Tales Between Trails: Maryland to Alabama Part 2

Thursday, October 31st – Friday, November 1st, 2019

Our flight to Birmingham, Alabama left from Baltimore, Maryland on Halloween. I was sad to leave Alley behind. Her seizures have stopped, but there’s no knowing for how long. At least I knew she was in good hands with my Mom and that she had Reggie to keep her company during the day. The rain caused a little bit of a delay on the tarmac when we left our connection in Atlanta. There was a line of 20+ planes ahead of us. Just another minor inconvenience in travel. What can ya do?

It was in the high 60’s in Baltimore and in Atlanta. However, when we landed in Birmingham, it was freezing! Frisbee’s cousin Nina picked us up once we landed and then we grabbed coffee at Satellite. Connected to the Satellite bar is a concert venue called Saturn, and Nina’s friends were the opening act for the live music event there that night. We’d return later.

After walking around the 5 Points neighborhood and grabbing some warm cookies at Insomnia Cookies, we rested in our hotel room before checking out the Halloween celebration around town. Nina returned and we went back to Saturn Birmingham to listen to some live music. I can honestly say every single band that performed that night were incredibly talented, from Nina’s friend’s band “Love Rat” to the bands that followed: Blackfoot Gypsies, Midnight North, and Los Colognes. There were some great costumes floating around too!

The following day, Nina picked us up after eating the hotel’s complimentary breakfast, and took us to resupply before we rode towards Flagg Mountain. We stopped for lunch at Jim ‘N Nick’s BBQ along the way. She dropped us off at the pavilion and we hugged her goodbye before climbing up to the top where the cabins were.

There was a First Friday potluck dinner in the works and we got to see Nimblewill again. He got a fire started in our cabin and after we set up shop, we joined the crowd. It also happened to be Nimblewill’s birthday and he told us he was considering trying to break Grey Beard’s record as the oldest person to hike the Appalachian Trail. I don’t doubt he can do it!

Nathan from the Pinhoti Outdoor Center and his wife Kim had been in touch with Frisbee, and gave us some maps to help guide us through the Alabama Road Walk. We networked with a few people who lived throughout the state that were willing to help us out if we had any trouble. A guy named Chris offered to take us to get resupply when we reached Montgomery, and another guy named Tommy told us to reach out to him if we needed help when we reached Florida. All the people we spoke to throughout the evening were so kind. After eating and socializing some more, we returned to our cabin to enjoy one last warm night by the fireplace.

Jump Ahead to The Alabama Road Walk – Part 1

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