We had a great day today. We stayed last night in Columbus, Georgia and got up just before daybreak and headed down to the Columbus Riverwalk. It was a beautiful morning (although a little cool at 6 degrees) and apart from a few runners and council workers tidying up, we had the area to ourselves. We walked along the river and over the bridge to Alabama, along their side of the river and back over a new pedestrian bridge to the Georgia side. The river is a bit low at the moment, but there were great views.
Along the Alabama side we saw a lot of these strange things scattered around. We saw a couple of groups playing the game. It is like golf, but you use a frisbee shaped object instead of a ball. The disc has to get into the basket. The chains help it get in, rather than bouncing off the centre post. They call it Disc Golf.
There was a very high zip line running from the Georgia side to the Alabama side. On the righthand photo below you can see the tall Zombie Zip tower in the background. It is a very, very long zip line. Fortunately it was either too late in the season or just too early in the morning to be open so I didn't have to think up an excuse not to do it.
We then went to the nearby National Infantry Museum and Soldier Centre alongside the Fort Benning Army Base. This is an amazing museum detailing the history of the American infantryman. Some of the best military exhibits I have seen. Even Vyv enjoyed it a lot.
We found this helmet captured in Operation Iraqi Freedom amusing. Someone over there must have been a big Star Wars fan...
Travelling through Alabama we came across the very small town of Tuskegee, which is where the famous Tuskegee fighter pilots were trained in WW2 (the first black pilots). The old training base has been mostly restored to how it looked in the 1940s but you can't say the same for the town. It is mostly in a sorry state. Most retail buildings appear to have been closed down decades ago and are falling apart. Even the old church appears abandoned.
In the town square the only things that still look good are the courthouse and statue erected by the Daughters of The Confederacy.
At least they have good cell reception. This house must get amazing reception, with the tower in their yard...
We did see this house with interesting Hillary Clinton Halloween decorations.
There is a small town in Alabama with the odd name of Pike Road. They have a project there organised by The Pike Road Neighbourhood Leaders called HEY LOOK AT US (catchy title) where they try to outdo each other with the creative use of hay bales. This one was the best we saw...