Day 12: Walking in deserted Montgomery

Athens, GA to Montgomery, AL

Still in Athens, I was looking for a Starbucks and unwittingly drove onto a deserted U of Georgia campus. I parked right next to the football stadium — as lavish as an NFL one. Starbucks turned out to be in the student center and was closed.

Going through Atlanta, I was on a highway that had six lanes in each direction.

Later, I was looking for a picnic spot so of course searched for one on Google Maps. I found something labeled “Tinsley Mill Ruins,” and drove toward it, but the directions led to a cul de sac in a private community. I was sure Google was mistaken, but then I saw a sign saying “pedestrian walk path.” I followed the path and sure enough, there was a beautiful picnic spot with some structures that could have been ruins. I thought someone was going to evict me at any moment, but people kept passing in golf carts and no one did anything except wave.

I entered Alabama, State #12. I gained one hour as I went to Central Time.
I’m in Alabama, a state I’ve never been in before.

I got to Montgomery. Saw almost no one on the streets. (That’s turning into a theme of my visits to southern cities, except for Savannah.) Went to my hotel, the Hampton Inn. The lobby is beautiful. It’s an old hotel, the Greystone, renovated. It was built in 1927. The hotel staff were really nice.

I went out. It was hot but bearable. A lot of things are closed on Sunday afternoon.

Went into The Alley, renovated industrial buildings with restaurants and bars.

I had a beer at Sa Za’s bar in the alley. It was nice to just sit and drink a beer and catch the occasional breeze. There wasn’t much else to do in downtown Montgomery.