Before I leave Tuscaloosa behind, I want to tell you some of my impressions of this interesting and vital southern city. After two weeks in a place, you sort of feel that you know it, although not in the way you would after living there a while. But Tom and I like to explore and …
From October 2014
Habitat for Humanity in Tuscaloosa
Today was our last day on the job at Habitat for Humanity in Tuscaloosa. Normally we would work one more day – Friday – but we have to be out of the Avalon RV park by noon tomorrow because every RV park in the area is totally full and can charge three times their normal …
The Chief Ladiga Trail from Piedmont
As you may recall from a previous post, we rode the Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama from Anniston to Piedmont on a very hot October day. By the time we got to Piedmont we were hungry and tired and couldn’t find a place to eat, so we turned around and rode back to Anniston. A …
A Train in Winter
I haven’t written a book review for a while. I’ve been reading and have read 10 or so books in the last month, but none of them were ones that I wanted to write about. I read several mystery novels, one very predictable “thriller,” and a couple of biographies. I thought I might review the …
Druid Hills United Methodist Church
Today Tom and I worshiped at the Druid Hills United Methodist Church. The name is unusual for a United Methodist Church – after all, what do Druids have to do with United Methodists? But I will explain that in a future post about Tuscaloosa. Despite its name, Druid Hills UMC is a normal United Methodist …
Moundville Native American Festival
Today Tom and I took a break from building (Care-A-Vanners work Monday through Friday) and went to the Moundville Native American Festival. The Moundville Archaelogical Park is a Mississippian cultural site on the Black Warrior River, near Tuscaloosa. The site is administered by the University of Alabama and encompasses 185 acres with 29 platform mounds around …
Tuscaloosa Disaster Relief
Tom and I have been in Tuscaloosa AL since Sunday working on a Habitat for Humanity Disaster Relief build. When Tom and I first thought about doing disaster relief work, we envisioned being on the front lines – heading in just as the event headed out. But we soon realized that we would prefer to …
Anniston KOA
While we were in Anniston Alabama we stayed at the Anniston KOA (Kampgrounds of America) for four nights. As I mentioned before, many KOAs have minimal amenities and are located close to the interstate, which makes them good stops for people who need to move on down the road. The Anniston KOA was one of …
St. Mark’s United Methodist Church
Yesterday, before Tom and I left Anniston AL, we went to worship at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. St. Mark’s was the closest UMC to where we were staying, and we needed to get on the road. There were two worship services at St. Mark’s and we picked the early service at 9 a.m. On …
Cheaha State Park
Yesterday was overcast with rain forecast, so we decided to stay off the bike and close to home. We headed down the road just a little bit to Cheaha State Park. Cheaha State Park is surrounded by Talledega National Forest. This part of Alabama is the southern foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and Cheaha Mountain …