I have this love hate relationship with road trips. I love all the planning that is involved in the weeks and months leading up to a road trip. I love visiting places. I dread the endless hours in the car. We routinely make the 1,100 mile trip to visit my family and friends in Louisiana. In order to break up the monotony of that long drive, we try to stop for a break at some point during the trip. In December, we decided to check out the Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, Alabama. The grotto is located on the grounds of a Benedictine monastery called St. Bernard Abbey. The grotto was created by Brother Joseph, beginning in the 1930’s. It’s an amazing place to visit and stretch one’s legs. It had been raining for the first 8 hours of our drive. We decided to stop at the grotto and were fortunate enough to catch a break in the weather.
We entered the gift shop and paid $5.00 for each adult (AAA Member Price) and $4.50 for each child. The path leading down to the grotto was paved and sloped down to the beautiful creations. These creations include tiny replicas of historical buildings from around the world.
I found the details fascinating. I read that Brother Joseph used found and donated objects to make his wonderful creations. Upon closer inspection, I noticed marbles, tiles, small statues, and children’s toys were used to make lovely, whimsical scenes. My kiddos and I plan on making our own Ave Maria Grotto inspired houses this summer for our garden. We hope to stop again on subsequent trips. It will be interesting to see how the buildings look in the summer as compared to the winter.
