tessa langley author at My Family Travels
Article
This Alabama Farm Bakery Has More Than 20 Kinds Of Pies

The strangest thing here is not the pie flavor. It is the hour. This Alabama bakery has enough homemade pies to keep a person...

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This Packed Alabama Supply Den Is Where Local Painters, Sketchers, And Makers Get Lost In The Aisles

The pencil was the plan. Everything after that was a mistake. One pencil becomes a better pencil. Then there is watercolor paper.

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10 Chinese Restaurants In Alabama Locals Say Are Worth The Drive

The GPS has no idea why you are doing this. You do. There is a bowl of noodles waiting somewhere in Alabama, and apparently that...

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There’s A Charming Coastal Town In Alabama That’s Ideal For Walking And You Need To Visit

The car is probably the least useful thing you can bring here. By the time the first shop catches your eye, parking has already become somebody else's problem.

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This Is The Pizzeria That Claimed Dave Portnoy’s Highest-Ever Score in Alabama

Twenty inches of pizza is no longer lunch. It is a group project. The crust folds. The cheese stretches.

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This Secret Backroad Country Market In Alabama Is Basically The Costco Of Fresh Groceries

There should be a warning at the entrance. Do not shop hungry. Especially not here. This Alabama market turns...

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This Small-Town Indiana Restaurant Is Known for Steaks People Drive Miles For

There are meals people choose because they are nearby. Then there are meals people choose because they are willing to drive for them.

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10 Indiana Candy Shops Where The Old-Fashioned Sweets Steal The Show

The candy store has one serious advantage over the supermarket. Nobody is pretending to be healthy. That makes choosing much...

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The Historic 60-Item Southern Food Line In Alabama You Need To Wait In At Least Once

There is a very specific kind of confidence behind a good cafeteria. It says: take a tray, because we already know you are going to need one.

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This Alabama Market Lets You Score a Whole Box of Amish-Grown Canning Tomatoes for Just $20

The recipe was for six tomatoes. The box contains approximately a small mountain. This Alabama market specializes in that particular...

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9 Alabama Vintage Gaming Vaults Where Nerds Go Hunting for Rare Retro Finds

The old controller is sticky. Nobody knows why. You pick it up anyway. Five minutes later, somebody is arguing about which button...

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A Historic Mountain Cabin Sits Next to This Alabama Valley and You Can Rent It for Around $100 a Night With a Fireplace Inside

A fireplace changes the entire math of a cabin. Suddenly, rain is good. Cold weather is good. Staying inside for three hours...

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You’ll Want to Get to This Alabama Market Early Before the Best Polish Pierogies and Sweets Are Completely Cleared Out

The pierogies are on borrowed time. That is the first thing to understand. A tray comes out. People notice.

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This Alabama Butcher Shop Is So Clean And Fresh You’ll Forget All About Supermarket Meat

The steak is not the thing that gets the attention first. The counter is. Everything is so ridiculously clean that the meat almost...

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Alabama Has A Hidden Country Farm With Exotic Zebras and Capybaras Just 30 Minutes From Huntsville

The goat wants your snacks. The zebra wants absolutely nothing to do with you. The capybara looks like it has nowhere else to...

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9 Alabama Music Shops Where Collectors Go Hunting for Rare Finds

The rare record is always hiding somewhere inconvenient. Usually behind something nobody wants. A stack of scratched singles....

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This Alabama Market Imports Authentic Frozen Pierogi and Specialty Eastern Treats

The freezer door is doing the talking. Open it and there are pierogi. Open the next one and there are pelmeni. Turn around...

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This Amazing Alabama Greenhouse Offers Shocking 90s Prices On Gorgeous Local Plants

A garden center can ruin a person in under ten minutes. Not financially. Creatively. You see a tray of herbs and start imagining...

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This Abandoned Alabama Pioneer Village Costs Next to Nothing to Explore, and Most People Don’t Know It Exists

A forest can hide a lot. Apparently, an entire town is one of those things. This Alabama site once buzzed with river traffic,...

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This Bustling Alabama Food Truck Serves Up Epic Mofongo Bowls and Loaded Street Munchies

A parking lot can smell like tires. It can smell like asphalt. Or, apparently, it can smell like garlic and frying plantains....

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This High-Tech Alabama University Is Ranked the Number One Best Value College in the State

“What's your major?” At most colleges, that question gets fairly predictable answers. Here, things can get considerably more interesting.

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Why Hundreds Are Flocking To This Hidden Mennonite Farm Market In Alabama

There are two kinds of grocery shoppers. People who want to get in and get out. And people who will drive an hour because someone...

