I haven’t been able to travel much this year…ok, none since last August. My PTSD has been impossible to work with, and my body has been disintegrating this year at the rate a freight train barrels through a tunnel. A couple of weeks ago I had a thoracic epidural which ended up giving me relief from the immense pain I’ve had in my upper back and shoulder. The next day was literally the first full pain-free day I’ve had in over 7 months. Living with chronic pain and chronic illness is just not conducive to travel.

But! Thank god, my boyfriend David works for a nuclear facility headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama of all places. His company decided to pay a week’s worth of hotel, rental car, and food so David could attend a conference, and David was allowed to bring me and Petunia (my service dog) along.

Out of all the countries and states I’ve been to, I have never set foot on Alabama soil before. In confession, I’ve never really wanted to go before - I just assumed it was like Georgia and South Carolina and the rest of the South, which is not particularly my favorite region of the world. BUT! Because I’ve been so travel-deprived, I was ridiculously excited about this trip, and as usual, I went way overboard in planning it. But who cares, because it was fun. And I needed some fun in my life.

Like every good significant other, I planned that David would spend every day working while I would be playing. Hahaha, just kidding. Sort of. I did plan to explore the whole time he was otherwise indisposed, but we had nice dinners every night in the evening. And it was so nice to get away together and experience something new. I promise I did keep him in mind when I left a few things he said he’d like to do until the end when we could do them together.

PLACES PETUNIA AND I VISITED

I had grand aspirations of traveling on day trips to DeSoto State Park and Dismals Canyon and Montgomery, but due to rain, not feeling well, and David’s final “no,” I ended up staying in Birmingham the whole week. Which turned out perfectly fine because it was an absolutely lovely city!

Day One:

We hit the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (“BBG”), which were replete with rose gardens, wildflower gardens, crepe myrtle gardens, and a host of other gardens dedicated to irises, camellias, lilies, and rhododendrons that were out of season but equally tranquil. The BBG boasted an herb terrace, an extremely healthy vegetable garden (which I was so tempted to pick!), and a conservatory. It had beautiful trees and quiet spaces and sensational smells, and Petunia and I took a nice long rest in the fern garden that had a hidden pagoda within its fronds.

DAY 2:

On the second day, we visited Birmingham’s iconic Iron Man mascot (no, not Tony Stark). The 50-ton Vulcan Statue is actually the largest cast iron statue in the world, go figure!

Danny Hodgin’s picture on Google 2 years ago

It’s on top of a hill that overlooks the city, like a sentinel ready to do battle against whatever forces come Birmingham’s way. He represents Birmingham’s relationship with coal and limestone, mined in the nearby hills and mountains, as well as the iron ore that runs smack dab through the city. At the museum that was nearby, there were a lot of grisly stories, about Birmigham being the worst hit city in the Depression as well as a man being thrown into a vat of molten iron simply for passing out on the job….but overall, the Vulcan Statue is a huge testament to the lives and resilience of Birmingham residents which helped shape the city and frankly, a lot of the U.S.

DAY 3:

Going along with the theme, Petunia and I visited the Sloss Furnaces, which is where all of that iron ore, limestone, and coal were melted down to make pig iron. It was not the only furnace in the area, but the biggest by far, and the company became the largest producer of pig iron in the world in the 1800s. Pig iron became the stuff that made our railroads, our ships, any kind of industrial machinery, planes, you name it, and obviously was pivotal in the World Wars that followed. The Sloss Furnaces provided a lot of jobs and a new quality of life for white and black laborers, but unfortunately, racial injustice ran pretty rampant until the 1960s. Due to heavy pollution and not being able to economically adhere to the new environmental laws posted by the EPA, the company decided to close the Furnaces in 1971. Now they are a historical landmark and also a haven for metalworking and other industrial arts. I absolutely loved the tour I took and highly recommend one if you ever go!

Mark Mandelbaum posted this picture on Google 4 years ago.

PLEASANT SURPRISES ALONG THE WAY

Petunia and I gallavanted literally all over the city of Birmingham and left no stone unturned, and I kind of sort of fell in love with Alabama. So much surprised me!

