North Alabama Road Trip — Muscle Shoals, Huntsville, Unclaimed Baggage & More | Travels with Darley

Hit the road through North Alabama with Darley Newman in this full episode of Travels with Darley (Season 13). From the legendary recording studio where Cher cut her first record and the Rolling Stones laid down tracks, to world-record caves, Olympic history, championship BBQ, civil rights history, and the nation's only lost luggage store — North Alabama is packed with surprises. What You'll Experience in This Episode: ✅ Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield – Tour the iconic studio founded in 1969 by The Swampers — the rhythm section immortalized in Sweet Home Alabama — with sound engineer and musician Will Allison. Where the Rolling Stones recorded "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses," the Staple Singers recorded "I'll Take You There," and a 22-year-old Cher walked through the door first on opening day. ✅ Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Tuscumbia – Walk through Alabama's rich musical legacy with original artifacts, Jimmy Buffett's suit, Lionel Richie's bling, exhibits on the band Alabama from Fort Payne, and a chance to climb aboard Alabama's first tour bus. ✅ Jesse Owens Memorial Park & Museum, Oakville – Walk in the footsteps of a four-time Olympic gold medalist with Group Tour Director Karen Hood, visit the replica sharecropper home where Owens grew up, and try your luck at the long jump pit where he leaped 26 feet, 5 and 5/16 inches at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. ✅ 609 Social Market & Provisions, Decatur – Stop into this 100-year-old building on Decatur's historic main street for locally sourced provisions, wine on tap, and the best pimento cheese Darley's had in a long time, with owner Yogi Dougher and Chef Michael Locascio. ✅ Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, Decatur – One of the oldest BBQ restaurants in the USA, founded by railroad worker Bob Gibson in 1925. ✅ Old Greenbrier Restaurant, Athens – A Southern institution open since 1952, known for legendary hushpuppies loaded with onions, perfectly fried catfish from the Delta region, and BBQ — with owner Jerry Evans. ✅ Burritt on the Mountain, Huntsville – Tour the extraordinary X-shaped 1934 mansion of homeopathic physician Dr. William Henry Burritt with Marketing Director Elizabeth Jones. With sweeping views of Huntsville, the Tennessee River, and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center below, this is Huntsville's oldest museum. ✅ Huntsville Botanical Garden, Huntsville – Get lost in the living maze of Mama Zelda's hair at the Mother Earth Troll Garden — a 20-foot-tall troll sculpture by world-renowned artist Thomas Dambo, built from 25,000 sticks and recycled materials sourced locally. ✅ Cathedral Caverns State Park, Woodville – Step through one of the world's largest cave entrances — 126 feet wide and 25 feet high — with guide Sommer Doss. Inside, meet Goliath: a 45-foot-tall, 243-foot-circumference stalagmite still growing today. ✅ Unclaimed Baggage Center, Scottsboro – The nation's one-and-only lost luggage retailer, founded in the 1970s and still family-owned by Matt Owens. With 50,000 square feet of retail, 7,000 new items stocked daily —get a behind-the-scenes look at how it all works with Sr. PR Manager Sonni Hood. ✅ Scottsboro Boys Museum, Scottsboro – Visit the museum honoring the nine young Black men wrongly accused in the 1930s whose case shaped U.S. legal history — leading to two landmark Supreme Court decisions on jury composition and due process. A must-visit for civil rights history, with educator Katherine "Ren" Carroll. ✅ Bee on the Brow B&B, Mentone – Wake up to sweeping Lookout Mountain views at this charming, locally owned bed and breakfast run by husband and wife innkeepers Pete and Rachel Sterns, near Little River Canyon National Preserve and DeSoto State Park. ✅ Wills Creek Winery, Duck Springs – Sip estate-grown muscadine wine in a 125-year-old barn built by owner Janie Coppey's grandfather — with her Swiss husband's winemaking influence and the irresistible company of winery mascot Mr. Mittens. ✅ Lake Guntersville & Big Mike's Steakhouse, Guntersville – End the road trip at Alabama's largest lake with stunning waterfront views and a lakeside steak dinner at City Harbor. 📺 Watch "Travels with Darley: North Alabama Road Trip" on PBS & Streaming: https://www.darley-newman.com/travels-with-darley 🔔 Subscribe for More Travel & History Videos: https://darley.link/youtubesubscribe 🎧 Listen to the "Travels with Darley" Podcast: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/53-travels-with-darley-123513653/ 📲 Follow Darley for Exclusive Travel Content: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darleynewman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travelswithdarley TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@darleynewman Twitter (X): https://x.com/DarleyNewman