Day Trip in Prattville, Alabama

Prattville, Alabama is a cute little town about 15 minutes outside of Montgomery, Alabama's historic state capital. It's an old, beautiful Southern town founded in the 1830s with a main street of shops that look upon an old, abandoned cotton gin mill.

I was helping friends move in Montgomery area this weekend and on the way home back to Birmingham we were able to stop through this beautiful old town. Here are my shots from that day!

 

 

Beautiful, huh!?!

Homemade Peach Salsa

I picked up almost all the ingredients I needed at the Birmingham Farmers Market - Clanton peaches, tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos.  I just had to get limes and cilantro.  I used 3 ripe peaches, 4 tomatoes, 1/2 an onion, 2-3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped, 1 clove or 1 tbsp. garlic, 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, and 4-5 tbsp. lime juice.  Cut peaches and tomatoes into small pieces and add together in a large bowl (you can kind of smash up the peaches and tomatoes if you want). Then add rest of ingredients.  Add to taste: salt, pepper, and/or honey.  

Downtown Birmingham

I took these at the McWane Science Center in downtown Birmingham and on the walk there.  I work just a couple of blocks from this beautiful church and about five blocks further is the McWane Center.  

This is St. Paul's Cathedral on the corner of 3rd Ave. N and 22nd St. N in downtown. 

This is an exhibit at the McWane center where you make impressions in large walls of plastic pegs.  I thought this one was amazing. It looks like trapped souls!! It reminds me of the movie The Haunting. 

Montgomery, Alabama

I went to Montgomery for the Southern Poverty Law Center's 40th Anniversary Celebration on April 30.  It was an amazing and inspiring event and was held all round Dexter Ave. and historic Montgomery landmarks like Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Martin Luther King, Jr. once was the pastor.  I snapped a couple of quick shots with my iPhone and here they are :)

Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. 

Right down the street from Dexter Ave. Baptist Church is the Montgomery Capitol building.

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Montgomery is a really nice city and is an easy hour and a half from me. I also get to stop by Durbin Farms in Clanton, AL on my way home, which has great food, ice cream and produce!

Farmers Market

The Birmingham Farmers Market is a really nice little market just north of downtown Birmingham.  They have great local fruit and vegetables like Chilton Co. peaches, big watermelons and cantaloupe, and fresh tomatoes and okra.  

This photo courtesy of Alabama Farmers Market website.

We stopped by the Farmers Market this weekend to get ingredients for fresh peach salsa (tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, peaches, cilantro, garlic, etc.). We also picked up a cantaloupe and enough tomatoes for a Caprese dish.    

I took some fresh basil I am growing, a slice of mozzarella cheese, and a slice of the fresh Farmers Market tomato and topped it with a homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette.

MY Birmingham

  I have lived in Birmingham now for right about 3 years.  Within the last year and a half I have finally had enough money (non-AmeriCorps stipend now!) and opportunity to really check out Birmingham.  I have kind of mapped out the areas of Birmingham that I frequent or that make Birmingham the city it is to me.
  Birmingham is a small, big city.  It is a big city in that it is relatively well-known, with a downtown full of high rises, and a bustling university and hospital system.  Despite that, Birmingham can feel surprising small sometimes.  Within Birmingham, everyone knows everyone else, or at least someone they know.  The city shuts down on the weekends, especially on Sundays, and there are blocks of beautiful architecture and potential life that are virtually empty.

  I am not complaining about Birmingham, but merely pointing out what I notice.  I actually think Birmingham is growing and will continue to grow into a cooler city than it already is.  The longer I live here, and work in downtown, the more I discover new places and appreciate Birmingham.  The trick is finding the best places to go - below is a map of MY Birmingham and my favorite areas to be.

  This is the downtown Birmingham that I know.  I work at the YWCA on the North side in the heart of the downtown high rises, near the courts and Loft District.  We are only a couple blocks from Sloss Furnaces, an old blast furnace in the middle of the city. As you cross over the railroad tracks you get into the South side.  They recently built Railroad Park, which is an awesome green space in the middle of the city.  They have done an amazing job with play areas, walking paths and a pavilion. It has begun to bring tons of people into the city and they are talking about what new feature to put next to it now.  Even though I don't go to UAB, the University and the hospital system brings in tons of people - many young and progressive - which helps make up a large part of Birmingham's culture and economic life.  Right in the University area is Five Points.  Although Five Points can feel a little lackluster at times, it can be a pretty nice area and has great potential to become a serious nightlife hot spot in Birmingham. East of the UAB and Five Points area is the Highlands area with great parks and beautiful homes.  

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Another big reason I love living here in Birmingham is how close we are to some of the coolest cities in America.  The map shows the distance Birmingham is to a load of great cities.  Here's a breakdown of how far we are to certain things:

  *Birmingham to Atlanta - 2.5 hours

  *Birmingham to Mobile/Pensacola/The Gulf Coast(BEACH!!) - 4 - 4.5 hours

  *Birmingham to New Orleans - 5 hours

  *Birmingham to Memphis - 4 hours

  *Birmingham to Chattanooga - 2.5 hours

I won't go through and list everything, but the farthest distance is Birmingham to Charleston with about 8 hours.  In other words, we are within an easy drive to some awesome cities.  In less than 3 hours we can head north to Chattanooga and go camping in the mountains; and in about 4.5 hours we can be down at the Gulf Coast on the white sand beaches.  We are so close to amazing cultural cities like Memphis and New Orleans.  My friend and I have a list about 6 months long of all the places we need to go on the weekends.  There are not many areas of the U.S. where you are within such short drives to some really awesome places. Having said all of that, I will now include my travel to regional areas in the "My Birmingham" section because it is one of the things that Birmingham offers. 

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All in all, I think people underestimate Birmingham - both residents and outsiders.  It has an amazing amount of history and charm.  It's actually a very cool city and is continually growing to become better. 

Sloss Furnace

Sloss Furnace is an awesome, ominous, industrial landmark in Birmingham.  Photos of Sloss and it's blast furnaces, water tower and buildings are totally iconic in Birmingham.  It's an old blast furnace that was a big part of Birmingham's steel industry.  You are able to walk around freely and check everything out. It's apparently one of the most haunted places in the United States and they have events all throughout Halloween.  It's super creepy, and yet beautifully amazing, all at the same time.  Here are my shots of Sloss.

Entering Sloss.

Blast furnace.