Awake: 6:02am Temp 53 sleep 6+02 mostly sunny overnight @ Helena, AL.
Lots of water on our slide tops from the night rain; it took a good (20) min for cleanup.
We leave the Cherokee Campground @ 11:15am, following County Road-93 to County Road-52 to I-459 to I-65 to State Road-157 arriving @ the Cullman Campground in Cullman @ 12:53pm.
Today's travel: 75 miles 1+38 time 13.8 gal used 5.5 mpg 45.6 avg speed.
This campground is small but nice & big rig friendly. After getting settled in our site, we drove our Suzuki into town, about (3) miles, & found the Ave Maria Grotto, known throughout the world as "Jerusalem in Miniature."
This 4-acre park was designed to provide a natural setting for the (125) or more miniature reproductions of some of the most famous historic buildings & shrines known to man.
The builder of the miniatures was a Benedictine Monk, Brother Joseph Zoettl, O.S.B. Born in Landshut, Bavaria in 1878, he came to Saint Bernard Abbey @ the age of (14) to attend school with the intention of becoming a monk. After being admitted as a Brother in the Abbey he was appointed to the power plant & while there developed his hobby of building miniatures.
The 1st replicas were erected on the monastery recreation grounds. But due to the numerous visitors who came to view "Little Jerusalem," it was decided to move the miniatures to the present site.
On May 17, 1934 the Ave Maria Grotto was dedicated. Brother Joseph continued his labor of love for over (40) yrs, using materials sent from all over the world. In 1958, @ the age of (80) he built his last model, the Basilica @ Lourdes.
This labor of love for (40) yrs is unparalleled & beyond comprehension; we've never seen anything like it. How can I describe it: as we rounded a bend & saw it...an entire hillside packed in urban splendor with cathedrals & famous buildings. One half of the flowered hillside depicts the buildings & scenes of Jerusalem & the Holy Land, familiar to all from the Holy Bible; classic Roman landmarks, such as St. Peter's, the Coliseum & catacombs; European wayside shrines; the famous Spanish Missions of Florida & the American Southwest & replicas of the famous Shrines of Our Lady @ Fatima & Lourdes.
Brother Joseph built his miniatures mostly from pictures, having personally only seen (4) sites in Bavaria.
There is sooo much to see.... & with such first-rate detail. I was plenty busy snapping photos while Kathy was identifying many landmarks, buildings, etc.
We were just finishing up our self tour when Katrina called from Denver: she is on her way to Colorado Springs to visit Karina. She agreed to give us a full report tomorrow or whenever she can. We also chat about our shared Costco cards & the Denver weather.
Next, back in the town of Cullman, we parked on a side street by a Catholic Church & had a late afternoon snack; afterwards, we paid the church a visit, said a few prayers & then did an auto grid pattern of Cullman. In driving through the streets, we stopped to admire the ole train depot, which, unfortunately, was locked.
Back @ our motorhome & before dinner, I changed one of my filters from the portable water filter unit & cleaned up the canister....it needed changing.
Dinner: Stuffed peppers with whole wheat bread & red grapes.
Evening movie: "Gold Diggers" with Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Aline MacMahon, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Warren William, Ned Sparks, Ginger Rogers, etc. Another spectacular Busby Berkeley dance outing with familiar....let's produce-a-Broadway-show plot. Highlights: Blondell's "Forgotten Man." Rogers' "We're in the Money." 1933. Our impression: extravagant & magnificent dancing & customs; the plot was not.
Lights out: 11:40pm
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