Less than 72 hours after we started our trip in Tulsa, we reached our final destination, Birmingham in my 47th state, Alabama.
My parents drove from Atlanta to meet us, so we all enjoyed a delicious meal at OvenBird. The next morning, after breakfast at the hotel (nothing like a free breakfast to get the kids excited - they were obsessed with hotel breakfast and amazed that this one was on the top floor instead of in the lobby), my parents headed back home, and the kids, Peter, and I set out into the rain to explore.
We spent a couple hours at the Sloss Furnaces, a national historic landmark, where we learned about the role that iron played in Birmingham's economy. Once the largest manufacturer of pig iron in the world, the site looks just like it did from 1882 until it closed in 1970.
After touring the site, we raided the gift shop (the kids were allowed to get something at each stop along the way for them to take home or put in their travel journals that we bought before we left). Then, we grabbed a quick lunch at Post Office Pies and drove to the airport to fly home.
We had a really fun time.
The kids are excited that they have already visited more than 20 states and are on their way to the halfway point of 25 states by the end of this year.
They were really good travelers, ready for adventure each day, and eating at nice restaurants each night.
I'm looking forward to more family trips together, and hopefully Jeremy will be able to join us!
P.S. If you zoom in and look closely, you can see Peter in this photo. Thanks for being part of the adventure, Peter!