Recently in Alabama Category

Montgomery, Alabama seems to be 10 years behind the rest of the country on restaurants and retailers (we just got our first Target, Best Buy, and PetSmart a few years ago.) While good restaurants spring up periodically, they are usually shut down with a year or two, victims of the "it's too pricey" syndrome this city seems to have. A few manage to hang around (La Jolla, Dawsons, Casa Napoli, The Olive Room, Vintage Year, City Grill) but we consistently lose great restaurants for lack of business (Felix's, Copeland's, Serrano.) We like good food and will even occasionally drive to Birmingham, Atlanta, or (less frequently) Mobile or Pensacola to hit favorite restaurants of ours, but life is changing and I'd rather go around the corner than across state lines to find good food.

Without further ado, 23 21 Restaurants I'd Like To See Come To The Montgomery/Prattville, Alabama Area:

1. Copelands: After a failed attempt on south East Boulevard, perhaps they could be convinced to try again, perhaps on the east side this time. It appears that Copeland's has now pulled of Alabama altogether (Montgomery, Birmingham, and Mobile) and has also left Pensacola. Nearest Copelands is now in Atlanta. Oh yeah, and bring back the Pork LaBoucherie. A guy can wish, right?
2. P.F. Chang's: Excellent, affordable American-Chinese cuisine, nice decor. Good quality Chinese food.
3. Red Robin: This might actually happen as a new RR recently opened in Newnan, GA. Excellent hamburgers and sandwiches, endless fries. We're now have a Red Robin at Eastchase! Note: In my experiences (I've been 10 times sinece they opened) the Montgomery Red Robin has serious problems with consistency of service, food quality and dining experience. You may get lucky, but don't expect your usual Red Robin experience at this location.
4. Bennigan's: Traditional American fare, sandwiches, soups with an Irish flavor. Good neighborhood bar and restaurant. Bankrupt 2008
5. El Chico: American-Mex, but better than any of the flavor-deprived Mexican being served in this town today, nearest ones are in Mobile and Nashville.
6. Other Raving Brands franchises: We already got multiple Moe's (now run by a different company) and (supposedly) a Doc Green's on the way (what happened there?). How about Mama Fu's Noodles, Planet Smoothie, and Shane's Rib Shack, maybe a Boneheads, or a Flying Biscuit?
7. In-And-Out Burger: Excellent West Coast burger chain, always smiling, gracious staff and prompt service of great food. Imagine!
8. Old Chicago: Great pizza and well over 110 beer choices.
9. Baja Fresh: The franchise recently entered and exited the Atlanta market, so Montgomery luring this consistently flavorful and fresh Mex star is probably a long shot.
10. Mimi's Cafe: French-inspired american food. (coming to EastChase in Winter 2008)
11. Noodles & Co.: Various noodle entrees, from Mac and Cheese to Asian noodle dishes. Same idea as Mama Fu's, a noodle house.
12. Houlihan's: Several locations in Atlanta
13. Cozymel's Mexican Restaurant:: Great chicken and carnitas fajitas. Steak fajitas were so-so. Nearest one might be Memphis
14. Bahama Breeze: Island food and drink. Long lines/wait, get there early. Birmingham or Atlanta
15. Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy: Great Mexican food, all around. Memphis/KC/OKC are the closest ones.
16. Houston's: Up-scale sit-down American dining in a beautiful decor. Several locations in Atlanta.
17. Uno Chicago Grill: Chicagoland dining with new creative twists. Formerly Pizzeria Uno.
18. On the Border: Good chain Mexican. Recently closed in Birmingham.
19. Buca di Beppo: Southern Italian food served family-style in large, delicious portions. So clean they take you on a tour through the kitchen on your way to your seat.
20. Qdoba Mexican Grill: Similar to Moe's and Chipotle, San Francisco-style burritos with tons of flavor and spice.
21. First Watch: A small chain of health-conscious and delicious breakfast treats in a relaxing environment
22. Marie Callendar's: Home-cooked comfort food and great pies.
23. Cheesecake Factory: Great cheesecake (50 different varieties and a highly diverse menu including Asian, Mexican, Italian, American, Cajun, and Spanish choices to meet everyone's needs. Their menu is a small book. The nearest ones are in Birmingham and Atlanta.

Yeah, they are mostly chains. Some people seem to get hung up about that. These are the good chains, not the ones that make you roll your eyes when you see them. If any 4 of these came to town, I'd be much happier about the dining scene in Montgomery.

