Hello Birmingham, Alabama! Our trip from New Orleans to Birmingham was by rail and it was a big relief not to have to get on a plane. I was also relieved as I was extremely hungover and was not well at all! The trip took a bit over 8 hours but that was fine as I managed to sleep for a couple of hours and then started to feel human again. We finally arrived in Birmingham and what a culture shock that was. The train station was run down and where you attempted to catch a taxi from was out the back of the station and it looked like we were in the middle of a ghetto. Luckily a taxi didn't take too long to come. Our taxi driver's name was Brian and he was a golf coach, taxi driving scientologist from California. Luckily, Sean and him were able to remain focused on the golf side of the things rather than the religious. We were staying in a suburb called Trussville. Word of warning Alabam does not have pedestrian crossings which we found out when we went to get dinner that night - scary was an understatement. The staff at the hotel where we were staying couldn't have been any nicer so that made the stay so much better. The next day, we hired a car so Sean could take me to see the Space and Rocket centre in Huntsville and also where he used to live. To say I was nervous would have been an understatement but we arrived safe and sound. The scenery I must admit was quite different to what I was expecting, it was quite beautiful. Also, note to oneself, if you are looking for a radio station on the drive, you have Christian, country, maybe contemporary Christian, religious and maybe one or two rock stations. Anyways, the space and rock centre is a must to go and see, extremely informative but it is starting to show it's age and the fact that the space program had been cancelled. After the centre, we went and had a look at Sean's old house apart from the basketball hoop being removed not much had changed. It was then time to make our way back so that we could drop off the rental and we had a big day tomorrow - golf and football!!
Bright and early we made our way over to where Tripp and Sarah were staying. Sarah was a girl that Sean went to primary school many moons about. We then headed off to play golf, well the others did, I drove the cart!! The golf course was set in a national park so the scenery was spectacular. They only played 9 holes as it was then time to drive to Tuscaloosa for the football game. We arrived (60 min drive) only to find that Sarah and Tripp had left the tickets back in their hotel room. The trip back took about 40 mins, so that was an interesting drive back! But we made it in time and what an eye opener that was! A pre season college game that packs out a stadium that fits 102,000 people - holy s***!! The game was fantastic, the atmosphere was fantastic and they don't sell beer which made it very interesting for Sean but he got over it!! It was an amazing day. We then made our way home which took a bit longer due to the traffic but we said our goodbyes and came back to the hotel to do all our washing before we left the next day for Savannah. Alabama isn't what I expected it to be - everyone all had their teeth but one thing I knew for sure - Roll Tide!!