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Crawmama’s

Giant tubs and platters of freshly steamed crab and shrimp stand out at this casual, wipe-your-mouth-with-a-paper-towel picnic-tabled joint. 256-582-0484; 5004 Webb Villa, Guntersville, AL; mains $8-21; 4:30-10pm Thu & Fri, 11:30am-10pm Sat;

Fresh Air

Since 1929, this family-owned glorified roadside shack offers Swine Heaven to all those on a BBQ pilgrimage. 770-775-3182; 1164 Hwy 42, Jackson, GA; mains $6-7; 8am-8pm Mon-Thu, to 9pm Fri & Sat, to 8:30pm Sun;

H&H

Mama Louise’s traditional Meat and Three serves up traditional Southern cooking in a cafeteria-style setting. A must! 478-742-9810; 807 Forsyth St, Macon, GA; mains $9; 7:30am-4pm Mon-Sat

Harvest Moon Café

Ground zero for Rome’s cool, calm and collected, serving downright homey Southern grub. 706-292-0099; 234 Broad St, Rome, GA; mains $8-26; 11am-2:30pm Mon, to 9pm Tue & Wed, to 10pm Thu-Sat, 10:30am-3pm Sun;

In Italy

Try the Watermelon Jolly Rancher cocktail at this modern monochrome bar and dance club near Auburn’s campus. 334-887-5732; 145 E Magnolia Ave, Auburn, AL; 4pm-2am Mon-Sat Sep-May, 8pm-2am Jun-Aug.

SLEEP

1842 Inn

1842 antebellum-style inn in one of the South’s prettiest historic districts – it’s like sleeping with history (not in that way). 877-452-6599; www.1842inn.com; 353 E College St, Macon, GA; r $189-230

Hawthorn Suites

Smell the history in the 110-year-old original beams and hardwood floors in this machinery storage building turned Rome’s most charming hotel. 706-378-4837; www.hawthorn.com; 100-110 W 2nd Ave, Rome, GA; r $129-239

Henderson Village

Elegant country resort featuring well- appointed 19th-century cottages close enough to peach country, you can almost smell ‘em. 478-988-8696; www.hender sonvillage.com; 125 S Langston Cir, Perry, GA; r $159-225

Hotel at Auburn University

Auburn’s nicest hotel is fresh off an $11 million makeover and also has a fun bar on premises. 334-821-8200; www.auhcc.com; 241 S College St, Auburn, AL; r from $129

Lodge at Lake Guntersville State Park

Fresh off a four-year, $25 million renovation, this bluffside resort boasts rooms, lakeside cottages and a 321-site campground. 256-571-5440; www.shelburnefarms.org; 1155 Lodge Dr, Guntersville, AL; r from $96, sites from $17.44;

USEFUL WEBSITES

www.800alabama.com

www.georgia.org

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LINK YOUR TRIP www.lonelyplanet.com/trip-planner

TRIP

26 48 Hours in Atlanta

34 Coon Dogs & Unclaimed Baggage: Only in Alabama

35 Thanks Hank: Hank Williams’ Alabama

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Return to beginning of chapter

TRIP 33

Georgia & Alabama Backroads

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WHY GO Say what you will about Alabama – many folks do – but it’s nothing if not quirky. From the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro to the Boll Weevil Monument in Enterprise, the state has more idiosyncratic ticks than a coon dog on a foxhunt. Packaged as one, it’s nothing but fun.

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TIME

4 days

DISTANCE

850 miles

BEST TIME TO GO

Mar – May

START

Birmingham, AL

END

Birmingham, AL

ALSO GOOD FOR

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You’ve probably heard a lot of funny things about Alabama over the years (a few of those things aren’t true, by the way. Just a few.). But Alabamians are a proud bunch, always quick to defend their beloved state in the wake of a little ribbing from the rest of the country (Mississippi notwithstanding). They rant and rave during college football season. They rattle and roll over the state’s outstanding musical contributions. Fair enough. We all know about Bear Bryant and the Muscle Shoals Sound.

But most folks don’t realize that Alabama is also one of the nation’s foremost contributors to a uniquely American tradition: the roadside attraction. Americans love nothing more than driving hundreds of miles to catch a glimpse of the World’s Largest this or that. If it’s in the Guinness Book of World Records, if it contains a superlative in its name, or if it so much as hints at some magnificence currently unobtainable in their home town,