Alabama is a state in the United States of America.
Regions
Alabama can be characterized as having 4 regions:
Cities
Montgomery - state capital and former capital of the confederacyAuburn - home to Auburn UniversityBirmingham - Alabama's largest cityDecaturDothanHooverHuntsville - home of Marshall Space Flight CenterMobile - Alabama's only major port and largest city near the GulfTuscaloosa - Helen Keller's homeOther destinations
Little River Canyon National Preserve Russell Cave National Monument Understand
Alabama, and the South in general has a reputation for "southern hospitality". The people of this state are generally genial and helpful, and often go out of their way to help a stranger. While racial divisions still exist in the state, they are much more muted than is generally believed. The attitudes and problems of the old south are mostly held today only by the old and the uneducated.
Known primarily for it's unusual status as the original capitol of the Confederacy and the birthplace of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, Alabama can be a study in contrasts.
The sport of football is taken seriously in Alabama. In addition to significant regional devotion to high-school football teams, the entire state is divided in a way over Alabama versus Auburn University football rivalry. This can also be a point of concern for tourists, the rivalry is so serious that if you do not know about it, it is better to not say anything. Many marriages and friendships fall apart due to this rivalry.
Talk
Many (though certainly not all) Alabamians speak with thick local accents, so non-native English speakers may have difficulty understanding them.
Get in
Alabama is accessible by five interstate highways: I-10 crosses the state from east to west near Mobile in the south; I-20 enters Alabama from the east, traverses Birmingham, and joins I-59 as it traverses Tuscaloosa and exits the state in a southwesterly direction; I-59 enters northeastern Alabama, continues southwest through Birmingham, and exits the state toward the southwest; I-22 enters Alabama from the northwest and ends in Birmingham; I-65 enters Alabama from the north, traverses Birmingham, and ends in Mobile; I-85 enters the state in the east and ends in Montgomery.
There is one daily Amtrak service through the state: trains 19 (southbound) and 20 (northbound) run from New Orleans to Washington DC and New York City. The trains stop in Alabama at Anniston, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. Coach and sleeper service is available, with checked baggage, a restaurant car, a café and a lounge. See
Amtrak for more information.
Do
FestivalsGulf Shores is home to the National Shrimp Festival. This outdoor event is held annually in October and features over 300 vendors that offer fine art, arts and crafts, an international marketplace and plenty of shrimp. Three stages also carry music continuously throughout the festival. Over 200,000 people attend the festival annually and it has been ranked as one of the top twenty events in the southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society, and one of the top five in the state. 2006...
