Yeah, it pretty much took the whole day through to get from Jackson, MS to Atlanta, Georgia. LOL But I knew that going in, and this day of driving held just as many gems as other days!
Lulu was feeling a bit playful on this day … we were sort of excited about traveling through Alabama. I’d never seen ANY of the deep south, and getting this “glimpse” of the Southern US states was really kinda cool.
Of course the BEST PART of this whole trip was seeing my friends along the way … saw 5 sets of friends, and it was seriously like seeing the face of God 5 times over. But my answer to the question some have asked me, “What was the best part of your DRIVE??” is “US Route 80 through mid Alabama!” I chose to deviate from the Interstate, and have lunch in Montgomery, AL, instead of going through Birmingham on my way to Atlanta.
Turns out (and I had no idea, it was simply divine guidance), US 80 gives you a REAL TASTE of the state of Alabama! I drove past mansions and poverty, farms and bogs, cattle grazing and horses running … I SAW the state. I pulled all of the following photos from Google, but they are an EXCELLENT representation of what I experienced on the US 80 drive:
I drove smack through the center of Demopolis … it could have been Anytown, USA, so sweet!
Saw many crops growing, including the ever popular (except with me!) kale!
Went past several catfish farms!
Also drove through the center of Selma, AL, home of the famous Pettus Bridge, where the Montgomery / Selma Civil Rights walk took place. Humbling.
The ambiance of my lunch stop (just west of Montgomery) left much to be desired … LOL … but the food was pretty good. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, The Internet … WHERE you lead me to go! 🙂
Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the Georgia state line …
… and before we knew it, we had arrived at the Omni Hotel, part of the CNN complex! Here is the view FROM OUR ROOM …
Looking into the center of the complex! So cool!
We had a wonderful time on the CNN Studio Tour … and the ticket agent totally saved the day! I have been planning this trip since MARCH, and one of the ONLY THINGS I purchased in advance was my CNN Tour ticket. I had all of my directions, addresses, reservations, etc. in a packet I was calling “my bible”, and on Wednesday (7/27) morning, I pulled out my ticket voucher for CNN. It said, “CNN Studio Tour, Tuesday 7/26”. What??????? HOW could I have misplanned that one??? The ticket agent just smiled, took the voucher, said, “No problem, I’ll switch it for you!” Relief & happiness!
“Yay, Ticket Lady! Can’t wait!!”
The tour was the right length (under an hour), and very informative. I knew a lot of the “tv production” stuff already, but I highly recommend the tour! Natch, it came with a “pose in front of a green screen photo op” moment:
“Lulu … what do you rate the CNN Studio Tours?” “10!”
And … in a perfect imitation of Disney … the tour spills out to the merchandise store. Can you spot Lulu?
THERE SHE IS!! LOL
We got on the road not long after the tour, and had our shortest drive of the trip: Only a little more than 2 hours to our next stop: South Carolina!