-In northern Alabama, there's a small city with one incredible distinction -- It's where the Space Race began, and the work here put man on the moon.
But doing great things seems to be a common theme here, whether it's in technology or the arts.
And the simple fact that something hasn't been done before doesn't seem to phase, well, anyone.
And whether it's the beauty, artisanship, or just the plain guts it takes to dream and accomplish the unfathomable, travelers are beginning to take notice.
From outer space to uber local, this is Huntsville, Alabama.
I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world.
And I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and, most importantly, the people, who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.
That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.
Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" is made possible by... -Europe is a treasure trove of fascinating history, rich culture, and renowned cities.
AmaWaterways River Cruises offers a way to see all this wonder in person.
You can discover more at AmaWaterways.com.
-"Away"... ...is the smell of fresh pine.
It's a place where giants still live.
"Away" is where, the farther down the road you go, the closer you get to the ones you love.
Find your "away."
GoRVing.com.
-Northern Alabama is more mountainous than the rest of the state.
But just 10 miles from this peaceful overlook is Huntsville, Alabama's biggest claim to fame.
♪♪ ♪♪ Welcome to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, a massive, interactive science museum boasting one of the largest collections of space artifacts on the planet.
A lot of people wonder why NASA and why the entire mission to go to space is here in Huntsville, Alabama.
And it's a pretty amazing story, right?
-It is an amazing story, indeed.
I'm Dr. Deborah Barnhart.
I'm a retired U.S. Navy Captain, and I'm the CEO of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, home of space camp.
Houston kind of takes care of the building the Space Station and trains the astronauts.
Huntsville controls all the science experiments.
So, all of the different scientific researchers, all of that is managed and controlled out of Huntsville.
It begins in World War II.
Once the German rocket team was brought from Germany to the U.S... -Were they captured?
-They were prisoners of peace.
The French wanted them, even the English and the Russians wanted them.
Of course, the Germans still wanted them.
And the fact that they voted to come to the United States, that they voted to bring their technology to a free nation where they knew they'd be able to pursue their dreams of going to space speaks volumes.
-And there is the father of our space program.
-Wernher von Braun.
From the beginning, he always had his eyes on the stars.
He just circumstantially became engaged in World War II when, of course, his country went to war and they called upon him for the expertise that he had.
But he always had that vision of the future and that vision of going to the stars.
But von Braun also saw that future as important and wanted to be sure that we had a workforce to take us on to Mars.
So, he was actually walking through this very rocket park -- a long time ago when the center first opened -- and he said to the director, he said, "You know, we've got cheerleading camp and band camp and football camp.
Why can't we have a science camp?"
-Yeah.
-Why can't we have a space camp?
So, we started space camp in 1982, and 750,000 graduates later, they're on their way to Mars.
-So far, seven graduates of space camp have gone on to become astronauts.
Six of the seven are women.
I always thought space camp was, you know, it was just fun, and maybe get into a pretend ship and touch some knobs.
But space camp is really serious.
-Well, we like to give a serious and in-depth, realistic, authentic introduction into what astronaut training is like.
-Oh, this is the best part.
Oh, it doesn't fit?
Oh, no!
My head's too big for space.
-Let me try to put this one on.
Aha!
Fantastic.
-All right.
So, I am ready for my first mission.
What is our first mission?
-There we go.
Now, reach your right arm out.
-The mission is an EVA -- an Extra-Vehicular Activity -- on a full-scale model of the International Space Station.
When you're speaking to me from Earth, how many miles away are we?
-At any point in time, you're gonna be 200 to 250 miles above Earth, also going 17,500 miles an hour around Earth.
-Uh-oh.
-I'm drifting out into space.
I feel like this is a really bad production of "Peter Pan."
-That's why we tether.
-Yeah, so we are about to fix the ammonia tanks.
-The ammonia tanks?
-That's right.
-Is this a life-and-death situation?
-It can be.
So, once one ammonia tank goes out, now we only have one left.
-Oh.
-If they were both to go out, then it's mission critical.
-I guess everything in space is mission critical.
-It can be, absolutely.
-All right, Samantha, I need you to attach two tubes to the box in slot number one, please.
-Okay.
How long would astronauts be out here on an EVA?
-So, a space walk like this could take up to eight hours.
