Oak
Mountain State Park was a fun place to visit. The park has so much
to do. At 9,940 acres, it is Alabama's largest state park.
Some of
the amenities included an 18 hole golf course, cabins, horse stables
and trail rides, a marina, picnic
areas with great views,
beach swimming area,
canoe/kayak
rentals,
and lots
of bike trails-about fifty miles. The Double Oak Trail at 22 miles
long and 1600 ft of combined climbing was added to the list of Epic
Rides by the International Mountain Bike Association. While it says
that the trail has areas for all levels, we decided to stick to the
Family Trail. It was listed as an easy trail but I wouldn’t call
it EASY especially with the extra 40 pounds of Jordan. BUT it was a
LOT of fun. It was only 0.7 miles long but had many hills and turns
along with a couple of bridges. I only made it twice around with
Jordan but Greg and Jacob went four times.
We also
went on a couple of beautiful hikes. The first was to Peavine Falls.
There was supposed to be a trail there but it disappeared. You
could tell where hikers had begun to make their own trails. It was
basically a trip down a rocky hillside to the bottom of the falls.
It wasn't too bad but Jordan was wearing flip flops and Jacob was
wearing rain boots, NOT the best hiking choices! Neither had any
grip on the bottom. But we made it down without incident and here
was the beautiful reward:
Found these irises all along the trail, beginning to bloom.
The kids
and I went down the Moccassin Wildlife Trail. It is an easy and
short trail from the campground that travels along the water. We
then found a trail that led out onto a peninsula. From there we
could see the swim area for the campground.
Another
cool thing about this park is that is has a BMX track and a BUMP
track. I could have a lot of fun on these. And I really wish I
could say that I did, but I would have had to go during the day
without Greg and I can't get my bike off of the top of his truck
alone. They had races there the weekend BEFORE we got there. Of
course!
The park
was also home to the Alabama Wildlife Center. This facility takes in
about 1800 injured and orphaned birds each year. There was no
admission fee. It was a small place and had a few viewing areas.
This is
their “Freedom Flight Cage”. It is 60 feet long and allows such
birds as hawks, owls and herons the space to fly around.
The kids
were in heaven! They loved it! Jacob is already making plans to
return here to volunteer when he is eligible at 16. ;)
I also
got to see some pretty birds at their feeders. My favorite was the
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
and I
really like the Indigo Bunting as well (the blue dot in this picture)
The park
also had an Interpretive Center. It was still in the process of
being remodeled so much of the exhibits were empty. It will be very
nice once it is done.
There
was also a “Demonstration Farm” in the park.
At the
front, we were greeted by this peacock. (He was actually a little
scary. I think we were interrupting his attempt to attract a
mate)
We were
able to see some pigs, donkeys, zebras, goats and sheep. You could
just walk around the farm and many of the animals roamed freely. It
was nice that you could not feed them so they weren't trying to
trample over you for food.
Camping
next to us was a family from Louisiana. Their 3 kids, Jordan, Ty and
Sidney, were on spring break. Jacob and Jordan had a blast playing
with them. Our campsite was in a cul-de-sac so they could safely
ride their bikes together. But they also spent a lot of time in the
woods creating a secret hideout. The entire family was super nice
and even fed us some very good Jambalaya.
We
celebrated Greg's birthday this week too! It was a work day so
afterwards, we went out to eat at Zapata's Mexican Restaurant then
had cheesecake back at the house.
Outside
the park, the kids and I went to the McWane Science Center in
Birmingham (free with our museum pass). It was a big place with FOUR
levels. There was so much to do. Fortunately, we arrived just as
the field trip groups were leaving.
There
was a cool robot that would race you in a tangram puzzle. You could
pick the puzzle and then he would construct the design while you did
at the same time. He always won even though he was usually playing
against 2 people at one time! It was so funny to watch him win too
because the way they made it move was just like him saying “In your
face!” and then taking a bow in all directions. You could actually
cheat and push the button to signal that you had finished first. The
robot's response was equally as humorous as if he were saying “You
the man! I bow to you!” I should have videoed it!
Jordan
tested out the bed of nails a few times. Jacob wasn't so sure about
it.
This
ball maze is in the lobby of the museum and I think most kids, as
well as I, could just watch it for a half hour or more.
The
museum just had a lot of fun things:
And
finally, on Greg's day off, we ventured into Birmingham to the
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. They do not allow any photography
inside the museum so I have nothing to show from there.
In an
attempt to keep the kids occupied so that we could learn something at
the museum and hopefully they might too, I printed out a few pictures
from the internet of items that could be seen at the museum. They
had to find them and write the title of the marker next to it while I
read to them what it said. The reward for completing it (other than
the obvious learning of something) was ice cream. They were eager to
participate!
Some of
the items on their “scavenger hunt” were in Kelly Ingram Park
across the street. This is the area where some of the protests took
place and the police turned loose dogs on the children and sprayed
them with fire hoses. The park is very pretty BUT sadly not a place
where we would ever go again due to the abundance of panhandlers.
From
there, we stopped at WC Patton Park to have a picnic lunch. It was a
very pretty park with people getting ready for birthday parties,
having lunch and fishing. I was so impressed until I walked into the
bathroom and then I was ready to run!
Our
final stop was to see Greg's Great Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Sammy. They
have lived in the Birmingham area for 35 years.
They live in Uncle Sammy's grandfather's home that was built over a hundred years ago! The surroundings were beautiful.
We had a great time visiting with them and listening to stories of the past. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet some family that I and the kids may not have otherwise.
They live in Uncle Sammy's grandfather's home that was built over a hundred years ago! The surroundings were beautiful.
We had a great time visiting with them and listening to stories of the past. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet some family that I and the kids may not have otherwise.
.jpg)
Next we
will be moving into Huntsville.
.jpg)
