December 2015 trip: Montgomery

One would probably not be surprised to know that of all the things that I enjoy most about our travels, is when I get to take in some history.

It was late afternoon when we made it to Montgomery from Clarksville. We had just enough time to make it to the place that I had been wanting to visit for years. See, one of my favorite books (and movies) is The Great Gatsby. And by being enticed by both history and literature, the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum had long been calling my name. We made it just in time to peruse the museum before it closed.

Now, I’m going to be real honest here. I was a smidge disappointed. Was the museum chock-full of the Fitzgerald’s artifacts? Yes. But truthfully, the curator was not in. So we had a fill-in, that day, that couldn’t tell us a whole lot. He did his best, but it was still a bit of a let-down. Also, finding out that the Fitzgeralds only really lived in that home for about 8 months, was also another thing that busted my bubble. It was a neat experience. I just wish it could have been a bit different, is all.

At dusk, we put in the address for a local cemetery. Again, the Sheffield girls aren’t opposed to visiting a cemetery. Off we went, to find this cemetery. Well, I should probably mention that the cemetery that we were looking for was directly across from where the Camilla Bowl was being held that night. Yes, Lord, the stadium was all aglow, and there we were searching for a gravestone. We circled the cemetery, and found a cop sitting idly in it, who directed us towards the grave we were searching for. See, my sister has always wanted to visit Hank Williams’ Grave.

The ghosts liked me there :)

His grave was so very neat. We did learn one thing about Cynthia Kay that night: While she may not balk at the idea of visiting a cemetery while on vacation, there was no way she was getting out to visit a grave at night. She sat in the car while Rheba and I took it in, promising she would come back the next day…during the daylight…and see it. Because the stadium across the street was lit up, the sky had almost taken on a reddish tone. All of the pictures that night had orbs in the background, probably due to the lighting. But the pictures Rheba took of me, they circled my head in every picture. Now, I am positive it was a light trick, but I like to think the ghosts just liked me.

Now, leaving there, the Sheffield girls were starving. So, we did a search on Pegi for local restaurants, we found one that sounded good, plugged it in, and took off. Pegi took us straight into what we deem “Rape Row” or the really sketchy side of town. As my sister is driving, she yells at me “Aleta, don’t look to the right, it’s a drug deal. Don’t look.” We quickly find a place to turn around, drive back past the drug deal, Rheba again yells “Don’t look.” One of the cars turn out behind us. A few blocks down, as we’re freaking out because the druggy car is following us, we get stopped by a train. Y’all, if I’m lyin’ I’m dyin’…I thought we were going to be “offed” that night. The minutes seemed like days as we waited for that train to pass. We finally found a suitable restaurant that night, and were able to slow our racing heartbeats.

The next day, after breakfast at The Egg and I, and a trip back to the cemetery (So CK could enjoy), we were homeward bound.