-What?
-I know.
-Wow.
I got it.
-Well done.
All right, good job, team.
Go ahead and disconnect your tethers and come on down.
-All right.
-Working together here, learning how to work in teams, learning how to overcome problems -- which they have on their missions -- is exactly the kind of co-operation it's gonna take to get us all to Mars.
-Oh!
It feels good to be back on terra firma.
-Welcome back.
Congratulations.
Good EVA.
-Now, if you can't make time for space camp, there's a universe of other wonders available at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, like this -- an actual Saturn V, the rocket that propelled American astronauts into space, and ultimately, to the moon.
And you can't find a better authority to talk to about how America got to the moon than a man who helped put us there.
-The country made a commitment -- "We're gonna go to the moon."
We're gonna beat the Russians in this decade.
That's what we all signed up to do.
I'm Alex McCool.
I worked for NASA many, many years, helped put 12 men on the moon with this big Saturn V rocket.
-Alex McCool was an essential designer on the propulsion team here in Huntsville, which means that it was his job to figure out how to get a 6-million-pound structure off the ground and on its way to the moon.
You were able to do something that most people, I would imagine, thought was impossible.
-Impossible, that's right.
It was very difficult.
-Well, where do you start -- when there's nothing to build upon and there's no, like, computer we can go to and say, "What did they do?"
-See, this was before the computer age.
We used slide rulers.
-[ Laughs ] I don't mean to laugh, but that's amazing.
-Well, we graduated to mechanical calculators, and then, eventually, got to some of the computers.
Nothing like we have today.
-You had this.
-That's right.
These are the largest rocket engines on the planet.
There's three stages, here.
The first stage, its job is to thrust, get away from Earth's gravity.
-This stage, right here?
-That's this first stage, here.
-And there's one, two, three, four, five.
-Five engines.
That's the largest engine, called the F-1A.
1.5 million pound thrust.
I worked on that engine.
-So, that's your baby, right there.
-That's it.
That's called the F-1 engine, the largest engine.
Now, we blew a lot of them up with what we call "combustion stability."
-But it's not meant to be destroyed.
It's what happens when things just aren't -- -That was the problem.
We spent a billion dollars in the early '60s trying to fix it.
Trial and error, trial and error.
-Well, how does it feel when you see all these kids?
-Oh, I love it, man.
I love it.
They're enthusiastic about it.
They believe in all of this.
This is great.
-When you finally made it to the moon, what was your reaction?
-Oh, man, I'll tell you -- I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
I'm telling you, wonderful, wonderful.
All the years.
-So, I would say, Mr. McCool, that you are, no doubt, a national treasure.
And you are a hero to so many people.
-I don't know.
I appreciate everything, the opportunities I've had.
And I'm blessed to be able to do that.
-Whenever I travel in the United States, I always seek out and want to eat at a strip-mall restaurant.
I love them, and even though strip malls themselves -- the appearance of -- leave a lot to be desired, the restaurants that are usually in them are exceptional.
They're unique, they're family owned, and they make the best home cooking.
And listen -- when you are on the road all the time, that's all you want, is a good, hot meal.
-Yeah, relax.
-Okay.
-Just say you're known for your good southern cooking.
Hi, I'm Maurice Russell.
-I'm Greta Russell, known for my good southern cooking.
-How we doing over here now?
-We are good.
-Great.
-And I'm the PR man.
-How long have you had a restaurant?
-21 years this April the 16th.
-21 years?
Congratulations.
-1996.
-Wow.
And the recipes are from your mom?
-Mom and grandmother.
-And you grand-- Oh, wow, so the three generations.
-Yes, ma'am.
-Is this fried chicken from your mom's recipe?
-Actually, the fried chicken is from my sister, Jucella -- my oldest sister.
-This is her fried-chicken recipe?
-Yes, yes.
And my mom's -- both of them.
-And your mom.
It's built upon, right?
Many years of love.
-Right, right.
-I'm gonna take a bite now.
-All right, go for it.
It's hot.
-That is awesome.
-Thank you.
-That is so good.
-All right, thank you.
-I mean, you don't get this where I live.
-Right.
-Do you do all the cooking here?
-Basically.
-You have people in the back, though.
-Yes, I have people in the back that help that I've trained.
