James Spann’s Favorite Route
To The Alabama Beaches
Many people take the fastest way to the Alabama beaches, follow Interstate 65 down to AL-287
and then AL-59, also known as the Gulf Shores Parkway. But you don’t have to take the fastest
way to the beach! James Spann, the chief meteorologist for ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, wrote
about his favorite, and slower way to the Alabama beaches on the Alabama Weather Blog. This
infographic shows off his route with a map and pictures, enjoy!
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256-452-1565
GeekAlabama.com
Facebook.com/GeekAlabama
@GeekAlabama
Plus.Google.Com/+GeekAlabama
Infographic Brought To You By:
Infographic Created By:
Nathan Young SlideShare.net/NathanYoung
Facebook.com/nvyoung
Twitter.com/nvyoung
Gplus.to/nvyoung
Pinterest.com/nvyoung
About.me/nvyoung
RebelMouse.com/nvyoung
Linkedin.com/in/nvyoung
Instagram.com/nvyoung44
Keek.com/nvyoung
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Bay Minette
Robertsdale
Foley
Gulf Shores Orange Beach
Uriah
Monroeville
Camden
Gee’s Bend
Selma
Clanton
Billingsley
Map not to scale
The Route
Freeway
4-lane
2-lane
Map Key:
Side Road
James Spann’s Best Gulf Coast Eateries Lulu’s (this is the place on the intracoastal
waterway owned by Jimmy Buffett’s sister,
Lucy)
The Tin Top Restaurant & Oyster Bar (this is
a little out of the way, on County Road 10 in
Bon Secour, but well worth the drive)
The Original Oyster House (right on Alabama
59… been there a long, long time)
The Hangout… right at the public beach. The
food is actually pretty good, and needless to
say, it is very easy to find!
Just follow Alabama 59 and you will be
in Gulf Shores in about 45 minutes. He
always loves to stop at Lambert’s in
Foley (on the left side of the highway,
just past the Tanger Outlet Mall) for
“throwed rolls”, but watch out for long
wait times during the main lunch and
dinner hours. Enjoy the Alabama Coast
and spend some money down there!
If you have time, check out Fort Mims… you will need to
turn right onto Baldwin County road 80. This site is famous
for the Fort Mims massacre, which occurred on 30 August
1813, when a force of Creek people, belonging to the “Red
Sticks” faction under the command of Peter McQueen and
William Weatherford “Red Eagle”, his cousin by marriage,
killed hundreds of settlers, mixed-blood Creeks, and
militia. This spot on the Tensaw River is crawling with
history… truly an amazing place to think about what
happened there so long ago.
If you have time, check out the Monroe County
Heritage Museum, which sits on the historic downtown
square. The best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel,
“To Kill a Mockingbird,” with its memorable characters
– Atticus Finch, Scout, Jem, Dill and Boo Radley – are
familiar to many in Monroe County. The book’s author,
Harper Lee, is a native of this lovely Old South
community. Unfortunately, the annual “To Kill a
Mockingbird” production just ended, but you can still
see the courtroom scene where it all happened.
The drive from Camden to Monroeville is
amazing for South Alabama; sometimes it
feels like you are in the Great Smoky
Mountains due to the terrain and the curves.
Check out the old church buildings in the
community of Franklin.
We will take the Gee’s Bend Ferry across the
Alabama River to Camden. The ferry departs Gee’s
Bend at 7:00 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 12:00 noon, 2:45 p.m.,
and 5:30 p.m. Be sure and watch for alligators in the
river as you cross; no telling what critters you will
find in that water. This part of the Alabama is very
wide; basically a lake created by the Miller’s Ferry
Dam, just downstream. Quite frankly, this is one of
the favorite parts of the trip. Check out Uncle
Redd’s Soul Food and BBQ Restaurant in Camden.
From Selma, let’s head south and west down Alabama
22. One option is to check out Old Cahawba; “Alabama’s
most famous Ghost Town”. Cahawba was once Alabama’s
state capital (1820-1826) and a thriving antebellum river
town. It became a ghost town shortly after the Civil War.
Today it is an important archaeological site and a place
of picturesque ruins.
Gee’s Bend is named after Joseph Gee, a planter, and
the first white man to settle in the area. Gee’s
plantation was sold to a relative called Mark Pettway in
1845 to settle a $29,000 debt. The folks that live in
Gee’s Bend today are mostly descendants of the slaves
that worked at the plantation, and most folks to this
day have the last name “Pettway”. You have to check
out the Gee’s Bend quilters… you might get to meet
Mary Lee Bendolph, who was featured in the remarkable
Pulitzer Prize winning article in the Los Angeles
Times written ten years ago.
We will exit I-65 at the first Clanton exit, at the “Big Peach” water
tower. You will turn right onto Alabama Highway 145 at the end of
the exit ramp, and follow the signs for Alabama 145 through
downtown Clanton. Needless to say, any place selling peaches will
require a stop, since you are in the peach capital of the world.
Pull up Selma with Google Maps and pick a few good
places to visit. Sturdivant Hall, the Old Depot Museum,
and the are great ideas. He also suggests the historic
Live Oak Cemetery, along Alabama 22, which is full of
Spanish Moss and full of rich history. U.S. Vice
President William Rufus King is buried there; he was
nominated for the vice presidency on the ticket with
Franklin Pierce in 1852 and was elected to this office
by a large majority. While serving in the Senate he
contracted tuberculosis and in 1853 was forced to
spend the winter in Cuba. By a privilege extended by
special act of congress, he took the oath of office, in
Havana, Cuba on March 4, 1853. As there was no
improvement in his health he returned to Alabama,
arriving in Cahaba the day before his death in 1853.
Follow Alabama 22 for a few miles, and just
past the radio station you will be turning left
onto Chilton County Road 37. This winds down
through Fairview, and on the right you will see
the Sunshine Farms U-Pick-Em strawberry
farm. One way or another, you can’t miss it.
From Jim’s you want to go back south on U.S. 82 toward
Montgomery, and turn right onto Autauga County 1. You
will be driving through the hamlet of Milton, which was
the home of first lady Lady Bird Johnson; she lived in
Milton until she was 13, when the family moved to Texas.
After leaving the Sunshine Farms strawberry patch, you will
enter into Autauga County, and drive through the small
community of Billingsley. Follow the signs for County Road 37…
that will lead you to U.S. 82, which is the main drag between
Montgomery and Tuscaloosa. You can eat at the Fat Girl’s
Cafe, which is that at the intersection of U.S. 82 and County
Road 37, or if you are in the mood for BBQ, turn right onto
U.S. 82, and after about one mile you will see Jim’s Pit BBQ on
the left side of the road. Hands down the best in Alabama.
