Travel Bytes from our Birmingham 2021 Journey
April 12, 2022: 2021 Travel Recap. The skies are blue, and the weather is warming again in Charlotte. We can hear joyous kids in the park and live music playing as we pack for our 2022 trip. More on that later, but first, I thought I’d share a summary recap of 2021 travels.
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June 3, Day 3: Birmingham earned the nickname “Bombingham.” Between 1947 and 1965, more than 50 dynamite bombs devastated black homes and churches to suppress desegregation efforts in Birmingham. As the most segregated city in America, it was referred to as the Johannesburg of the South. Here the civil rights movement almost died. Here it finally triumphed. The story is violent, rife with injustice, and, while hopeful, still far from “happily ever after.”
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June 4, Day 4: It’s mid-morning and time for Porsche Track Experience Part 2: The Big Track. After practicing fundamentals early in the morning, I am ready to barrel down straights, squeal through corners, and fly over hills lapping the Barber track.
Well, at least I think I am…
June 4, Day 4: This is the big day… the Porsche Track Experience at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham (PTX Bham). The half-day Porsche Driving School at Atlanta was the opening act; this is the main event. A full day on a 2½-mile professional track, the same one used for the Honda Indy Grand Prix. Sixteen curves – carousels, esses, corkscrews, hairpins, sweeps – and 120-mph straights in between. Oh, and 80 feet in elevation change with blind summits and curves. Am I a little nervous? Yeah.
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June 2, Day 2: I arrive at the Porsche Driving School 30 minutes early. I want to review the track before threading someone else’s $100k Porsche through the tight curves that morning. A lone instructor is lapping in the cool morning air at the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta. This is going to be a very good day!
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June 1-5, 2021 Birmingham? As in Alabama? Yes!
On retirement from Accenture, I was offered a retirement gift. “What would Mark like?” they asked Jean. “A watch? Opera tickets?” Her reply, “Uh, no. How about a gift certificate to the Porsche Driving School?” She knows me so well!
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