We had parked on the fringes of a very busy Love's Truck Stop overnight, just squeezing into the entrance with enough room for just one other truck to park behind us along the curb. Despite this, we'd had a peaceful sleep, probably also because we were off to the side rather than sandwiched between other trucks.
Ave Maria Grotto
We've been to quite a few incredible religious structures made from precious stones, shells, and other materials, including the Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption in Iowa, to the Dickeyville Grotto & Shrines in Wisconsin. The Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, Alabama, is similar in that there are constructions made from materials including cement, stone, marble, and shells, and these were put together by Brother Joseph Zoettl a Benedictine monk originally from Bavaria, Germany, who lived from 1878–1961.
But this is where the similarities end. The Grotto is located on the grounds of St. Bernard Abbey, and here, we found 125 miniature reproductions of some of the most famous religious structures of the world, including St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Basilica of Lourdes in France, and biblical scenes like the Nativity, and even Noah's Ark. Not all of the miniatures are of religious structures--for example, there was a miniature called "Hansel and Gretel Visit the Temple of the Fairies", which had both of these fairytale characters, with a dragon underneath the building! It was adorable, because to ensure that children who were viewing this wouldn't get scared, Brother Joseph made sure that there was a chain attached to the dragon, making it clear that Hansel and Gretel were safe from any danger.
Brother Joseph began his work in the 1910s and completed his last miniature building when he was in his 80s, designing and constructing each miniature by hand. There's a whole section dedicated to Jerusalem, where we could see all the painstaking work in erecting all the religious buildings there. We could also see, as we walked along the path, how his craftsmanship had improved over the years. It was really impressive to see this, and note that he didn't have a building background--but also, that out of the over 100 structures, he'd only ever visited 6, and most were simply made from him looking at pictures!
After he passed away, a caretaker, Leo Schwaiger Jr., looked after the miniatures for years, before he died in 2016. He was also a keen miniature builder, and he has several constructions--including the Basilica of Knock, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Jasna Gora, and Our Lady of Good Help--that are also proudly displayed toward the end of the tour of the garden. Because Brother Joseph was not a trained engineer or builder, some of his works are starting to fall apart in areas, but we met one of the preservationists who was hard at work, carefully restoring and fortifying some of the fragile miniatures. It costs $10 per adult to visit the Grotto, and we felt that it was a worthwhile, fascinating tour.
A Short Visit to Birmingham
We were then on our way to Birmingham, the second most populous city in Alabama after Huntsville. Despite this (and arriving there on a weekday), we were struck by how quiet and empty it seemed downtown--not many people walking around, including office workers.
We didn't end up staying long in Birmingham as admittedly it seemed a bit rundown in parts, with not a ton of stuff going on. We walked around the city, checking out the Alabama Theatre, built just before the Great Depression in the grandiose Art Deco style. Called the "Showplace of the South", it closed in 1981 and was saved from demolition in 1987. It apparently still looks just as opulent inside as it does from the bold "Alabama" vertical sign outside, and it's still used as a theatre today for musicals, and other shows. Also built during this era is the Thomas Jefferson Tower, a 19-story building that was a luxury hotel that in its heyday had celebrities including Mickey Rooney and Ray Charles, as well as U.S Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover stay there. The hotel rooms are now apartments.
The coolest part of the tower was the old spire looking ting on the roof which turned out to be a mooring mast. It was intended for airships to dock can you believe it!
Just outside of downtown Birmingham is Vulcan Park and Museum. Atop a hill there's a massive statue of the Roman god Vulcan, standing heroically on a lofty pillar. The 56 foot (over 17 meters) statue was first unveiled during the St. Louis World Fair in 1904, then brought home to Birmingham. Vulcan is the largest cast iron statue in the world, and is the symbol of the city, celebrating Birmingham's iron and steel heritage. The park itself is great for sweeping views of the city and beyond.
In another nearby park is a replica of the Statue of Liberty in New York, in the aptly named Liberty Park. It's 36 feet (almost 11 meters) tall bronze replica Liberty, 1/5th scale of the original, and is one of the largest Liberty replicas in the world (there are so many across Europe, the Americas, and Asia that we've seen!), with real gas-fired flames coming out of the torch.
To appreciate Birmingham's iron and steel history, we briefly stopped at the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark in the distance, which operated as a pig iron-producing blast furnace until 1971. Its rust-colored, enormous silos stood out despite us seeing it from miles away. There was a locomotive at the front which we got to take photos of, but unfortunately we arrived about 10 minutes from closing time, and the man by the gate was very, very clear that they weren't letting anyone else through for the day (he's been doing this for 5 years)!
After snapping a few pics we made our usual 10 point turn to get out and by this time an actual train was blocking our road so we had to wait around 5 minutes for it to pass by.
We had planned on a quick visit to the Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park to see some of the old ruins but when we arrived, quickly realized we were short on time. Thankfully a nice park officer came over to check on us and helped direct Michael out of the park.
By this time, it was already afternoon, so we headed to a truck stop to relax for the rest of the day. While today wasn't as "action packed" as other days, it can be tiring to be always on the go when on the road! It is so important when going on long trips, to also have time to rest and recharge, and catch up on errands!
Route Map