-What time do you start?
-6:00.
6:00 to 6:30.
-In the morning?
-In the morning.
To get the beans and greens done.
-You get the beans and the greens done.
-Uh-huh.
You want them well done.
-And then, what time are you done cooking?
-About 10:30.
-10:30 in the morning?
-Yes.
-One thing that I love about soul-food restaurants in particular is, it's not just about the food.
It's how you're treated.
-Right.
-And you really are treated like you are a regular for many, many years.
That's the goal.
-It's very important.
You got 1,000 restaurants.
What makes G's special?
Not only is the food good, the customer service has to be, as well.
So, when you come through the door, we want you to feel like you family.
-Mm-hmm.
-We leave titles on that side of the door.
-Leave titles on that -- -Leave titles on that.
Say, hey, you may be a police officer, you may be the mayor, but all that is left on that side.
So, when you come here, everybody's on a level playing field.
So, therefore, that's why you see so much togetherness, closeness, and all that, because titles are put aside.
-Mm-hmm.
I read that there are more PhDs in Huntsville than any other part of Alabama, but no PhD knows how to make fried chicken like that.
-Can I get an amen on that?
[ Laughter ] -So, when you were in junior high school, were you picked for the teams?
Was that as -- just 'cause, like, being in a junior-high-school gym, it's bringing up a few bad memories for me right now.
-I played a couple of sports, and was kind of -- I mean, high-school football was a big deal.
-Alabama, yeah.
I've heard about that.
-Growing up in the south, I mean, you're either playing the sports or you're reading the books.
-Well, as you can imagine, this is not your typical junior high school.
What used to be the R.L.
Stone Middle School in Huntsville is now, among other things, the home of a brewery called "Straight to Ale," which is where I would have been sent if I had been caught drinking in my middle school.
One big reason why this craft brewery even exists in this location is the work of this woman -- Carie Partain, president of an organization that's name is also its rallying cry.
Free the Hops.
What was your mission?
-We wanted to change prohibition-era laws that were still on the Alabama books so we could have breweries all over the state.
-And how many years did it take you to do that?
-We formed in 2004.
We incorporated in 2007.
We changed the first law in 2009 and the last one in 2012.
-So, your mission is complete?
-Our mission, as far as the legislation, is complete.
Now, we've got to educate this state on why they want to embrace the craft-brewing industry.
-So, it seems appropriate that we are now in a junior-high-school talking about beer education.
-Absolutely.
Beer education.
-To not being in junior high school.
-Again, ever.
[ Basketball buzzer sounds ] -Huntsville today is a dynamic epicenter of technology, but a long time ago -- and not in a galaxy far, far away -- it looked like this.
This is Burritt on the Mountain -- 167 acres that stand above the city and gives you a slice of Alabama life from the 1800s, when you were also expected to work in the rain.
-We're preserving traditional ways and values and crafts and knowledge.
So many of the children that we see here have no clue how many skills it took those early Alabamians just to stay alive.
-Exactly, right?
We need these places to remind us what -- the stock we came from, right?
-It's fun to teach the kids what you would have to do.
You didn't play around.
You took care of the animals and you churned butter and you -- -You had a job, yeah.
Of survival.
-Yeah.
-I have four of these jars, and you're gonna shake it 25 times and then sit down on the floor.
-You got heavy cream in the jar, and if you shake long enough, you will make butter.
-You will, and it will solidify.
-Yeah.
-I asked the little boy if he knew how to make butter, and he said, "No.
I'm not from the 1800s."
I got smacked down by an 8 year old.
-Yeah, it's starting.
Keep shaking.
-We're doing a butter-off.
Who can make butter faster?
-Let's see what it's doing.
Let's see.
Oh!
-Nice.
-Now... -Oh, yeah, look at that.
-You can see the ball of butter, and then, there's the liquidy stuff.
That's your buttermilk.
-Great job.
Thank you.
-I still got cream.
It's perfect.
Thank you.
There are some structures on this site that are over 200 years old, but there's also a new building here that serves a unique historical and cultural purpose.
-I wanted the students to see how their great-great-grandparents or grandparents would've gone to school.
So, I began looking for a plan for a school to come here, and went to our library and found a whole folder of these beautiful schools.
They were called "Rosenwald schools."
