We made our way across the Florida panhandle and through southern Alabama to the historic northern city of Birmingham yesterday. What a beautiful city Birmingham is! The city is rich with history and the architecture in the historic downtown is fantastic. The old buildings have been kept up to date and it is like a drive through the past. Alabama is considered the Heart of Dixie as it is bordered on the east with Georgia, the north with Tennessee and the west with Mississippi. To the south is the Gulf of Mexico so the climate is subtropical which means nice and warm right now! The locals are getting ready for Halloween right now, so there are many homes adorned with personal graveyards, decorations etc., that reminds me of what we used to do back home every year at this time. Too bad it was always so wet...
Melissa and I drove around the city last night after a great southern dinner at a roadhouse restaurant. We checked out the famous landmarks including St. Paul's Cathedral, which was built in the late 1800's as well as the Vulcan. Yes the Vulcan. Birmingham, Alabama's colossal statue is the world's largest cast iron statue and considered one of the most memorable works of civic art in the United States. It was designed by Italian artist Giuseppe Moretti and cast from local iron in 1904 and has overlooked the urban landscape of Alabama's largest city since the 1930s. Vulcan stands 56 feet tall, from toe to spear point, upon a 124-foot pedestal rising to a height of 180 feet and weighs 101,200 pounds. This makes it roughly 18 stories tall! The tower beside it is an elevator ride to the top of the pedestal where you can get out and walk around the base of the statue. Keep in mind, the statue is built on top of the highest point in Birmingham, so the view from the top overlooking the city and valley below, is stunning to say the least.
After spending over $400.00 in Walmart today on spices, supplies and kitchen tools for the weekend, we are getting ready to load into the Talladega Speedway tomorrow morning. I saw the list of teams coming in for this weekend and quickly noticed Pellet Envy, Smokin Triggers, Lotta Bull and Cool Smoke among others. Competition could not possibly be any tougher...
No matter how we do, I know that Sundays AMP 500 is going to be awesome. Even my 17 year old daughter is looking forward to it.
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