Of all the times we’ve visited our daughter in Montgomery, Alabama, this is the first time in spring. We were totally unprepared for the floral display that greeted us: azaleas, snapdragons, geraniums, camellias, dogwood, bridal wreath, gardenias, and scores of other blooms I can’t begin to identify. The place is a riot of blossoms, and our daughter’s is the most colorful on the block. Not that she has time to tend flowers. Four grandkids live there, after all, ages 12 to 2. It just sort of grows wild.
Today, after an overly huge breakfast at the local IHOP (green eggs and ham!), we attempted to walk it off around the neighborhood. I love her neighborhood. It’s in the Dalraida district – very hilly with tidy middle-class homes nestled among towering pines and hardwoods. My daughter didn’t know the names of all the white and pink flowering trees and bushes but we enjoyed them just the same. Some folks who have the time for trimming and cultivating had neat hedgerows of solid blossoms.
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| Yes, the water's pink. Breast cancer month. |
Other outings to more affluent areas like Eastchase found mosaic-like paved parks with fountains and statuary. Montgomery is a very beautiful city – with only one problem: the highly transient nature of their most popular eateries.
The kids, meaning Daughter and Son/law, were so eager to take me to the India Palace. By the time we made it up there, it was gone. No visit to Montgomery was complete without a night at Stevie-B’s pizza buffet. Gone. This time, before the GPS could zero in on the Pizza Hut, it was gone. Once there were even two What-A-Burgers, our fave fast food place. No more. Also vanished into Montgomery’s mysterious black hole: the China Buffet, Smoky Bones, Shoney’s, Lone Star Steak House, Taco Bell (one still remains, thank goodness), Oak Tree Market, etc. Why? Other businesses don’t seem to be suffering.
If the local newspaper, The Montgomery Advertiser, answers my Facebook query, I’ll let you know!
