Alabama Slammer

Our October road trip to Alabama was just fantastic. There’s so much to see there, who knew? I’ve included a few fun photos from the trip and a brief description of what they are below. Seriously though, road trips are the best. You never know what you’ll find along the way.

- The National Annual Shrimp Festival on the beach in Gulf Shores (which we just happened to stumbling upon)

- Noccalula Falls, a 90 ft. waterfall in Gasden

- A Japanese moon bridge in the Asian section of the Bellingrath Gardens

- The wall separating the lots of Truman Capote and Harper Lee’s childhood homes in Monroeville

- Mini golf at a cheesy putt-putt place with The Huz (it’s his favorite)

- Lots of seagulls on our ferry ride from Dauphin Island

- Margaritas, essential to any good trip

- The Alabama Booksmith bookstore in Birmingham

- The courthouse in Monroeville that Harper Lee based To Kill a Mockingbird on (it’s now an awesome museum)

- The Huz at the Parthenon in Nashville, TN (There are almost no photos of him, because he hates having photos taken, so unfortunately I end up in every picture).

- The Irondale Café, the inspiration for the Whistle Stop Café in Fried Green Tomatoes

- F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s home (now a museum) in Montgomery

- Dreamland BBQ in Birmingham (tangy deliciousness)

- Our tiny tent and such at one of our camping sites

- The Civil Rights Museum in Montgomery

It was a great trip and if you're ever headed to the Alabama area, I'd be more than happy to give you a few suggestions of places to stop. I still think that ever single state has so much to offer if you're willing to do a bit of research and exploring.

*All photos by moi or the Huz

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
by Fannie Flagg
★★★★☆

This novel, made famous by the 1991 movie, tells the story of two pairs of women. The first is Evelyn Couch, a chubby, middle-aged woman with self-esteem issues and an elderly lady, Ninny Threadgoode, who Evelyn meets while visiting her mother-in-law in a nursing home. Mrs. Threadgoode quickly befriends Evelyn and enthralls her with stories of her life in the small Alabama town of Whistle Stop.

The second story is that of Ruth and Idgie, the two women who run the town’s well-loved café. Ruth is a sweet-natured, beautiful lady with a young son named Stump. Idgie is a wild tomboy who drinks, shoots and swears with the men. Their love and friendship defies labels and stereotypes and binds them together for life.

I’ve loved this movie for years, but I somehow missed the book until now. I’m so glad I finally read it. The movie really did a wonderful job with the adaptation, but I think it missed some of the major issues from the novel. I was surprised by how many stories about race relations were in the book.

I loved watching Evelyn transform from a meek doormat to a happy, confident woman. At the beginning, Idgie is the polar opposite character, she’s just bursting at the seams with life. You just can’t beat her passion and spunk. I loved her relationship with Stump. She could talk to him in a way no one else could. She was the same way with the kind hobo, Smokey. She had a way of knowing exactly what people needed and giving it to them while asking for nothing in return.

The story bounces back and forth through the decades starting in the 1920s and finishing in the 1980s. The short chapters introduce us to dozens of southern characters, all of which manage to steal our hearts.

The author deals with serious issues, domestic abuse, racism, murder and more, but she does so while maintaining her sense of humor. One example is the sporadic “The Weems Weekly” which appears every few chapters. One Whistle Stop resident, Dot Weems, writes the bulletin on the small town news. She gives her personal commentary on the events and talks about “her other half (husband)” in a hilarious way.

I wasn’t expecting to like this one as much as I did. I can see this becoming a comfort read in the future. It was also a perfect book to read before my upcoming road trip to Alabama.