by Berl Colley
In the winter issue of the Forum we talked about some of the tours during the weekend preceding the convention. Now, let’s look at some of the tours that take place during the week. Please note all tours mentioned are subject to change. We are still adding and subtracting tours, but most are firmed up. If, after pre-registration, we have a tour that has very few reservations, we will consider canceling it.
Do you like the James Bond kind of life where ink pens shoot bullets, or other spy devices are used? Then you will enjoy going on the tour of the natural history museum where you will view this and other fun exhibits. On the way back to Birmingham, we will stop off at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Irondale. This was the setting for the book about Fannie Flagg, whose family started this roadside inn in the 1920s. Later, Hollywood made a movie, some of which was filmed at the Whistle Stop. They gave the movie the title of the restaurant’s specialty, “Fried Green Tomatoes.”
David and Rhonda Trott have been working to put together two blind services tours. The first, on Tuesday, will go to Talladega to visit the campus of the state school for the blind, as well as the headquarters of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. AIDB has nine facilities around the state. On Thursday, you will be able to visit the Birmingham AIDB site where items are produced for the United States military and some private firms.
Are colonial things your bag? You will want to take the tour out to American Village. This village is much like Williamsburg, Va. There are 11 different settings, including replicas of such places as Mount Vernon, the Liberty Bell, etc.
Or are sports your thing? There will be one tour visiting the Alabama Sports Museum where we will be able to feel some sports memorabilia and docents will tell us about Alabama sports personalities such as Willie Mays, Joe Namath, Paul “Bear” Bryant, etc.
If flight history attracts you, the Alabama museum of flight should be on your list of tours. This tour will differ from our tour in Houston, in that there are planes and helicopters from different eras. There is also an outdoor area where complete aircraft can be seen.
Do you enjoy riding the rails? Another tour will visit a railroad museum. This place has a 45-minute train ride around the property, lots of different types of train cars, and the main building, which has lots of train memorabilia, and is built like an old railroad depot.
Think you will need to take a deep breath and smell the roses about mid-week? A visit to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens might be the thing to help you calm yourself during what looks to be a very active convention week.
For the artistic-minded folks at this year’s convention, there will be a couple of tours to the Birmingham Museum of Art. Some blind folks have been working for several years with the museum to reproduce famous painting tactually, so that those of us who choose to can look at what the artist is trying to convey in the artwork. One of the tours will be sponsored by the good folks of Friends-in-Art.
We are also looking at visiting the jazz museum, the ham radio museum, a buggy ride tour through some old Civil War iron works, and a post-convention wrap-up tour (which we will talk about in next month’s Forum).
Oh, by the way, almost all of our tours have a gift shop on site.