Troy University

For most of my senior year of high school, I had no idea where I was going to end up for college.

I had a whole list of four or five colleges that highly interested me but my heart, and mind, still had not made the final decision. I wanted to travel for the first year after high school; so, I was torn there too.

But towards the end of senior year, it finally clicked: Troy University.

Troy University got its start on February 26, 1887. At the time of its opening, it was called Troy Normal School.

Troy Normal School was mainly just for training and educating up and coming teachers in Alabama. The school was located in downtown Troy before moving to its current location.

The university has undergone four name changes since the original name.

In 1929, it was renamed Troy State Teacher’s College. In 1931, the college gave out its first baccalaureate degree. In 1957, it was renamed to Troy State College and began the master’s degree program. In 1967, it was renamed to Troy State University. And on April 16, 2004, the university underwent its final name change and became Troy University.

The first two buildings built on the current campus location were Bibb Graves and Shackelford Hall. Bibb Graves is named after the governor of Alabama at the time. The campus landscape, at that time, was designed by the famed Olmsted Brothers architectural company from Brookline, Massachusetts.

Today, Troy University has five colleges within it: College of Arts & Sciences, College of Communications and Fine Arts, College of Education, College of Health and Human Services, and The Sorrell College of Business. I personally am in the College of Communications and Fine Arts. And love it.

The Troy campus has 12 residential halls, a dining center, an international arts museum, a bookstore, a park, sports fields, an indoor pool, frat row (and sorority hill right off campus), a chapel, a Confucius Institute, a lake, and around ten buildings where the students have classes. And that is just on the Troy University in the Troy, Alabama location.

The university has three locations in Alabama (Troy, Montgomery, Dothan) and many more throughout the United States and internationally.

The university has had quite a few famous people go through it. In jobs ranging from astronauts to professional football players to professional baseball players. And even a professional wrestler.

These past two years at Troy University have truly been wonderful so far. They have brought me new friends, new opportunities and new perspectives. If anyone reading this is looking for a college to attend, I highly recommend Troy University. Specifically the journalism department.

Pensacola

One of my New Year’s resolution this year is to see and experience more. And before this year, I had never had the chance to travel in a plane.

And for my 20^th birthday in March, I was finally able to accomplish this.

On the plane ride we rode from Lightning Aviation in Foley, Alabama, to Pensacola, Florida, in a 30 minute plane ride.

Pensacola was first settled by the Spanish in 1559 and is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle. Giving the city one of its many nicknames of “America’s First Settlement”.

After the Spanish settled Pensacola, the first Catholic Mass was held in the United States on Pensacola Beach.

Before being settled by the Spanish, a Native American tribe of Muskogean-speaking people known as Pensacola lived in the area. Giving the city its name. The name was finally recorded in 1677.

Throughout the years, the city of Pensacola has been owned by five different groups giving Pensacola the nickname of “The City of Five Flags”. Pensacola has been owned by the Spanish Empire (1559-1719, 1722-1763, 1781-1821), the French Empire (1719-1722), the British Empire (1763-1781), the United States of America (1821-1861, 1865 to present), and the Confederate States of America (1861-1865).

Other nicknames for Pensacola include “P-Cola”, “World’s Whitest Beaches”, “Cradle of Naval Aviation”, “Western Gate to the Sunshine State”, “Emerald Coast”, and the “Red Snapper Capital of the World”.

In Pensacola, there are quite a few attractions. These include The Pensacola Seafood Festival and The Pensacola Crawfish Festival which is held in Downtown Pensacola. This city also holds The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival in Seville Square which brings in more than 200 artists. In the same park is The Children’s Art Festival which showcases local children’s artwork. It also has the Pensacon which brings in 25,000 people from all over the world.

Others include Vietnam Veterans’ Wall South, Fort Barrancas, Fort Pickens (temporary prison for Geronimo), National Naval Aviation Museum, and the Pensacola Lighthouse.

