{"id":2787,"date":"2021-04-04T15:09:22","date_gmt":"2021-04-04T20:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookofdreams.us\/?p=2787"},"modified":"2021-04-04T15:09:22","modified_gmt":"2021-04-04T20:09:22","slug":"when-in-northern-alabama-see-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookofdreams.us\/2021\/04\/when-in-northern-alabama-see-this\/","title":{"rendered":"When in Northern Alabama, See This"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tennessee River. Rocket Center. Ave Maria Grotto.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For spring break, we searched for a place where we could inhale the ocean salts but not sink into the crowds known to, say, Florida. The state of Alabama had never settled into a tourist destination in my head before. With this blog and next, I wish to help fellow travelers like me to find their \u201cfar from the maddening crowd\u201d in Alabama. Today\u2019s focus is the northern part of the state, touching Tennessee, which we haunted not too far ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athens, Alabama<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tennessee River cuts through this small town, surprisingly equipped with coffee and restaurants like Atlanta bread, etc. Toward East is unbroken development until Huntsville. But fifteen minutes west of Athens, the buildings shed into sleepy farmlands, the cattle grazing over dark violet wildflowers, and the Wheeler Reservoir cultivates a habitat for birds, their songs ringing through the night. We stayed at an Airbnb on the reservoir. The view delivered its promise but not the home. Nonetheless, break that cycle of the daily grind. Come here. And relearn how to fill time with absolutely nothing, just the hum of hummingbirds, the body of sun over the water, and the carpet of purple over emerald.<\/p>\n\n\n\n