re: Anything good off I-65 between Mobile and Montgomery??

"The "scenery" from I-10 all the way to Tuscaloosa is nothing to take a picture of, and not worth 30 minutes. The 30 minutes on 65 just north of Mobile is better than anything on the other route."

Sure the scenery from Slidell to Tuscaloosa is no better. I meant the scenery from the point you take the I-459 bypass (off of I-59) in the Bham area all the way to basically the Alabama/Georgia line on I-20. That stretch is actually very pretty as you wind through several ridges and then into a mountain valley when passing the Anniston area. It's very close time and distance wise to going the I-65 Montgomery route unless you're unlucky enough to hit Bham rush hour traffic or a big wreck which can happen in Montgomery just as easily. It's a much prettier drive and has more potential stops.

"What are the culinary delights between I-10 and Tuscaloosa?"

I see several posters here recommending Hattiesburg restaurants all the time so that's another option. A lot of people like to crack on Tuscaloosa but the city has 3 of the most underrated fine dining/nice casual restaurants in the state in Kozys, Epiphany, and Evangelines not to mention Chuck's Fish, DiPalmas, and Nicks (in the Sticks). All these are better restaurants than Cypress Inn which usually gets mentioned as Ttown's only "nice" place to eat. In Bham, you have Cafe DuPont, Hot n Hot, Ocean, Highlands, Bottega, The Bright Star (in Bessemer), and the Fish Market. All these are fairly easy to access from the interstate.

Bottom line is there are WAY more options going the Bham/Hattiesburg route than the Montgomery route (although Auburn has a couple of really solid places too). The time and distance of each route is negligible.

Driving to Atlanta through Alabama sucks no matter which way you drive.

Thats why people drive 80+mph to get the hell out of there.

'Driving to Atlanta through Alabama sucks no matter which way you drive"

You could say that about any place when you're in a hurry to get to your ultimate destination.

The Talladega Scenic byway near Anniston is a really popular drive for motorcyclists as it takes you to the top of Mt Cheaha at over 2,400 feet. I was in the area during one of the two major snowfalls last winter and it was raining with a few snowflakes mixed in down in Anniston. I drove up the road to the summit of Cheaha and hit white out conditions about 2/3 of the way to the summit. They got a trace to a half inch in Anniston but 6 inches on Mt Cheaha.

BTW, you could say the same thing regarding many parts of Louisiana. Much of the state is basically NO different than south Alabama. The stretch from Baton Rouge to Lafayette is pretty cool though.

"But OMG, do not be on I-20 on those race days."

Just don't be on that stretch a few hours before or a few hours directly after a race. It IS a parking lot because there is ALWAYS at least one wreck on the interstate.