"Paint me a Birmingham"

I hate that song. But I didn't have any better options for a title.

Anywho... Good evening devoted blog readers! I hope you are all having a marvelous day wherever you may be.

Today we started off from our hotel outside of Birmingham, and headed into the city.

Now, those of you that know me well know that I am NOT a morning person. In fact, I would be very happy if there were no mornings at all. I really wanted to sleep, so my brothers of course felt the need to terrorize me. So they gathered all of the blankets and pillows that they could find in our hotel room and piled them all on top of me. This was the end result. I just went back to sleep, so their method of trying to annoy me really didn't work very well. Oh the joys of all of us staying in one hotel room.

My dad has been having way to much energy during our time in the car. This is him clapping and making faces, trying to be annoying. Him being on pain medications hasn't helped the situation much either.

Downtown Birmingham, Alabama.

We focused on the history of the Civil Rights movement while in Birmingham. This is the Civil Rights Institute. It was phenomenal. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. This is the front entrance.

Out on the front steps.

Sitting out front. Unfortunately they did not allow photography inside, so we don't have any pictures of the museum. So you will just all have to go yourselves! It was really well done. It is appalling to see the treatment of many of the men and women featured in the exhibits, due only to the color of their skin. How these things could happen in America is unbelievable to me. And even more unbelievable is to see how our country tried to justify the injustice against many of it's own citizens for centuries.

The 16th Street Baptist Church, where 4 girls were killed by a bomb on September 15, 1963. It is located directly across the street from the Civil Rights Institute.

This church was the central location and starting point for many demonstrations during the Civil Rights era.

The inside of the church.

This stained glass window is dedicated to the memory of the 4 girls killed in the bombing, as well as 2 boys killed on the same day due only to the color of their skin.

There is stained glass throughout the building. Much of it was destroyed by bombings and riots over the years, and has had to be replaced and repaired many times.

Coming into Montgomery, Alabama.

Montgomery sunset.

And so now we are settled in our hotel room (upgraded to a suite!) for the night. Tomorrow we will explore Montgomery, starting with Old Alabama Town. We will be heading down to the gulf tomorrow afternoon.

Goodnight, and Bardle do!

~Jenn