Hey, this is Chris, and this is not a new episode of Amateur Traveler, but a repeat episode from a couple years ago because I'm taking the week off, but listen to this great episode we did about Alabama. The

I got my bags packed on a roll.

I'm heading out there and I'm ready to go.

Looking real good

in my passport photo. Oh no. The Amateur Traveler episode 613.

Today the Amateur Traveler talks about rockets and civil rights and beaches, Marty Groh, Dive Bar. and Beches, Mardi Gras, dive bars and rock and roll

as we go on an epic road trip of Alabama. don't deliver on that word epic that I put in the intro.

We've got lots to talk about as we talk about Alabama.

I'd like to welcome the show Larry Blyberg, who is a freelance travel writer and editor,

also has his own websites at Larry Blyberg.com and also at civil rights travel.com, and he's come to talk to us about Alabama. Larry

welcome the show. Well it's great to be here Chris. This is a show that is

about a year and a half in the making at least and not with Larry we just got him involved

recently but I've done three trips to Alabama in the last year and a half and have

been really wanting to do a show about it but I really wanted to do it with somebody who knew more about Alabama

than I did.

Larry, you've lived in Alabama for 11 years, I think we say.

That's right, over a decade.

And you came there to work a job in the travel magazine industry at...

At Coastal Living, which was based here, as is Southern Living in Cooking Light and a lot of other magazines.

Excellent.

Why should somebody go to Alabama?

There's lots of reasons and I think the place to start is that most people don't know about Alabama.

...