Features Editor

Pike County will be included in a post trip for travel journalists hosted by Southeast Alabama Trails April 20.

The trip will come on the heels of Alabama’s Marketplace for Travel Journalists held in Monroeville April 17-19.

"Monroeville is billed as the Literary Capital of Alabama, primarily on the reputation of Harper Lee, the author of To Kill A Mockingbird.

A theatrical adaptation of the the book brings hundreds to the south Alabama each May. Other literary endeavors have earned the town the right to call itself the Literary Capital of Alabama.

Lynn Graham,

executive director of Southeast Alabama Trails (SEATS) said the gathering of travel writers in Monroeville provides an opportunity for other area communities to show what they have to offer travelers to the state.

The post trip will be April 19 through 21 and will include Enterprise, Union Springs, Troy and Brundidge.

Shelia Jackson, director of tourism for the City of Troy and the Pike County Chamber of Commerce, said this area has a lot to offer tourists, especially those who what to experience places that are not on the beaten tourist path.

"There are many popular tourist attractions in the South and they are all worthy of visiting," Jackson said. "However, there are unique places and events that really show more about the people and places of our state than the big tourist attractions."

The post trip for travel journalists is a sample of the uniqueness of these four communities, that aren’t tourist destinations – yet – but provide the flavor of the South.

Although most of the post trip will be spent in Enterprise and Union Springs, Jackson said she believes the travel journalists will find Pike County a most interesting place.

The travel journalists will spend Friday in Enterprise and view the Boll Weevil Monument, which is the world’s only monument to an agricultural pest and spend the night at the historic Rawls Hotel.

On Saturday, they will travel to Union Springs, the Bird Dog Capital of the World. They will visit a turn of the century home for a cup of nectar made from the springs, visit the Puly Jail Museum, Sedgefield Plantation, Bonnie Plant Farm and the Great Southern Outdoors Wildlife Plantation.

Then the travel writers will enjoy a barbecue lunch while seeing a short performance of the play "Conecuh People."

Because Pike County will be the last stop on the tour, Jackson said she wants the county to put its best foot forward.

"The group will first visit the Pioneer Museum of Alabama which has become favorite place for tourists," Jackson said. "Charlotte Gibson, museum director, said volunteers will be available to demonstrate many of the old-time skills.

Bill Rice will conduct a short tour of Troy’s historic district and other places of interest and, then on to Brundidge where they will have an opportunity to visit Antique City.

"That night, the travel journalists will be treated to supper and several vignettes from "Come Home! It’s Suppertime!" which is Brundidge’s folklife play, sponsored by the Brundidge Historical Society and the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Jackson said she believes the travel writers will find Pike County a pleasant and laid-back place to visit.

"Our countryside is beautiful and we have opportunities for hunting, fishing and camping and some fun places to visit and some fun things to do," she said. "If you looking for a place to spend a few days away from the rat race, Pike

County is the place."