Carolinas, Georgia & South Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Alex Leviton [116]
You don’t have to get into the sticks, either – even cosmopolitan Birmingham isn’t immune. Who’s that vaguely homoerotic cast-iron dude doing overlooking the city? That’s Vulcan, the world’s largest cast-iron statue. Built in 1904 for the St Louis World’s Fair, this 56ft tall, 101,200lb statue of the Roman god of forge and fire is a Birmingham landmark, sitting in Vulcan Park atop Red Mountain, overlooking the city. There’s a comprehensive Birmingham history museum here as well. A lookout tower under Vulcan’s butt cheeks offers well-rounded views of the city. Pun intended.
Leaving Birmingham, head out on I-20 (eastbound) to Hwy 21 (northbound) to Anniston, where the World’s Largest Chair sits in the parking lot of an office furniture store. Look closely, it’s surprisingly easy to miss. Next, head north on Hwy 431 to I-59, then Hwy 35 leads you to Scottsboro where you should check into Goose Pond Colony, a beautiful recreational retreat on Lake Guntersville, Alabama’s largest lake, located just outside town off Hwy 72. Grab a wonderful lakeside dinner at the Docks, but don’t take in the longest unobstructed views of Lake Guntersville for too long; you’ll need a good night’s sleep for tomorrow’s unconventional shopping experience.
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“A lookout tower under Vulcan’s butt cheeks offers well-rounded views of the city.“
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Head into downtown Scottsboro on Hwy 279 and follow the signs to the Unclaimed Baggage Center. Wait…is that your iPod? The one you left in the seat pocket on that flight from Poughkeepsie? Probably. This Macy’s-sized retail space is the end of the line for the majority of unclaimed bags in the USA. After 90 days, the airlines send your lost luggage here. It takes thrift shop–level patience, but there is Tumi luggage, Kate Spade bags, Bruno Magli loafers, cameras, laptops, golf clubs, Victoria’s Secret lingerie – you name it – all for a fraction of retail. Finders keepers, losers weepers!
You’ll no doubt work up a hunger with all that bargain-hunting, so head down the road a few blocks to Blue Willow Bistro, a lovely 1890 historic home flooded with antiques – all for sale – and a wealth of made-from-scratch Southern delights. After lunch, head north on Hwy 72 to Huntsville, where the world’s largest space museum is right off I-565. The US Space & Rocket Center is Alabama’s No 1 attraction and one of the best in the USA, for that matter. TV does nothing to prepare you for the absolute awesomeness of the Saturn V rocket, which is so massive it looks as if the astronauts who went to the moon did so in a 30-story skyscraper.
The interiors at Ketchup make you feel like you’re eating inside a Valentine’s Day card. A Los Angeles dining transplant from the Dolce Group, it’s inside the Venetian-style Bridge Street development just two exits from the Space Museum. It has DJs after 10pm on weekends. It’s next door to the Westin hotel, Alabama’s only 4-star hotel and a much more comfortable option than the tired Marriott on the grounds of the Space Museum.
The next morning, pick up I-565 (westbound) to I-65 (southbound) to the Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman. Located on the grounds of the only Benedictine monastery in Alabama, this amazing attraction is more or less the work of one man, Brother Joseph Zoettl, who spent the better part of 35 years hand-sculpting stone and cement miniatures of the world’s most prominent religious buildings. The attention to detail and level of workmanship in the 125 pieces is incredible, regardless of your views on religion. From an art perspective, it’s even more miraculous yet – after all, this was just Brother Joseph’s hobby.
Cullman is located in a dry county – home to the world’s only dry Oktoberfest, no less – so only a 12-stepper would want to sleep here. As luck would have it, the monks have a hotel (sort of). The St Bernard Retreat Center is as peaceful as a prayer session. Being that cleanliness