Julius Rosenwald with Sears.
-The president of Sears, Roebuck and Company.
-Correct.
Had befriended Booker T. Washington in Alabama, had seen the sorry state of schools for the black students in this part of the country, and began a foundation to build these wonderful Rosenwald schools all over the country.
There are over 5,000 that were built in the south.
-And that is sort of the same vein in which we have this school, right now, that's being currently built on site here.
It was a community effort.
-Yes.
The whole community came together to get our Rosenwald rebuilt school so that all of our fourth graders in the area can experience the past.
♪♪ -I think that's one of the things that impressed me the most about this particular place is just, the amount of volunteer effort that it takes.
-Thousands and thousands of hours.
-Right, thousands of hours.
Over 800 people, I believe, are a part of this effort to keep history alive.
-I think it's important for us to realize where we came from so we know where we're going.
And there are valuable lessons in the lives of our ancestors that we can teach our children to make tomorrow better.
♪♪ -There's a home-grown and serious art scene here in Huntsville that rivals cities twice its size.
And here's one reason why -- Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment.
It's the largest privately owned arts facility in the United States.
It's a truly enormous historic factory building that's home to hundreds of artist studios, as well as performance spaces, independent businesses, and shops.
What makes Lowe Mill ARTS so unique is that, these aren't just shops.
These are actual studios where you can see the artists in the process of making their art.
There are big windows.
You can always see inside to see what people are doing.
But if a door's open, it means "come on inside."
Hello.
How are you?
So, these are plausible, fictitious maps?
-Yes.
They are what I call "real maps of fake places."
So, I'm making up mountains, I'm making up places that have a sense of reality, but absolutely my imagination.
-So, this is all done by hand?
-Yes, everything I do is by hand.
There's no computers and no graphics anywhere.
-Oh, my goodness, this is just every single dot.
So, you -- -Every light from night at about 20,000 feet, hence different colors in different parts of the world.
The wood -- the grain of the wood becomes the contours, so the elevation and the topography is the hills.
-Of course.
-This one would be in Switzerland, if it existed.
-Uh-huh.
-And the wood grain actually informed the next series, 'cause people thought it looked like skin tone.
-Mm-hmm.
-So, from that, people said, "Well, have you ever drawn on a person?"
-And so then you moved to this, which is stunning.
-Thank you.
-The body seems to lend itself well, as a map.
-This lady had a horrible car accident, and we've used her almost-severed foot and the scars on her arms and her knees and through her stomach as part of the map, 'cause that's just part of her journey.
It was a way of her, sort of, re-envisioning her body now.
-Yeah.
Looked at herself slightly differently.
And this lady had a double mastectomy and wasn't reconstructed, so we've really re-incorporated the scars, and not covered them, just included them, as if they're part of the map.
-So, they feel like a piece of art again.
-Yes.
-You can stroll the corridors of Lowe Mill for hours and discover artistry of all shapes, all sizes, and all flavors.
So, what are you known for?
Do you have a specialty?
-Everyone has kind of, like, their favorites here.
-But look at this.
I Do Declare -- local goat cheese, local honey, balsamic vinegar, and a creamy dark chocolate.
Whoa, I'll take a few of those.
-Yes.
-Try that.
-That is one that people ask every year "when is it coming back?
When is the I Do Declare coming back," 'cause we phase it out.
-Why does it go away?
-Because we don't have a bigger chocolate case to put more chocolate in.
-So, you're sisters?
-Yes.
-How is it like working with one another?
-Well... -It's fine.
-Yeah.
-It's fine.
It probably was unexpected.
[ Laughter ] -That was really unconvincing.
Just so you know.
Were Alabamians, and even people here in Huntsville, are they in touch with the fact that they have such a bounty of ingredients here in their own state?
Is that something that people know about, or are they awakening to?
-I think they are.
I think, when Huntsville decided that it wanted to buy local, when this city said, "We're gonna support our local businesses," man -- -They jumped on it.
-They jumped onboard, and they're serious about it.
They love to buy local.
They love to bring their friends to local shops and show them everything that Huntsville has.
And Huntsville's also realizing that we can do more than just be a government industry town.
-When I worked for NASA, everything vibrates at certain, special frequencies.
At NASA, you had to know those frequencies to stay away from them.
