Outgoing Journey to Birmingham, Al - October 7-12, 2023​ (#23555)

Ambassador Coordinator - Joy Rich      Host Coordinator - Vicki Smith

On October 7-23, twelve members of Friendship Force of Baton Rouge drove on a journey to Birmingham, Alabama. The first event was a welcome party on Saturday evening in the lounge of a senior living center for ambassadors and hosts to meet each other, enjoy good food and conversation, and receive information about the activities planned for the journey.​

Sunday began with worship at 16th Street Baptist Church, a National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, that was the place of mass meetings and rallies during the Civil Rights era and a bombing on September 15, 1963, which killed four young girls attending Sunday School and injured 20 other people. A large stained glass window of a black crucified Christ was given on June 6, 1965, by the people of Wales.  ​

16th Street Baptist Church

Large Stained Glass Window above rear of balcony

Buffet Line at Assistance League Lunch

Sanctuary of 16th Street Baptist Church

Ambassadors & Hosts Seated in Balcony

Children's Choir Performing

​We then had lunch at the Assistance League, which is a thrift shop that sells a variety of clothes, gifts, paintings, crafts, etc., in addition to providing several programs for children and youths. 

Lunch at Assistance League

​Next was a guided tour of the Birmingham Botanical Garden including its extensive Japanese Garden. The day was capped off by splitting the group in half for dinners at the homes of two Birmingham members.​​

Group Assembled for Botanic Garden Tour

Southern Living Area of Botanical Garden

Pond in Japanese Garden - Red Bridge in Background

Fish in Japanese Garden Pond

Guide Addresses Group

Bamboo Forest in Japanese Garden

On Monday, we visited the statue of Vulcan atop Red Mountain. The observation deck was closed for maintenance but the onsite museum outlined the founding of Birmingham, the history of local coal and ore mining and iron and steel manufacturing, and their effects on the city’s growth. ​

View of Birmingham from Vulcan Park

After lunch in a room at Park Tower, on the way to a guided tour of the Barber Motorsports some of us stopped briefly at the nearby Buc-ee’s. On 880 acres, Barber includes an international motorcycle race track that hosts training, practices, and racing events throughout the year as well as a five-floor museum displaying about half of its 2,000 motorcycles and a significant collection of cars of various types and time frames. The day concluded with ambassadors taking their hosts to dinner.​

Inside Buc-ee's

Barber Motorsports Motorcycle Race Track

​Tuesday started with a self-guided tour of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, which really needed more time than 1.5 hours allotted. Photos, videos, audio recordings, and exhibits put visitors inside the integration movement and demonstrated how the city evolved since the 1960s. It is across the street from the 16th Street Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park in which several Freedom Walk sculptures reflect events of the civil rights era.​

Sculpture of Praying Preachers at Kelly Ingram Park

Vulcan Museum

Vulcan Park Originated by Kiwanis Club of Birmingham

Exterior of Buc-ee's

Layout of Barber Motorsports Complex

Multiple floors in Barber Motorsports Museum

Ambassadors/Hosts Gather Outside Civil Rights Institute

Sculpture in Kelly Ingram Park

After lunch again at the Assistance League, we toured the City Walk, a ten-block area under the I-20 & I-59 freeway by the convention center complex, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Museum of Art, and School of Fine Arts. It includes ball fields, skate park sculptures, dog park, children’s playground, and spaces for various public outdoor events. 

Dog Park

​We then walked around another part of downtown including the Alabama Peanut Factory and then socialized at a rooftop bar. Like Sunday, the day ended with dinners at the homes of two other Birmingham members.

Old Downtown Building

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Presenting Friendship Force Pin to Tour Guide

Clerk Outlining History and Processes at Peanut Factory

Old Peanut Boiling Equipment

Rooftop Relaxation & Conversation

We drove to Montgomery on Wednesday for a guided tour of the Alabama Capitol before having lunch on the riverboat Harriott II as it took a short roundtrip on the Alabama River. ​

Tour Guide Speaks to our Group

Group in Rotunda as Seen from Balcony

Historical Depictions Surround Capitol Rotunda Dome

Riverboat Harriott II

Riverboat Crew

​Then the next stop was the Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum with memorabilia of both the writer of "The Great Gatsby" and other works and his dancer and painter wife.​

Ambassadors & Hosts on Steps of Capitol

Old Legislative Chamber

Inauguration of Jefferson Davis as President of Confederacy

Montgomery Waterfront from Alabama River

A special highlight of this journey was the great food provided throughout. The welcome reception, lunches each day, and breakfasts provided by home hosts were all great opportunities to learn about and from each other. Of extra note were dinners hosted in the homes of Birmingham members Kathy Wolf, Linda Cahill, Marilyn Waltsgott, and Rosie Durham and Farewell Brunch hosts Ron & Shirley Poole.

At Home of Kathy Wolf

At Home of Rosie Durham

At Home of Marilyn Waltsgott

At Home of Marilyn Waltsgott

Ambassadors take hosts to Dinner

The final event of our journey was a Thursday morning farewell brunch at the home of another couple of the Birmingham club. After much socializing over food and beverages, we assembled out around the pool for a review of the week’s activities and closing comments. As customary, the Baton Rouge ambassadors then initiated a Mardi Gras style “Second Line” procession with white handkerchiefs, hats, colorful umbrellas, and beads. On the second circling of the pool, beads were bestowed on the hosts who then joined in the procession. Kudos to Vicki Smith, the amazing Host Coordinator, and to all of the hosts and members of the Friendship Force of Birmingham for an outstanding journey. We had a great time and some new friendships were fostered, but we were a bit sorrowful when we had to return to our cars for the drive back home.