• It has about a million people, but Birmingham did not feel like a huge city (at least to me, haha). The roadways were very well designed, and I never thought the traffic was bad or that it was too overcrowded.
• Even though it is technically in the Deep South, Birmingham was less hot and less humid than where I live in the South, which made it feel almost like paradise at the end of June.
• The Birmingham Museum of Art had a better Asian exhibit than the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art in DC (in my opinion).
• Like any city, there were a variety of neighborhoods, some with wealthier houses than others, but every house I passed was proudly kept up, and their yards were taken care of.
• I never saw trash anywhere except one time under a bridge, which also hosted the only 2 unhoused people I saw in the entire city. Everything was so refreshingly clean. I feel like where I live is the equivalent of going to a third-world country that doesn’t have the means or capability of cleaning up. Trust me, I’ve lived in both, and I know, and it makes me madder than dirt.
• The city was resplendent with bookstores, which, if that was the only thing going for it, would be enough to make me go live there. Petunia and I tried to go to every single one, but only ended up going to 5. It was amazing.
• Everyone I met was polite and helpful. No one seemed to walk around with a chip on their shoulder, and there wasn’t any tension in the air that I sometimes feel in other places where people are just waiting or even hoping for a fight.
• I dragged David to Saw’s BBQ, which boasts that they have the best barbecue in the state. Let me tell you, it was the best BBQ I’ve had anywhere in the world.
• The city also had a ton of cute dives, art shops, coffee shops, retail stores, nurseries, etc. that could keep you busy for weeks, so long as your wallet didn’t flatten.
• Everything was very affordable! Minus the food. :(
• David and I also got a massage at Evolve Massage & Alternative Healing, which I would highly recommend. I’ve been to many, so I am a great judge, I promise you!

LESSONS LEARNED

You know me, I can’t help ruminating over things, and I do try to always go back and think about what I’ve learned from a specific experience, especially with travels. I don’t have too many insightful epiphanies about this trip; honestly, it was just an absolute pleasure in a time period that I really needed something nice to happen to me. But here’s what I’ve gathered.

1. It was the first time I’ve traveled since my terrible experience in Africa last August and the first time I’ve traveled somewhere new with my service dog. It was a little daunting, to be honest, and I wasn’t sure I could do it. But the fact that I had David with me, even though I was alone during the day, and the fact that I had Petunia with me really, really helped. I never actually felt unsafe out in the city, and I don’t know if that was a testament to Birmingham or if it is a testament to how far I’ve come. But I think the fact that I allowed myself to go slow, to watch out for my triggers, to be aware of my surroundings, and to listen to my gut all helped me too.
2. I DID feel unsafe in the hotel once, but that was mainly a moment of deep paranoia that hit me AFTER I had a lovely conversation with a fellow down at the bar. I am really proud of myself because I tried to stretch myself and be open with others, to look them in their eyes, and to talk without falling into a puddle of mush. And I did! Mostly. :) And when I went into a PTSD episode in the safety of my hotel room, I was able to get myself out again not too long afterwards.
3. If you have a service dog, be prepared for her to become the hotel celebrity. It does cause more attention than you might like, but it is good training for you both.
4. Let yourself rest. I am finally, finally, learning my limitations. David said multiple times, “Rachel, you are so exhausting” - pretty much every time I wanted to go here or do that. What he doesn’t realize is that I used to go twice or even three times as hard on a trip as I do now. This time, I allowed myself to take lots of breaks. I only went out for 4 hours a day versus 8 or 12. And one day I didn’t really do much at all! This is probably why I didn’t have any days where I was in excruciating pain or unable to do anything at all.
5. It’s ok if you don’t get to see everything. Don’t get mad at yourself either “for missing out.” Most likely whatever you miss will still be there next time if you ever get to go to that place again. And if you don’t? Well, you got to see more than you would have if you’d never gone at all.
6. Don’t always leave what you want to do for the other person. I REALLY wanted to go to the Barber Motorsports Museum and the Civil Rights National Monument and Institute. I left them for the last day so David and I could do them together, and he ended up being too tired. So! In the future, just go anyway (and if they end up wanting to go after all, just go again).

Overall, my time in Alabama was delightful and very much needed. I was able to get a lot of writing done in my fantasy novel, but otherwise I did no work. I didn’t go to any appointments, didn’t answer email or phone calls, and pretty much just cut myself off from the stressful life I live at home in my head and in my body. My brain was very thankful afterwards.

I can’t lie. When I drove back into my sad, ugly town where I have too many memories, both good and bad, I cried a little. But I reminded myself that it too has little pockets of beauty and we can always find them if we look for them. And for me, I’m even luckier. I have a boyfriend and family and friends who love me. And when I long to live somewhere else, I remember that I love being close to them more than anything else in the world. And you certainly can’t beat that.