'Cause if you hit a structure at that frequency, it'll shake itself apart.
-Okay.
-On guitars, we do exactly the opposite.
We try to put this thing right on that frequency so it'll vibrate so good -- so good it'll just be perfect.
I'm Danny Davis.
I had the pleasure of being a mechanical engineer at NASA for 30 years, and now, I hand-make acoustic guitars and mandalas.
This could be a satellite that's gonna go in orbit, and NASA would take that satellite, hang it up... [ Tapping ] ...and tap it.
-Tap it with what?
-A hammer -- a little hammer.
And it's got instruments all over it.
And from that, they would deduce what frequency that that piece of structure is sensitive to -- its fundamental frequency.
So, what I do with these guitars is, I hang them up, I tap them with a little hammer, and I have a microphone that picks up the signal.
And then, I come in and shave these braces.
I change the braces until that frequency moves exactly where I know music's gonna be played.
So, I've made it be 207 hertz, 'cause that's an F-sharp.
-And you made it be that number by placing these pieces into the guitar?
-And shaving them down -- and cutting them down, making them a little bit less stiff.
-And so, every single guitar you make is completely unique.
-Mm-hmm.
The thing I like to do is, I'm not making a guitar, I'm making your guitar.
So, this instrument, right here, will be for Gary Nichols, and -- -And we're actually hearing him play tonight.
-Right.
Yeah.
You'll be front row.
-I think you've got to hurry.
-Yeah.
[ Laughs ] -Does he need that one tonight?
-Right.
He's got two of my guitars.
-Oh, all right.
So, he's got quite a collection.
-Until he breaks them, then I'll have to fix them again.
Gary's rough on a guitar.
You'll see tonight.
-Okay.
All right.
So, I have to make a strong instrument.
-So, from rockets to guitars.
-Yeah.
I'm working my way down.
[ Both laugh ] -Danny said that you're a little rough on the guitars.
-Guitars and vehicles, yeah.
-[ Laughs ] -Just, they're tools.
You know, you play them and they're made to work.
-Okay.
-Some people play, you know, really delicately, and I'm... [ Plays guitar ] I'm just, kind of, heavy-handed.
-Mm-hmm.
-So, do what you do, and hopefully, you do it well.
-Hey, everybody.
Give him a welcome.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Gary's from the legendary music town Mussel Shoals, Alabama.
He's the lead singer for the Steeldrivers, a band that won the Grammy award in 2016 for Best Bluegrass Album.
-♪ I met a runway model in New York City ♪ ♪ Said she'd like to hear me talk ♪ ♪ I said, "Thank you, ma'am I'm from Alabama ♪ ♪ I'll say anything to watch you walk" ♪ ♪ Got to know her better ♪ ♪ I brought her down here to meet my folks ♪ ♪ I said, "Listen here, honey, we might talk funny ♪ ♪ You can laugh, but it ain't no joke ♪ ♪ Yeah, that's the way we do it down south, baby ♪ ♪ We know how to have our fun ♪ ♪ 'Cause that's the way we do it down south ♪ -Huntsville has a unique set of people who came together on a mission, and the result is an astonishing cultural blend of intellect, passion, and vision.
-It's basically a microcosm of learning and living together that works great, particularly in a little, small town like Huntsville.
-We embrace you, we love on you, and we try to show you that things of the past may still exist, but it's on the back burner.
-♪ That's the way we do it down south ♪ -When you get to experience a creativity that spans from the 19th to the 21st Century, when you get to share in the passion and effort it took to accomplish the greatest achievement known to man, when you can sink your teeth into a meal that makes you feel like you were born and raised here, that is when we share a love of travel.
And that's why Huntsville, Alabama, is a place to love.
[ Cheers and applause ] For more information about this and other episodes, extra scenes, or links to follow me on social media, log on to... "Samantha Brown's Places to Love" was made possible by... -"Away"... ...is the smell of fresh pine.
It's a place where giants still live.
"Away" is where, the farther down the road you go, the closer you get to the ones you love.
Find your "away."
GoRVing.com.
-Europe is a treasure trove of fascinating history, rich culture, and renowned cities.
AmaWaterways River Cruises offers a way to see all this wonder in person.
You can discover more at AmaWaterways.com.
♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪
