severely punished — it was as if they expected the normal rules of justice and society should be abandoned (in favor of what, anarchy? – they don’t say). Not once in the current events section of the museum did they reference the victims of violent crime. In their zeal for justice for the incarcerated, they give zero thought to justice for the victims. Sorry, not sorry, but if forced to consider the rights of criminals versus innocent victims, I will come down on the side of the victims every time. After spending time this year driving through poor, crime-ridden areas throughout our country, most of which are populated by POC, I have to wonder who is speaking up for the victimized people who try to live there in peace? Most crime in the United States is same-race, meaning that criminals tend to victimize persons of the same race. Where is our Legacy of Crime Museum: A Memorial to the Victims? Time to climb off my soapbox now.

We finished our visit with an early dinner at the museum’s soul food restaurant. Amazing! The kids were introduced to fried catfish and can’t wait to try it again. You know you are in the South when the list of “Vegetables” includes Mac & Cheese!

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We’ve been eager to get on the road again. We kept delaying our exit from DC due to snowstorms and cold weather in the South, but finally found a window and hightailed it out, hoping for sunny days and balmy weather. Ha! Our first day in Alabama was a high of 32. Insert shocked emoji. It was actually a bit colder than back at home. Yikes. One item on my to-do list was checked off on the drive down: the kids’ first visit to Waffle House! How could they be this old and never eaten at Waffle House? Complete dereliction of parenting duty on my part. We will also visit a Dairy Queen as soon as we can.

I spent the night before studying Birmingham and was saddened to discover it is suffering from horrible waves of crime, and actually has the second-highest murder rate in the U.S. Insert second shocked emoji. I almost decided to skip it, but after further research determined we would do a daytime-only visit and stay further out in safer suburbs. I’m afraid this is going to be a common technique this trip. A lot of the cities we are visiting have insanely high crime rates. I was able to pull up a map with gang areas shown so that we could avoid those. Seriously. I’m having trouble processing all that I’ve seen so far in cities across the country this year. Maybe one day I can pull all this together and write something much longer about this adventure across the U.S. and all that we’ve seen.

Things seemed safe enough in downtown Birmingham, thankfully. Given the cold weather, the streets were pretty much abandoned. I was sad to see that many of the downtown areas were full of closed storefronts. I’m not sure how much of that is Covid related; they seemed as though they had been closed for years. Graham, with the pointed honesty of all kids, said the city looked like it needed power-washing.

Our first stop was the 16th Street Baptist Church, the site of one of many bombings that took place in the early 60’s. It was here that in 1963, four young Black girls were killed during Sunday School by two KKK members who threw sticks of dynamite.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, across the street, explained the history of segregation, racism, and the civil rights movement in Birmingham. The Institute was educational, but I felt it was missing something, like a stew with all the necessary ingredients but missing the salt. It was absolutely worth the stop, but I expect the museums in Montgomery and Atlanta will be better. Nevertheless, we did learn a lot. I didn’t know that, at the time, the city was nicknamed “Bombingham” due to the many bombs that KKK members used to terrorize the Black community. Hundreds of bombs were set off at homes and churches over the course of several years. It simply boggles the mind. It was important to me that we stop here, if for no other reason than to pay respect to the four little girls who were murdered.

How do I teach the horror, while at the same time respecting my kids’ sensitivities and ages? It’s a tough balance, and no doubt will become even harder during some of our travels. You can’t understand anything about the current world though without understanding everything that led us to where we are. We hope to visit as many museums about the Freedom Rides as we can. I am fascinated — and inspired and humbled — by the bravery of the young men and women who risked their lives to peacefully march and sit-in to protest the injustices of segregation and racism. Mer and I watched Selma and several documentaries about MLK and the 60s during our two-month layover at home to prepare for this trip. Our next stop, Montgomery, will be heavy into this part of our nation’s history. I won’t lie, this kind of stuff makes it hard to sleep at night. It’s a lot of evil to take in at once.

After emotionally difficult museum visits, I try to have us do something fun and light, lest we all sink into pits of depression. Usually, that means something related to animals or, in this case, a fun science museum. Our afternoon was spent at the McWane Science Center where both kids had a blast. Even though many of the exhibits are repeats of things we’ve done and seen before, we are always able to find something new to experience and learn about. They also need some time to just play and relax. There were many great dinosaur exhibits as well; I had no idea that Alabama was home to so many dinosaur fossils! Mer was in heaven. Graham found lots of ways to entertain himself too. Twelve-year-old boy, all day long.

My favorite thing was the shark egg with live baby shark swimming around inside! How cool is this?!? [I can’t get the video to upload. 🙁 Will try again tonight. Pic is it for now. But the video you can see the little guy swimming around.]

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