One of the places we went for my birthday was Seville Quarter club.

Seville Quarter was founded in 1967 by Bob Snow as “Rosie O’Grady’s Warehouse” a beer-and-peanut saloon with Dixieland jazz. The club has seven different themed rooms called Rosie O’Grady’s, Lili Marlene’s, Fast Eddie’s, Apple Annie’s, Palace Oyster Bar, Phineas Phogg’s and End O’ The Alley Bar. It also includes an open-air courtyard with a fountain. A truly neat place.

The trip to Pensacola was truly a fun one. I was able to see the beautiful city from the sky and the streets. And was able to experience a very neat, and pretty bar as well. What made the experience better was the fact I had some of my greatest friends with me.

If you are looking for a historically rich and beautiful city, then I recommend taking a trip to Pensacola, Florida. Preferably by plane.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxVVOnTupws 

Alabama National Fair

When I was a kid, and even now, I loved the thought of a place with bright colors, high energy, fun people, and a wonderful atmosphere. And when I was about 10-years-old I was able to experience this at the Alabama National Fair.

The Alabama National Fair has been bringing joy to both children and adults since 1954 in Montgomery, Alabama beside the Garret Coliseum.

The fair has around 60 carnival rides, concerts on Friday and Saturday with performances by mainly country stars.

The fair has a petting zoo, a circus, the largest livestock competition in Alabama, a Creative Living Center with 800 contests held inside the coliseum, over $120,000 in prizes and a new car giveaway.

If you aren’t feeling a ride, the fair has many prize games throughout the grounds. And booths to get food as well. The funnel cakes are always delicious.

Admission is usually around $12 and you can either continue buying tickets throughout the night to go on the rides or buy a $25 wristband to get on any ride. I always go for the wristband.

There are usually admission deals as well! And if you go the right night, you may be able to get in for free.

The fair is an attraction that is fun for the whole family. And if you are in need of a fun activity from September 28- October 8, 2018, the Alabama National Fair is the place for that!

The Alabama Theatre

Theatre is a very large passion of mine. And the theatres the plays are shown in are just as magnificent as the plays themselves. One the most magnificent theatres I have seen is The Alabama Theatre located on Third Avenue North in Birmingham, Alabama.

Both in beauty and history.

Construction for The Alabama Theatre began in early 1927 and was opened on December 26, 1927. At the time of its opening, the theatre could seat about 2,500 people making it the largest theatre in the Birmingham Theatre District. It was the first building in Alabama to have air conditioning. It cost $1.5 million to build the theatre.

The Alabama Theatre is now the only operating theatre in the district today and is one of the best theatres of the period in the southeast.

The theatre has been used for shows of all kinds since its beginning.

In 1933, the theatre formed a Mikey Mouse Club. It became the largest Club in the world having about 7,000 children in the Club. The children would perform for each other, watch Mickey Mouse and other activities. By the time it ended, there were around 18,000 children in the Club.

The theatre also hosted the Miss Alabama Pageant. The theatre held the pageant from 1938 to 1966.

The theatre has a stand-out design. The outside is a mix of Spanish Renaissance and Baroque detailing. Giving the theatre a Spanish villa feel. The inside takes on the “movie palace” design that was popular during the time the theatre was built. Giving the theatre a whimsical sort of feel.

When the theatre first opened, it played silent films. And with silent films, musical accompaniment. To accomplish this, the theatre installed a Crawford Special-Publix One Mighty Wurlitzer organ. There were only 17 of this kind made and The Alabama Theatre was given one of them. The Alabama Theatre’s organ is one of three that are still in its original spot. The organ is nicknamed Big Bertha. It is considered the most valuable item in the whole building.

Throughout the years, the theatre has been closed, resold to new owners, restored, and renamed the Alabama Theatre for the Performing Arts.

In 1998, The Alabama Theatre underwent interior restoration. Fixing the paint, seats, carpet and drapes.