I figure we could afford to lose some T.G.I.Friday's, Ruby Tuesday, Chili's, Applebee's, and O'Charley's, we'd have room for some new, good restaurants.

Photo Gallery >> Barber Vintage Motorsports Musuem
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Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum (and, in fact, the entire Barber Motorsports Park) is a jewel in the crown of Birmingham, Alabama. It should be on the top of any motorized sports enthusiast's to-do list when visiting Birmingham. They have an excellent collection of motorcycles from all eras and all manufacturers. There are approximately 750+ motorcycles and a approximately 40 or 50 sports and racing cars on display at any given point. They are beautifully restored and displayed open-air in the spacious facility. Northeast Birmingham, approximately 2 miles east of the junction of I-20 and I-459. Follow I-20 past I-459, take the first exit past the junction (Leeds), turn right and the facility is on your right about 1 mile down the road. Admission is $15 for adults, and well worth it.

I've gone to the museum the past two weekends and had a great time. The basement "paddock" area is usually closed to the public, but was open this past weekend, so I got to stroll and shoot some angles you can't normally get.

More photos from Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

A satellite shot of the facility from Google Maps

<pander>Now, if I can just get someone from Barber to take me behind-the-scenes, or to the warehouse my journey will be complete...</pander>

The Alabama Nature Center at Lanark is a 350-acre wildlife preserve that serves as the headquarters of the Alabama Wildlife Federation. It is located between Millbrook, AL and Prattville, AL, just north and east of exit 179 (Cobbs Ford Road) on I-65. The facility is currently only open to the public one weekend a month (the third weekend.)

If you are a nature buff, a photographer, or just like to catch some fresh air, you should take some time out of your weekend to visit and explore the facility. They've got over 5 miles of beautifully-built walking trails organized in 3 loops around the property. They are all marked with interpretive signs about the flora and fauna you'll see around you.

Price is currently $4/adult/day and $2/child (3-9)/day. Kids under 3 are free. They also have season pass pricing.

(Every third weekend of the month)
Saturday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Directions and more information can be found at the following link.

Alabama Nature Center @ Lanark

Photo Gallery >> Lanark
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We've got a new high school going in near our house, way out in the country north of Prattville, Alabama. There has been a lot of buzz about naming the new school after the (old) Marbury High School which this school will be replacing. There's been online petitions and a regular stream of articles in the local weekly paper talking about community, memories, provenance, etc.

It seems to me that building a new school is an excellent change to brainstorm, involve the community, get creative and come up with a new name for a new school. Instead everyone seemed to get stuck in nostalgia.

The (old) Marbury High School is in Marbury, a very small community in rural central Alabama. The (new) Marbury High School in not in Marbury, it is not even near Marbury. It's 8.5 - 10 miles from Marbury to the new school site depending on your route. The new school does find itself in the community of Pine Level, Alabama.

Why not rename the current Marbury High School to Marbury School (it is destined to become the new middle school) and give the new school a new name that reflects something about its new location, an honored member of the education community, or some famous individual (president, governor, etc.)?

That's my two cents, now I'll sit back and wait for the first sporting event at the school where the visiting team erroneously goes to the old school because they didn't even know there was a new school...

• (new) Marbury High School construction project page from Cooper Brothers Construction
• (new ) Marbury High School construction photos from Cooper Brothers Construction

This is my yearly report of what crime was reported on a day in Montgomery, Alabama. My original tally was for a Thursday in late June, so I'll keep with that just to minimize variables.

On Thursday, June 19, 2008, there were:

11 Vehicle Burglaries
21 Burglaries
5 Vehicle Thefts
9 Thefts
2 Robbery
1 Domestic Violence Assault
1 Assault

reported in Montgomery, Alabama (est. population 202,000).

The estimated value of goods stolen on this one day total $85,789 with an additional $3,910 worth of damage to personal property (vehicles, homes) in the commission of these crimes. Total damages/loss from crimes committed on this day: $89,699. These are just the reported crimes, for one day. Assume those numbers are a representative sample and multiply out those numbers over the course of a week (~$627,893), a month (~$2,735,820), or a year (~$32,762,560) as it pleases you. The real picture might be slightly better or slightly worse, but the picture is ugly anyway you slice it. This is simply a tally of the crimes reported in the Montgomery Advertiser Montgomery Crime Reports section.

My collection of things you'll only see in Alabama.

