ROAD TRIP
Day 12, Part 2
Alabama the beautiful, the world of B & B’s and black hole beds
After spending the morning at Graceland we hit the road to drive to our next destination…Alabama!
On our drive from Memphis to Montgomery we had two goals- eat lunch at The Whistle Stop Cafe (restaurant from one of my favorite movies Fried Green Tomatoes) and stop for peaches at Durbin farms, where there are supposed to be amazing peaches.
Sadly, one of these goals did not happen.
We spent hours, (yes hours) driving around Birmingham, Alabama in search of The Whistle Stop Cafe. It was maddening. My only explanation for this is that our iPhone’s have a funny sense of humor because the GPS systems took us on quite a wild goose chase. If I were to try to find the silver lining in the situation I would say at least I got to see Birmingham, but in the moment I was starving, irritated and hot. It’s just so frustrating to be lost in a foreign city!
When we finally found it…it was closed. Hysterical, right?
After the disappointment of The Whistle Stop Cafe, we decided to just skip lunch and continue on our way to the famous peach stand where Rachel proceeded to get peaches and I got peanut butter ice cream (did I mention that I am eating my way across America?? I can’t seem to be stopped).
This was not the most nutritious meal, but both were lovely and helped turn around our moods. After the peach stand stop, we proceeded to The Smith Byrd House, our adorable new home for the night. When I was researching places to stay in Montgomery, I came across this B&B and knew it was where I wanted to stay. There was something so very sweet about the look of it and its innkeepers, Beth and David. After reaching out to them about possibly staying with them I received a welcoming note back saying they would love to have us and I felt like I already had friends in Montgomery!
I have to be honest about something though- I have never actually stayed at B&B before and I was worried I wasn’t going to like it. The scene from the movie, “Flirting With Disaster”, where Ben Stiller’s character goes on and on about why he hates B&B’s, kept replaying in my head.
….
– Oh I hate B & B’s.
– Why do you hate B&B’s?
– Well, first of all, there’s no privacy and you have to make chitchat…with the boring old lady who runs the place.
– That’s kind of the fun, isn’t it?
– and there’s always the little cat…you have to pretend like you like the cat.
…..
This scene always made me laugh and now it was making me a little worried.
When we arrived at The Smith Bryd House, it was after dark and we were both in need of a bed. As we got out of the car, Dave, the innkeeper, greeted us warmly with a big smile and offered to help us with our bags…and he seemed totally normal! PHEW. He brought us into the house and the first thing I noticed was it smelled like chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon and spice. I love when a house smells like a bakery. It makes me feel all cozy and warm. He showed us to our room and it was perfect- a big cushy bed, a clawfoot tub and clean towels. After 11 nights in hotel beds it was so nice to be in a home. I felt cozy and taken care of- like I was staying with family.
After saying our hello’s and chatting for a bit Rachel and I excused ourselves to get some sleep. The bed at the Smith Bryd house was the best bed of the trip… hands down. It was like sleeping in a cloud. A cloud that caused me to over-sleep and almost miss the amazing breakfast they made for us. We were greeted by a gorgeous table (with enviable china on it) and a big breakfast of fruit, eggs and bacon and oh, homemade scones accompanied by lemon curd and clotted cream (Beth’s Specialty).
We spent the morning chatting with them about life, Montgomery and scone recipes while eating our breakfast. If this is what the world of B&B’s is like than I may be a B&B kinda girl after all…
Thank you Beth and David for making our night in Montgomery so special!!
(bottom three pictures by One Part Gypsy)
Our day in Montgomery up next!!
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365til30.com 
Until reading this post, I’ve avoided B&B’s like the plague. Thank you for a nice surprise.
Ha…I used to avoid them like the plague as well! But it was rather cozy!
Love! I have spent the better part of my free time today (which is not a whole lot) catching up here. Not quite done catching up (I had gotten VERY behind – life has been full lately), but had to leave a little comment to tell you I am LOVING all of it! So fun to be on this trip with you and get to hear and see pics of all the cool stuff you did (including meet a whole lot of wonderful people, it sounds like!). Can’t wait to read more…..thanks for making me smile so very much when I read your writing!!!
Oh Rebecca, you are a lovely lovely person. Thank you for your sweet words! I am so happy to have you as a reader…Oh and by the way I always love reading you blog:)
Thank you, my friend! 🙂
I’ve enjoyed nearly every B&B my husband and I have stayed at. And the breakfasts are usually awesome! We haven’t eaten lunch after some of them because there was so much unbelievable food in the morning. 🙂
You are so right! I am a total B&B convert! 🙂
Being a true Good Ol’ Boy from the South…..I’m glad you’re seeing what we know is the best dang part of the country
I have finally found a nice, cozy room in which to read your last few Road trip posts. I liked Montgomery when I was there last year. There is a lot of heritage related to the Civil Rights Era. I saw Dr. King’s church and was also in Selma for a few hours.