Montgomery, Alabama – 2/17/2017 – http://fulltimetimeshare.com/blog

February 17, 2017 (Friday)

Michael went down to the lobby and got some breakfast for us. He worked on the blog for awhile and then we headed out the few miles to the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery. We read that it was the first Confederate State Capitol. It was a nice drive and the traffic was good. Also, the weather was pretty perfect.

All state flags flying in front of the Capitol.

Okay, just did some quick research. Bought and paid for by the US Treasury via the bond drive of 1950. 55 replicas were ordered from a foundry in France and distributed to each of the 48 states, DC and US territories.

Dr John Wyeth, confederate soldier, surgeon and author.

We have a new appreciation for the double loss for the confederacy, the war and the souls.

Clean faux columns on the outside with faux capitals.

Went through security and entered the Capitol. Nice young woman at a desk answered any questions and gave us the self-guided map. We walked around upstairs and downstairs. Lovely in areas. The dome was beautiful with a stained glass feature at the top.

Lurleen Wallace died in office 15 months into her term. Wife of George Wallace, she was elected because the Alabama constitution banned consecutive terms.

The placards at the bottom help. The painting must have been difficult, interior curve on an oversized canvas.

Delicate stained glass at the top of the dome.

This guy wanted to be dead center in the dome.

“We dare defend our rights” State seal with realistic necks on the eagles.

The photo doesn’t do justice to the reality. These stairs are so far out of any building code, very steep and shallow, almost dangerous.

There was a huge room where they were displaying artwork, and another room that had a memorial set up for the fallen soldiers from Alabama. Very touching.

Touching and appropriate display honoring the fallen.

This is certainly a part of the history of the state of Alabama.

Pleasing to the eye, clean and simple, yet the Corinthian capital doesn’t look too ornate.

We left the Capitol and walked the grounds a bit. Very beautiful with flags from all the states flying in front. Then we walked across the street and went to the First Confederate White House. From what I understand, Confederate President Jefferson Davis lived there for about six months. The man who greeted us at the door, Yankee Bob, told us quite the stories of the history of the home, furniture, and people who lived in the home. He was also very generous and gave us a little booklet with more history. This “war of Northern aggression,” or “war of Southern independence” thing is fascinating to us Californians.

This silver ladle matches a water cooler on display on the first floor.

Outside at the front entrance, I thought this was very attractive.

Dining room where many a battle plan was hatched.

A fair bit of silver objects on display.

As we were leaving Michael was bombarded with phone calls and we got a little distracted for awhile. It seems there is a severe storm back at home in Prunedale and our skylights blew off the roof. Also trees are down everywhere. In addition, as if that wasn’t enough, a brother of Michael’s is having some medical tests done. Always hard when we’re so far away but, hopefully, everything will work out.

The drive today was a little over 200 miles (about 3-1/2 hours). We were on secondary roads, but they were quite nice and the drive was lovely. We got to see small towns, big towns, an Army base, and lots of other interesting things along the way. Alabama is a lovely state, so green and lush. We did stop for a late lunch somewhere at Panera Bread.