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8 Unique Alabama Spots Where You Can Volunteer And Save Forgotten Wildlife

A raccoon has absolutely no respect for your plans. Neither does a hawk. That is part of the fun of volunteering at Alabama...

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This Alabama Warehouse Hides Thousands Of Premium Laundry And Kitchen Machines At Dirt-Cheap Prices

Ninety-two years old, and it still smells faintly like appliance boxes and cardboard. Somewhere in Alabama, a warehouse holds refrigerators lined up by the hundreds, doors closed,...

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This Hidden Alabama Fabric Warehouse Is So Cheap DIY Crafters Drive Hours To Fill Their Trunks

Grandmothers had a word for it. Save that. The modern version is probably “craft supply.” Same behavior. Fabric gets folded.

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This Middle-of-Nowhere Alabama Dairy Farm Hand-Crafts Organic, Grass-Fed Cheese From Scratch

The cheese comes with a pasture attached. Not metaphorically. The cows here spend their days grazing across 550 acres, and...

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This Dreamy 35-Acre Alabama Bed & Breakfast Lets You Wake Up Surrounded by 100+ Rescued Animals

“Cock-a-doodle-doo.” There goes the alarm clock. Then comes a donkey. Then a goat. Then something large snorts somewhere...

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This Unassuming Alabama Shack Serves Up Legendary, Dirt-Cheap Hand-Carved Barbecue Sandwiches

The shirt can survive a lot. It cannot survive barbecue sauce. Especially not when the sandwich costs so little that ordering...

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This Coastal Alabama Pastry Shop Serves Pillowy $6 Authentic French Beignets Piled High With Powdered Sugar

The powdered sugar gets everywhere. Shirt. Table. Phone. Somehow, even...

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This Majestic Alabama Garden Is Hiding Giant Trolls And Miniature Villages

“Is that a house for fairies?” That question is bound to come up sooner or later. Then another tiny door appears. Then...

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10 Mysterious Historic Ruins Hidden In Plain Sight Across Rural Alabama

The ruins do not look ruined at first. A stone wall looks like a stone wall. A grassy field looks like a grassy field. A pile...

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There Is A Historic Retro Town In Alabama That Is Perfectly Ideal For Walking, And You Must Visit

The car is unnecessary here, which is probably the nicest thing a town can say about itself. Park it once. Forget where you...

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This Historic Alabama Courthouse Hides A Cursed Attic Window Imprinted With The Terrifying Face Of A Ghost

“Do you see it?” That is a surprisingly difficult question to answer while standing across from a courthouse in Alabama. The attic window is high above the square, and at first...

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This Elite Alabama University Earns A Top National Rating Joining Elite Colleges Nationwide

A university ranking does not usually make people want to buy fresh lemonade. This one might. Somewhere on this Alabama campus,...

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This Cozy Alabama German Joint Serves Up Crispy Schnitzel And Buttery Spätzle Diners Love

There is a very specific sound that means schnitzel has been done properly. Crunch. Not a polite little crisp. A real one.

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This Remote Alabama Hollow Echoes With Civil War History and Lost Moonshine Stills

Take the wrong turn on purpose. Just this once. The road gets narrower, the pavement disappears, and suddenly the Alabama forest...

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This Alabama Pasture Is Full Of Natural Boulders Painted To Look Like Wild Jungle Animals

The first time I saw the giraffe, I honestly had to look twice. It was standing in the middle of a pasture, perfectly still, with an elephant, turtle, rooster, and even a shark...

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This Bizarre Alabama Bookstore is Breaking Every Retail Rule by ONLY Selling Signed Hardcovers

Someone brings a book home, opens the cover, and finds a signature. Nice. Someone does it again. And again.

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Locals Swear by the House-Smoked Bacon at This No-Frills Alabama Country Smokehouse

Do not follow the smell unless you are prepared to leave with bacon. The hickory smoke coming from this country smokehouse has probably caused countless unplanned stops over the...

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This Old-Fashioned Alabama General Store Still Feels Like A Step Back In Time

The ice cream was not on the list. Neither was the pottery. The only reason for stopping was a piece of hardware, and somehow...

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This Breathtaking Alabama Peak Features Elevated Trails With Endless Forest Views

I knew Alabama had mountains, but I did not expect to be standing above the treetops with the forest stretched out in every direction. The funniest part is how easy the walk is.

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This Storybook Alabama Nursery Makes Native Southeastern Plants The Whole Point

What if the prettiest thing in your yard was also supposed to be there? That is the idea behind this little Alabama nursery, where the plants are not chosen to look exotic or impressive...

