Solo Travel with Vision Loss: Why Huntsville, Alabama is Light-years Ahead in Accessibility

Exploring the Rocket City: How North Alabama is Redefining Accessible Solo Travel

It was easy for me to gravitate to Huntsville, Alabama, since the city is light-years ahead of others in accommodations for travelers with low vision. On my recent trip,  I got to experience North Alabama’s accessible tourism efforts firsthand. As a mostly-sighted blind person, my accommodations are unique. I struggle when navigating new cities because all signage looks like fine print, and there are falling hazards that can easily trip me up. My diagnosis is recent, so I’ve never used a walking stick, but Visit North Alabama loaned me a pair of Meta glasses because they sync with the Be My Eyes app. This phone app connects blind people to volunteers who assist with daily tasks, and the glasses make the assistance hands-free. 

Since I usually travel solo, North Alabama’s advanced accessibility efforts piqued my interest. Once I started researching Huntsville, I was blown away by everything the Rocket City had to offer. Major employers like Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and NASA help infuse the city with a tech-driven, international community that blends with southern culture. And on evenings and weekends, the arts and creativity come alive. 

The city is rich with American outlaw lore of yesteryear and is a major contributor to U.S. space travel. But what interested me most was the deep connection to music and the arts. Check out five-star events and activities from my weekend and get the full itinerary below:

The first night of my trip was  Cocktails & Cosmos in the INTUITIVE® Planetarium of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Each Friday, they have a different theme and signature cocktail, and I was lucky enough to be there for Astrology vs Astronomy. Simply put, astronomy is based on data and astrology is based on interpretation. We learned how the anatomy of outer space was viewed and how that understanding influenced different cultures. Diving deeper, we looked at zoomed-in images of the solar system and saw how astrology signs fit into the greater galactic landscape. I’ve been studying birth charts recently, so I appreciated this one-hour crash course, which helped me tie some concepts together.

My Saturday was pretty busy, but the highlights of the day were an urban tour of downtown with Huntsville Revisited Museum, the annual kite festival, and perusing Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment. Mr. William Hampton created the name Huntsville Revisited during a high school assignment, and 50-some years later, he has turned his passion for representing his hometown into a museum and walking tour non-profit. He’s a sixth-generation Huntsville native, and the museum is full of information and artifacts from the inception of the city through today. 

The 14th Annual Community Kite Festival takes place in the spring as a way to increase joy and foster inclusiveness, diversity, equity, and harmony in the city. The weekend I was in town, the weather was perfect, and there were hundreds of colorful kites frolicking in the sky.  There were also food trucks and performances from local drumming and dance troops, making the event entertaining for everyone. The Community Kite Festival was free and well-attended, and gave me a glimpse into the city’s energy and inside, non-profit had booths offering information and resources to residents.  Huntsville hosts a variety of festivals throughout the year. I also learned about Panopoly Arts Festival, which fills downtown’s Big Spring Park with artists and vendors from across the country in April. Huntsville is also home to the world’s longest-running Cigar Box Guitar Festival, which is held each Memorial Day weekend.

What’s cool about this city is that there’s plenty to do, whether it’s a festival weekend or not. Visiting Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Originally, the building was a cotton mill, but it is now home to over 300 artists, artisans, vendors, and a really cool record shop. Inside, there is art throughout the halls and well-lit studios with everything from imaginary maps, gnome homes, and a guy that repurposes sports equipment into canes and piano pieces into peacocks. In another wing of the building, I passed a fairy dance class and stopped to chat with a shop owner using a typewriter who captures moments with a century-old camera. I browsed the Mill, sipping tea from Piper and Leaf, and a vegan and vegetarian food truck was also outside for anyone who wanted a bite to eat while wandering the building.

On Sunday, I had the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Orion Amphitheater. Everyone from Snoop Dogg, Lana Del Rey, and Earth, Wind, and Fire has graced the stage. The Orion reminded me of a Grecian colosseum, has an 8,000-capacity venue, and was recognized by Billboard as a top performance venue in the U.S. and among the best in the world. As a festival blogger, starting in the green room, then checking out the loading dock and backstage helped me understand everything that has to take place for a performance to take place. It also gave me the point of view of a performer preparing to ignite the stage.

Overall, Huntsville was so easily navigable with my vision issues that it didn’t feel like an issue at all, making it a great spot for me to visit while traveling solo. In addition to Meta glasses for people with vision loss, the North Alabama tourism board offers sensory kits for people on the spectrum and has safe, navigable streets for all travelers.