Tag: Alabama

Since Southbound debuted in 2013, our staff and contributors have logged thousands of miles, consumed millions of calories, and taken countless notes and photos to showcase the very best destinations around the region. Although every place we’ve covered is special, some left a particularly powerful impression. Here, we give you the best of the very best, our favorite spots in the South.

The city has a well-earned reputation as a science wonderland, a place where a Saturn V rocket lords over the skyline like Huntsville’s Eiffel Tower. But if you think this city of 195,000 is simply a place to marvel at spaceships, hold on.

For nearly 30 years, Georgia and two of its neighbors have fought in court over how water from Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona gets divvied up among the three states. Tensions remain at a rolling boil.

I’d long been curious about the Grand Hotel. My husband visited as a boy and has fond memories of it. One story in particular stands out.

In the South, there’s plenty of shoreline to satisfy that deep yearning, but some Southern beaches are more tucked-away than others. In fact, that’s part of their charm. We’ve tracked down some of these hidden gems, and we think you’ll agree they were well worth the search.

"Mobile’s Carnival is approachable. It’s very family-friendly. Also, the parade floats and costume designs change each year. That’s something special."

Dolester Miles grew up in Bessemer, Alabama, making Southern layer cakes with her mother and aunt using only a hand mixer. Today, Miles is one of America's best bakers.

Why the island is great for birding, which birds you'll see, and advice for those who have never gone birding a day in their life.

There’s a street in Montgomery that locals say is one of the most historic in America. A large fountain sits at the western end, the site of the city’s once-booming slave market. At the eastern end is the Alabama State Capitol, where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy. In between is Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor in the late 1950s.

"Being Jimmy Buffett’s sister is not at all the most interesting thing about me,” Lucy Buffett says, leveling her blue gaze. Neither is the fact that she’s the CEO of LuLu’s, a sprawling restaurant-cum-tourist destination with three locations in as many states.