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This Cozy Cajun Alabama Eatery Is Hidden Inside A 19th-Century House Guarded By A Werewolf

I was not expecting a werewolf to be standing outside a pink house, especially one serving gumbo. But there he was, guarding an 1880s home that now smells like fried Gulf shrimp,...

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9 Enchanting Alabama Animal Havens Where Your Kids Can Hand-Feed Exotic Creatures

A giraffe leans down, wraps its tongue around a leaf, and every other plan for the day suddenly stops mattering. Moments like that show up often between pine forests, back roads,...

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This Futuristic Alabama Play Center Puts You Inside A Real-Life Video Game Grid

Your feet become the controller here. One second you are standing still, and the next you are racing across a glowing floor, ducking under lasers, and trying to figure out what...

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This Alabama Aviary Lets Visitors Feed Hundreds Of Colorful Budgies By Hand

Hundreds of tiny wings, a handful of seeds, and suddenly there are budgies landing right on your fingers. Inside this colorful aviary, visitors can walk among hundreds of green,...

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This Alabama Cemetery Playground Is Literally Being Haunted By Ghost Children

A cemetery holding 80,000 graves keeps watch over a children's playground, and that sentence alone should tell you this is not a typical stop. Locals nicknamed it long ago, and...

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This Heartwarming Alabama Thrift Store Lets Shoppers Browse Side-By-Side With Rescue Puppies Looking For A Home

I expected a quick browse through a small-town thrift shop, and instead I found a puppy sitting patiently near a rack of flannel shirts. Nobody seemed to think that was unusual.

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This Alabama Bread Shop Serves Up Addictive, Hand-Rolled Bavarian Pretzels That Carb Lovers Are Totally Obsessed With

Is there such a thing as too much pretzel? Apparently, nobody here is interested in finding out. Large German-style soft pretzels...

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8 Architectural Salvage Warehouses In Alabama That Are A DIY Dream

What if the most interesting piece in your next DIY project is something that was built decades ago? Architectural salvage...

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This Specialized Alabama Leather Workshop Crafts Traditional Belts and Heritage Goods From Heavy Hides

How long should a leather belt last? Around here, the answer seems to be: as long as possible. This Alabama workshop has spent...

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This Viral Alabama Bakery Has 1.5 Million Fans Obsessed With Their Churro Cheesecake

What do you get when two dessert favorites refuse to stay in their own lanes? Churros bring the cinnamon-sugar crunch, cheesecake brings the creamy filling, and somehow the combination...

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This Legendary Alabama Sub Joint Crafts Giant Triple-Decker Sandwiches That Can Easily Feed a Whole Family

What if you could order one sandwich and have enough to keep the whole family reaching for a piece? One Alabama sandwich shop specializes in massive triple-decker creations that...

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This Alabama Wildlife Refuge Has a Tower With Incredible Views of Colorful Wood Ducks

What if your next wildlife outing gave you a bird's-eye view of one of the region's most beautiful waterfowl habitats? One Alabama refuge has an observation tower overlooking wetlands...

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This Historic Roadside Alabama Workshop Carries On A 160-Year-Old Tradition Of Hand-Thrown Pottery Masterpieces

What if you could watch a craft that has been passed down for generations still taking shape right in front of you? Some roadside stops offer a quick break, while others give you...

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This Hidden Roadside Park In Alabama Offers Millions-Of-Years-Old Views Without A Single Step Of Hiking

What if one of the most incredible views in Alabama required almost no effort to enjoy? While many scenic overlooks involve long hikes or steep climbs, some remarkable places are...

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This Alabama Deep Forest Hiking Trail Leads You Straight into a Hidden National Forest Mountain Lake

What makes a hike truly memorable is often the moment when the trail finally reveals what you came to find. Some outdoor adventures are not about reaching a crowded viewpoint or...

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This Quirky Waterfront Alabama Shack Serves Up Flame-Kissed Oysters With A Sunset View You’ll Never Forget

What if your next seafood dinner came with a front-row seat to the water? Some restaurants are worth visiting for the food alone, while others turn a simple meal into an experience...

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This Mind-Blowing 100,000-Square-Foot Repurposed Factory Is Now Alabama’s Largest Antique Playground

What happens when an old factory gets a second life as a treasure hunter’s dream? The answer is a one-of-a-kind shopping experience where thousands of antiques, collectibles,...

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This Alabama Cave Holds the State’s Oldest Prehistoric Winter Shelter

Some historic sites tell stories through old buildings. Others tell them through the very ground beneath your feet. This Alabama...

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