Hey Ladies and Gents-

I'm planning a cross-country road trip of anywhere between 4-8 weeks, leaving some time in mid-late April.

One of the states I'm going to be visiting is Alabama.

So far, I have the following on the list of things to *potentially* see in your state.  I'm not sure I'll get to all of them, but I want to solicit suggestions about things I should see or avoid.
I'm particularly interested in stuff that people might not know about or remember that has historic significance.  For instance, in Louisiana I'm visiting the site where Bonnie and Clyde were gunned down.  In that case, it's just a small monument on a dirt road, but it's an interesting part of history.

• USS Alabama


• Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum


• US Space and Rocket Center


• Selma

Not all of those will make the cut, most likely.

Any advice at all is welcome.  Things to see, places to avoid, roads to use and not use, trails for off-roading, camp sites, etc.

One thing I won't be doing is shooting, and I don't really intend on visiting FFLs or anything like that.  I have a limited amount of time for certain states and can't waste that in gun shops.

I plan on sleeping in the back of the car for 2-3 days, then getting a hotel for the night, then going back in the car.  As a result, I'll need recommendations for cool camp sites with views, etc.

Any information about Covid restrictions is also helpful with regard to closures of parks or businesses.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Bring plates for Selma. Don’t stay there too long.

If you do get to Huntsville, visit Larry’s Pistol & Pawn in Huntsville and Madison. Also, Big Bob Gibson’s was the bbq restaurant that started the Alabama white bbq sauce for poultry.

Barber is fantastic, see if there was a race you could watch.

Selma would be a VERY quick visit.  It would only be to basically see the route and the bridge, get out and take a few pics, and bail.  I really am only considering a visit to contextualize history and sort of "make it real" as it were.  I have no more interest than that, really.

Thanks for the rest of the advice.

Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is a must. World class.

I would avoid Selma.  Its a town where the thugs think nothing of shooting at cops, and a local high school coach was murdered in the the parking lot of a restaurant in a robbery.  The son of a friend of mine had to put a pistol to a guys forehead to prevent a robbery at a gas station just outside of Selma.

If you just have to go, drive over the bridge and keep on going.

The Alabama is just plain neat.  You need to go.

Our Covid restrictions are easing, and our drunk Governor Memaw is letting us poor serfs not wear masks after April 9.  I'd check the website of each place you are visiting just to see what their polices are.

Also, Barber will hold an Indy Car race in April.  Its worth a visist!

North-northwest of Selma is the town of Marion, where some of the Civil Rights events that triggered the Selma to Montgomery march started. Marion is also known as the "College City", because it has both Marion Military Institute, and Judson College, both historic colleges. Also, lots of downtown character, especially the courthouse. However, although not as bad as Selma, it's still a good idea to be aware of your surroundings in some areas. Good luck with your adventure.

I'll add Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island. It has a lot of Civil War history. It's not too far out of the way from Mobile, where you'll be for the USS Alabama

The Pit in Birmingham. M-F 5:30am-2pm.  Great breakfast sandwiches and best BBQ pork sandwiches in the area.

CMP TMP, CMP Aniston

If you're into Civil Rights stuff Birmingham is gold.

And slightly safer than Selma.

If you wanna see something really kitschy then Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman. Bored monk made historic religious sights out of mortar and bits of trash. Its actually kinda cool.

If you do go to the CMP Marksmanship Park, shoot me a pm, I’ll try to meet you.

I would avoid Selma at all costs.  It's just not a safe city.

Gulf Shores, Dauphin Island, Naval Air Museum in Pensacola.

He'll be safe/ok at the tourist traps.

Agreed on Larry's.  But stop by Greenbrier Restaurant and get the fried catfish and hush puppies. (the directions on their website may no longer be correct.  I think Greenbrier Road is closed just south of their location right now.  Use Mooresville road).  Big Bob Gibsons is OK but not a favorite of mine.

Did this open up to visitors?

Thanks for all the replies, all.  I'll try to get some more time to individually address them in the next few days.  

I think I'm writing Selma off at this point.  It sounded interesting to me, given that it does have pretty significant historical significance in American history, but it's not worth getting in harms way to see it.  There are so many other things to see.

Selma is a run down has been hole due to city management and gimme attitude of the slum residents. Skip it !  

Close to dark, nope...... Local wildlife comes out to play.

UPDATE:

I've postponed the trip until around mid-June.  I currently have covid, which makes a postponement absolutely necessary.  My father also has it and is in the ICU.

I'll touch base again on this when I get through some of this.

Fellas, the trip is off.  My father passed away from Covid a few weeks ago.  My spirit for this sort of thing is just smashed, and I have no idea when I'm going to get around to thinking about it again.  

I want to thank everyone I've talked to in this thread and via PM for their recommendations and information on your state.  I hope that maybe one day, I can plan this again and meet up with a few of you along the way.

My best to all of you.

Our sincerest condolences.

When you do reschedule the trip, let us know and we’ll have a meet-up at Barber.