Birmingham, Alabama

I finally made it to the biggest city of Alabama -- Birmingham. Pretty amusing that I didn't make it there until now, and I don't think I got quite the whole flavor of Birmingham. So I may be making another trip. I certainly didn't get shopping done at Galleria or Summit (where Saks Fifth resides).

I made it to Five Points South, which is an area near the University of Alabama. There were quite a few outdoor cafes and restaurants (and yes, including a Starbucks). Although not a lot were open (I went around 10:30-11 a.m. on Saturday). I did get a chance to look around a bit, then stop in at Cobb Lane Restaurant for fried green tomatoes and chicken salad. I thought the fried green tomatoes were not as good as I've had elsewhere, but the chicken salad was rather distinctive.

I then made my way to Carver Theatre to take a look around their museum, Jazz Hall of Fame Museum. It wasn't very big, but it had some tributes to jazz greats such as W.C. Handy and Ella Fitzgerald. Against a background of jazz music wafting through the museum, I did feel that maybe I was transported back in time a bit.

I stopped by Southern Museum of Flight. I felt like such a kid, goggling at all the airplanes. There were a number of different types of planes -- experimental to early age. There were also memorabilia from World War II (not in the photos). All in all, it was quite interesting.

It was a good day of sightseeing. Next Saturday, I found out that Montgomery is waiving its portion of the sales tax (3.5%). So I think I will be doing some shopping... to take advantage of 6.5% sales tax! ;)