The Alabama Nature Center at Lanark is a 350-acre wildlife preserve that serves as the headquarters of the Alabama Wildlife Federation. It is located between Millbrook, AL and Prattville, AL, just north and east of exit 179 (Cobbs Ford Road) on I-65. The facility is currently only open to the public one weekend a month (the third weekend.)

If you are a nature buff, a photographer, or just like to catch some fresh air, you should take some time out of your weekend to visit and explore the facility. They've got over 5 miles of beautifully-built walking trails organized in 3 loops around the property. They are all marked with interpretive signs about the flora and fauna you'll see around you.

Price is currently $3/adult/day or $5/adult/weekend and $2/child (3-9)/day $3/child/weekend. Kids under 3 are free.

(Every third weekend of the month)
Saturday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Directions and more information can be found at the following link.

Alabama Nature Center @ Lanark

Photo Gallery >> Lanark
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Melanie, Colin and I welcomed our 2nd son and 1st brother, Rian Scott Morrison into the world this Saturday evening November 10, 2007, at 8:08pm CST. Melanie labored for 11 hours, then pushed for 7 minutes and gave birth naturally (without an epidural!) Again she's my hero! Both baby and mother are doing fine! Rian weighed 8 lbs. 3oz and measured 20 inches long.

You can send Rian an e-mail: rian at transmit.net.
The proud new parents can be reached at proudparents at transmit.net

We'd also like to thank everyone at OB/GYN Associates of Montgomery, especially Doctors Dupre, and Desautels. Every single member of the staff at Baptist Medical Center East made our stay enjoyable and healthy.

Pictures in 3... 2... 1... Pictures.

Alabama has become a growing powerhouse in automobile manufacturing in recent years, picking up a Mercedes Benz factory in Tuscaloosa, a Honda factory in Lincoln, and Hyundai built their first state-side factory just south of Montgomery a couple years ago. Without delving deep into politics, low operational costs, largely non-union labor, good river, rail, and over-the-road transportation access, low cost of living, and massive incentive packages have made Alabama (and the southern United States) a very attractive place to build a factory. Honda recently announced that it will be building an new exhaust system factory to supply it's main Alabama plant.

A great feature of these factories (along with their local and regional economic impact) is that they are all available for the public to tour them. I've gathered the relevant information about each tour.

This information was gleaned from the manufacturers' websites at the time I wrote this entry. Please verify any information by contacting the factories at their website or by phone before embarking on your trip. You should wear shoes with closed toes and heels as well as long pants (some tours don't allow shorts.)

These tours are great for kids (see "Minimum Age") and adults alike and offer a portal into modern automobile manufacturing processes. The Hyundai plant is a couple years old. The Mercedes-Benz plant recently underwent a multi-year renovation and has resumed tours as of Spring 2007. There is also a large Kia factory currently being built in Georgia at the Alabama-Georgia state line along I-85. I will including relevant information for that factory when it is available.

Native drivers in Montgomery, Alabama are discourteous at best and downright dangerous at their worst.

As a whole they consistently fail to:
* stop at stop signs, preferring to roll through.
* yield right-of-way to on-coming traffic at intersections.
* signal their turns, preferring instead to slam on the brakes and turn with no warning. (Alabama Code Section 32-5A-133: http://alisdb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/CodeOfAlabama/1975/32-5A-133. htm )
Signaling your intention to turn (that's the little stick that makes the arrows come on) is the law, Alabama drivers!
* follow posted speed limits (or at least not exceed them by 20+ mph on a regular basis, where is the enforcement?)
* treat a broken traffic signal light as a stop sign during power outages.
* (I could go on and on, these are the big ones that I see almost daily.)

Where is the enforcement of the law?
What is the MPD going to do about offenders?
Some law enforcement officers out there are the worst offenders.

When there is nearly no enforcement of the rules, whose fault is it that people assume they can break the laws? Who is at fault (let's say morally, if not legally) when someone loses a life because a driver exhibits illegal behaviors that are generally "allowed" or at least not enforced by the authorities in any sort of regular fashion. The offender likely will take the legal blame, who wants to stand up and accept the moral blame?

Alabama drivers: Driving is a communal activity. We all have to cooperate in order to all be safe. Take a second to be courteous, let someone in, use the turn signal, come to a complete stop (behind the white line or stop sign!) Slow down and realize you are piloting a potentially deadly weapon. This isn't NASCAR, they do that in a controlled environment with emergency crews on-site.

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