We’re headed out for our UA visit next week! We have a morning tour on Friday, then the Honor College is planning the rest of the day. Looking for suggestions of things to do in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. We’re from Colorado and have never been to Alabama before. Thanks!
We will be there the same day, Friday. We will be heading home on Saturday though. PM me if you’d like, we are from NC.
I am a current freshman and I too am from far away. My personal favorite things are sporting events. There is a home gymnastics meet Friday night against Boise state. And there is a men’s basketball game saturday against Vanderbilt. Both games would give your son or daughter a great perspective on student sections. If you haven’t been to a gymnastics meet, I would go. They are incredible. Feel free to PM me if you want more specific ideas(:
Gymnastics sounds fun. I’ll have to see if I can talk my son into it.
I agree that gymnastics at UA is an experience and basketball is also fun! Even with a son, I would say make gymnastics the first choice. Have dinner somewhere downtown (Mugshots for a great burger, Glory Bound for gyros, Five for something fancier) or on the strip and either drive or walk the campus at night. Check the campus events and see if there is music or theatre showing, if that is of interest. Have a great time!
The student section at the gymnastics meet is by far one of the best indicators of our school spirit. I went to my first gymnastics meet and assumed it’d be boring and weird since its not like most sports. But it was so different than I expected. There are fireworks and everything. It’s something I wish I would’ve experienced before picking a college.
Northport’s tiny downtown is fun to poke around in. Located just over the river.
^ yes, the Downtown area of Northport…where City Cafe and Billy’s Sports Grill (the wings!!) are located. Quaint little area.
This restaurant in Northport looks nice.
http://cypressinnrestaurant.com/facilities/cypress-inn/
I have it on my list of things to check out next time I’m in Tuscaloosa.
So glad someone asked about what to do while in Tuscaloosa. Dropping D off on a Sunday afternoon for CBH so will need to kill time and stay in a nicer hotel ( suggestions?) but not the Capstone. Suggestions for Sunday evenings and Monday day? We have only seen the campus from our tour in July and have not explored any other areas or restaurants.
I’d still recommend Hotel Capstone provided the rates are reasonable (check Priceline, Orbitz, etc. in addition to the hotel’s website) I see $119+tax for Sunday night when booking via Priceline, $118.15+tax when booking via Orbitz with a promo code. You’re not going to run into the CBH finalists that much and it has a very central location so you’re not driving 15 minutes to get everywhere. A lot of people recommend the various Hilton and Marriott properties which are in the general vicinity. You can go father out and stay at the Wingate, but the shortcut back to campus is closed for a few months due to a bridge replacement.
Sundays can be very quiet in Tuscaloosa as many students are sleeping in before spending the day studying. I’d recommend walking around campus, driving around town, and maybe doing some shopping. You could always go see a movie.
I’ve been told many times that Cypress Inn is a great place to eat and has good lunch prices. FWIW. on my first visit to Tuscaloosa I ate at Cracker Barrel and Hooter’s. They employ a good number of UA students. If you make friends with some of the parents, Nick’s in the Sticks is a popular choice.
Cypress Inn has been really good the times I have gone. It’s right on the Black Warrior River, across in Northport. Try to get a table where you can see out onto the river. If Embassy Inn is open (I think they’re opening in March), that would be the nicest place to stay. If earlier, Capstone has been fine - their rooms seem to vary a lot. Or you could try one of the VBROs in town. Yellowhammer Inn is in the swanky section, where the coaches live, but rates can be reasonable, depending on what’s going on in town. The hotel itself is comfortable, not trendy.
City Cafe in Northport is a good ol’ meat and three with Southern cooking. They’re only open Monday through Friday, breakfast and lunch. Tuscaloosa will be very quiet, especially on Sunday. There are a handful of small museums, like the Bryant Museum and Smith Hall on campus. You could always take in the Barber Motorcycle Museum and formula 1 racetrack in Birmingham - well worth the trip. Some very nice shopping in Birmingham, too.
And get a gourmet popsicle at Steel City Pops, on the Strip in Tuscaloosa or at Summit in Birmingham.
Mercedes assembly plant visitors center/tours reopens Feb 9 (closed on weekend, tho).
I’ve always wanted to try Epiphany - Farm-to-Fork restaurant in downtown Tuscaloosa. Anyone been ?
I went to Epiphany after dropping off my son in August. Went right before closing and the staff was very gracious, and didn’t rush us. Excellent food and service, and great cocktails. I would heartily recommend it without reservation.
we will be visiting UA on Monday, February 23. We are driving in on Sunday and should arrive mid-afternoon We have our hotel arranged already. We are going on the 10am tour. Anyone else here doing that? We want to also see the honors dorm and meet with one or two departments. However, her honors application is still pending. I see that the Computer based honors applicants are also visiting that day. Hope there is room for us! Does anyone know what time the computer nonors students are doing their sessions and tours?
On Monday, the CBH students should be doing interviews in the morning and then departing for the airport. They aren’t doing sessions and tours. If they do any sort of mini-tour, it would be done thru CBH, not the univ, so it shouldn’t interfere with your visit. 
. It’s been a few years since my son did the CBH weekend, and I don’t recall any tour at all for them. Maybe someone from CBH escorted them around the quad before or after their interviews?
Your D’s honors app shouldn’t cause any issues. When did she submit?
Okay, thanks @mom2collegekids I appreciate it! Wow, I am totally am impressed with computer honors, that is not a gift that my senior student has,as bright as she might be in other ways, haha! If the honors tours were full, it would be my own fault because I could have requested it earlier:). She submitted the honors app about 2 weeks ago, I think. It seemed like they were very efficient with admitting her, so I hope Honors will be fast, too.
The CBHP interview weekend starts the 22nd - looks like general get-to-know-yous and tours are on Sunday afternoon and evening and then interviews most of the day on Monday.
So it looks like many are saying Cypress inn and Epiphany are not to be missed. What about Evangeline’s? Mercedes plant tour on Monday maybe??