Each year the theatre hosts 250 events and around 400,000 people a year come to enjoy these shows. In 1993, the theatre was named the official state historic theatre of Alabama.

The theatre’s exterior and history make it a truly beautiful place to see. I have not been inside the theatre nor have I seen any shows in the theatre. But seeing The Alabama Theatre in person makes it a bucket list place to see a show. It is truly beautiful.

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Cheaha State Park

             I consider myself to be a pretty adventurous person at times, and over our Christmas break, my adventurous streak really made an appearance. One of the places I went to, and probably my favorite, was Cheaha State Park.

             With going on walks being one of my favorite things to do, Cheaha was perfect.

            Cheaha State Park was opened in 1933 in the Clay and Cleburne counties in Alabama. Making it Alabama’s oldest operating park. The park, in all, is 2,799 acres with the highest elevation of 2,407 ft.

            The park includes quite a few beautiful areas to see! The park has Cheaha Mountain (which is the highest point in the state), Bunker Tower, Bald Rock Group Lodge, a hotel, a restaurant (with a fantastic view) and many hiking trails.

            When a friend of mine and I went, we quickly took advantage of the hiking trails! The trail we took included a beautiful ice-covered waterfall (it was this way because of the freezing temperatures) and the well-known Look-Out Rock.

            The first picture I have is of the Look-Out Rock. As can be seen, the view was breathtaking! We eventually went out on to the rock, and the view was even greater from there! Absolutely took both of our breaths away!

            The second picture is from the top of Bunker Tower. The tower was built in 1934 as an observation tower and is the highest point in Alabama at an elevation of 2,407ft. The view was, once again, beautiful beyond words.

            If you, or anyone you know, is needing a beautiful place to visit, I highly recommend Cheaha State Park! Any descriptions or pictures cannot fully grasp the true beauty of this place. Seeing the views makes you realize how small you truly are.

            There are quite a few cabins within the park as well, so if you wanted to stay in the park, you can do that as well! Definitely another place that is very much worth seeing!

Troy Parks and Rec

    I have quite a few hobbies, but my favorite one is going on walks. "Weird walks" as my friends like to call them since I usually take them by myself and at any hour of the day and night.

    I have enjoyed walking in many places in Troy, but one of my favorite places has to be the Troy Parks and Rec walking trail.

    The Troy Recreational Department got its start in 1952 at the Murphree Park Pavilion. In 1985, the department moved to the Elm Street School building. In 1994, it moved to the old Troy Public Library building. In 2006, the Recreational building was built and the department has been there ever since. 

    In 2011, the trail was built with the Rec building. It is a 1.1 mile mile paved walking trail and is truly a beautiful place to walk.
    The trail is at the back of the Parks and Rec property. It has two trails. One that goes all the way into the woods behind the Rec building, and then another, shorter trail, that cuts off before you enter the woods.
    You can do other things besides just walk the trail. You can ride bikes, go on a run, walk your pet, ride your skateboard or just have a nice hang out with friends or family.
    Some of the best times to go, in my opinion, are earlier in the morning and mid afternoon. It is not too hot and the light is prettiest on the trail during these times. Especially in mid afternoon which is when I took my picture.
   It is a beautiful trail that is enjoyed by many of all ages in the Troy area and maybe even people from out of town.  

   If you have not gone yet, and need a place to go on walks, I definitely recommend the walking trail!

Introduction

Hello! My name is Natalie Ledbetter and I am currently a Sophomore Broadcast Journalism major with a minor in Theater at Troy University. I am currently not completely sure what I would like to do with as a job yet, but I would preferably enjoy doing something involving Entertainment. This blog will be about the beautiful and cool places that I have been to. With the pictures I will probably tell about where the picture is taken, what I thought about it and possibly some history to go along with it. I will be posting at least once a week. My blog URL is natannled.blogspot.com ! I wanted to create this blog because I have a ton of pictures of the places I have been and have had nowhere to post them; so, I figured what better place than to create a blog about where I have been! I am very excited about it.