Any Alabama DUers in Tuscaloosa?

[davsand]

I can't believe we did it, but we are taking a driving vacation and we are coming to Tuscaloosa in Mid-June. I'm interested to hear suggestions from you all about restaurants and stuff not to miss.

What can you tell me?

Oh--and if anybody is up for it, a coffee meet might be added to Kevsand and my agenda!


See you soon!



Laura

[Syrinx]

1. I'm in the Tuscaloosa area

Now, I love my hometown with all my heart. But I have to ask why you're coming to Tuscaloosa on your vacation, especially since it's not football season? If it was football season, you could at least see some celebrities.

;)

I looked at your profile, and it said you are a DU member since 2001. That's an old-timer, as old as you can get! And, you have 8000+ posts. Yet, I don't recall your handle at all, or at least I don't associate you with Alabama.

Oh, well. Just one of those things, I guess.

I don't go out to eat a lot, beyond fast food, but Epiphany Cafe is supposedly good. And Evangeline's advertises itself as "fine dining," so maybe that's the case.

:shrug:

Be sure to check out the famous Dreamland Barbecue. Sometimes the ribs are cooked better than at other times (they were always perfect before the Old Man died, a long time ago), but I absolutely LOVE the sauce. (They'll sell you some to take home, too!)

ON EDIT: I just tried Full Moon Barbecue recently. It's a chain that started out in Birmingham. I got a large bbq sandwich. I think it cost about four dollars. It had to be close to a pound of pork, with some tasty sauce, on a big, toasted bun. Tasty! Next time, though, I will ask them to leave out the "chow-chow" topping. I didn't care for that.

:(

La Fiesta is a pretty good place, owned by a Mexican-American family, that serves tasty, pseudo-Mexican food, where a dinner runs from about eight to twelve bucks, probably a little more for a steak.

Oh, and you might want to check out the Bear Bryant Museum! I live in Tuscaloosa, and I'm a huge Alabama fan, so I am quite amazed that I never have gone to the museum. But I haven't, so I can't tell you how cool it is.

:P

If you have any questions, I'll try to help.

I hope you have fun while you're here.

:hi:

[davsand]

2. Yes, I am a DU "old fart."

I got here when there WAS still an "underground" at DU and that was in the days when the only progressive board online was Salon--and they went "pay to post." Lot of names coming and going on here over the years. Some were people I loved-- Scott (Kephra) was one. I have photos of him sitting in my family room from the first ever DU gathering. I used to chat on AIM with Scott and Will Pitt and many others. I miss that.

Most of my time at DU is in GD, GDP, LBN or the Lounge. I do rack up some time down in the other smaller forums, but there are a few folks on here that can vouch for me and my regular time spent here over the last few years.

I do mostly local and state political stuff, Kev (hubby) and I both are fairly active with organized Labor and with other social justice stuff. Right now my big political focus (beyond supporting Obama--who I supported in his Senate Primary, so I claim history with this man!) is an Illinois State Rep race and a couple of local county wide races.

As for why I am coming to Tuscaloosa in the off season, well, I have a friend from college who works for the VA there and she is having a birthday in Mid June. Turning the big 50... She was in my wedding, she has loved me over the years in spite of who I am, and she is dear to me. I am coming down to spend time with her and her family. Our kids are about the same age and everybody is generally excited about this trip.

My SIL is on an archaeological dig in the Tupelo area, stopping off in Memphis on the way down does not hurt any, and hubby is seriously interested in stopping off in Huntsville to check out the stuff on the Saturn V. Yeah, maybe we are strange to do a driving vacation with gas prices this high, but it really IS a once in a lifetime sort of thing. This may turn out to be the second "Donner Party" departure (I still think that was less about hunger than about a family spending TOO much time together...) but we are actually looking forward to it.

I made the hotel reservations last week, and we are already studying up on the maps. I thank you for taking time to respond! We'll most certainly have to do the BBQ places, because that is ONE thing that is Southern to the bone, IMO.

:hi:


Laura

[Syrinx]

3. hey

I was just looking through this thread, and realized that in my original reply, it sounded like I was accusing you of something.

I had no intention of that whatsoever. I was just expressing surprise that I didn't know you already.

Thanks for understanding (already!).

:hi:

[davsand]

4. Hon, you've been here a while, too. You know how easy it is to miss folks.

Not to sound like any body's old uncle, but "back in the day..." when DU was a lot smaller, it was easier to see everybody because we had a couple thousand people on here. It was almost a ritual that when anyone signed on, there would be almost a race to see how many people could welcome that new poster. Even with that intimate feel it was easy to miss seeing somebody. Now, with the large number of people coming and going it is impossible to see even half the people you "know" let alone meet anyone new. Each forum has its "denizens" but really, it is a lot more isolated here than it used to be.

Something that I value a great deal about DU is the fact that we have members from ALL over. I can get reports on stuff from people that live there. That can be especially heartbreaking in times of tribulation (like 9/11 and Katrina were) but it can also be an amazing experience when you get to hear about it from a personal perspective. What an wonderful gift this is for us all!

Another thing that is remarkable about DU is the spirit of community that we share here. It is kind of cool to be able to put up a thread and talk to people who live wherever you are are traveling to, and get not only local insights, but also maybe make a personal connection or two. I'll use this exchange as an example. You and I now have a little bit of a relationship that we were missing out on before. I think that is just too cool!

Come see us in the Illinois forum sometime! We may be a rowdy group sometimes, but if you get to Chicago or anywhere else in Illinois we'll be there for you!

:hi:

Well met!


Laura

[OneBlueDotBama]

5. An Outsider....

I'll send your particulars so the homeland security chopper(local police funded by homeland security) can keep an eye from the sky on you. You should also be very careful as it's hurricane season and our Senator Ricky Shelby has recently declared Tuscaloosa a Hurricane zone (tax breaks for the wealthy).

Downtown is worth a walk, while it's in the midst of redevelopment, the ruins of the State Legislature buildings from when Tuscaloosa was the State Capitol with a museum that was once an old tavern which is worth a visit. Old Northport across the bridge is also worth a walk if your into crafts and such. The University of Alabama is also worth a walk, the President's mansion is just superb, the steps where George Wallace made his stand is historic in my view, is a hundred feet away. If your there on the first Wed on the month around 5:00 pm, join us in front of the Deny Chimes protesting the war in Iraq.

Restaurants were well covered, the food is great.