Chewacla State Park, Auburn, AL
Today was jam packed with activities. Our first stop of the day was visiting the Selma Interpretive Center. We took in all three floors and got an in-depth review of the events leading up to Bloody Sunday, and the March from Selma to Montgomery.
After walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge we also took in the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute. This museum focused more on the history of voting rights in the U.S. and the stories of the "foot soldiers" who made it happen.
We also visited a Freedom Park which had several monuments and memorials to the leaders of the Voting Rights movement.
To experience what the march was like, you can drive the 5 day, 54 mile march from Selma to the state Capitol in Montgomery.
Along the way one can visit the 4 campsites and see several memorials to those who died. There is also an incredible Interpretive Center about half way.
We stopped here an delved further into the history of the Civil Rights Movement. If you only have time to visit one Interpretive Center, pick The Lowndes one. It's much more in-depth and has more impressive exhibits than the one in Selma. (Although both were good).
Because we were pressed for time, Linda made up sandwiches for everywhere between the Selma to Montgomery drive. We took a quick moment to have lunch and pick our options of what to do in Montgomery. So many choices!
Biking, more Civil Rights museums, Hank Williams museum or a walk thru the Old Alabama section of town.
We opted for some outside time and viewed some of the old Alabama homes...after getting some ice cream of course!
Ned and Gary just so happened to pick out the same green T-shirt and gray shorts today. Cute hubbies - aren't they?
Our last stop of the day was the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. Wowza! We spent several hours here. The exhibit is in two airplane hangars. There is so much to take in. We saw a really informative, emotional movie about the airmen and their contribution to WWII, learned about their intensive training and all the obstacles they had to overcome. I particularly enjoyed all the interviews and oral history of these brave men and women.
There were also several airplanes and other cool exhibits. I only wish we had time to take in the Tuskegee Institute as well.
We pulled into Chewacla Campground in the evening and after having dinner and doing laundry we didn't have time to explore it. Looking forward to doing that tomorrow.
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