<p>My daughter and I will be in Alabama for a few days before I drop her off for the Business Academy on July 9. Does anyone have any suggestions of things we can do that are not too far? Recommendations on hotels are welcome, too.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Restaurants</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1156069-bama-area-restaurant-guide.html?highlight=restaurants[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1156069-bama-area-restaurant-guide.html?highlight=restaurants</a></p>
<p>Hotels</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13186247-post50.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13186247-post50.html</a></p>
<p>Things to To</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14325205-post123.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14325205-post123.html</a></p>
<p>Things to Do</p>
<p>Visit Paul Bear Bryant Museum…southeast side of campus</p>
<p>Walk/visit/drive by The RiverWalk…which is on Jack Warner Hwy along the Black Warrior River…very pretty area to walk, jog, sit, drive by.</p>
<p>Walk thru or drive by “The Strip”…on University Blvd…immediately West of the Stadium…many student hangouts, restaurants, stores, cafes, a major grocery store (Publix), etc.</p>
<p>Visit the front of the Stadium (north end)…see the statues, and the floor plaques on the Walk of Champions. The south end of the stadium is new and has some restaurants and other new stuff there. </p>
<p>Downtown…an area that has been renovated (and still some reno going on) …on University Blvd…west of campus…west of Queen City Blvd…many shops, restaurants, civic center, etc. </p>
<p>Midtown Village…on McFarland and 15th St…It’s an “outdoor lifestyle mall” that has shops, restaurants, etc…there’s a Best Buy and Barnes and Noble there as well. There are two stores there that sell Bama spirit wear: Bama Fever…and…Alumni Hall.</p>
<p>The new Tuscaloosa Outdoor Amphitheater…located on the river by Lurleen Wallace Blvd.</p>
<p>The new Farmers Market along the RiverWalk.</p>
<p>Will you be driving in? If so, from which direction? If you’re coming thru B’ham, there are things to see there as well.</p>
<p>What are the must sees in Birmingham? We have left some site seeing time in our August move in schedule, but haven’t began our planning yet.</p>
<p>There’s great shopping at The Summit at Mountain Brook and the zoo is there, too. There is a fairly new outlet mall around Leeds, The Outlet Shops at Grande River.</p>
<p>[Attractions</a> | Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau – Birmingham, AL](<a href=“http://birminghamal.org/seedo/attractions/]Attractions”>Attractions - Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau - Birmingham, AL)</p>
<p>And on the website, you can order free maps and visitor guides.</p>
<p><a href=“http://cvb.sweetbirmingham.com/iebms/logon/log_p2_addedit.aspx?AppSessionID=fg3fg2fbpfc5fc2ejp&sessionid=fg8fgnfb0fckfckfa6&eventid=&mode=add[/url]”>http://cvb.sweetbirmingham.com/iebms/logon/log_p2_addedit.aspx?AppSessionID=fg3fg2fbpfc5fc2ejp&sessionid=fg8fgnfb0fckfckfa6&eventid=&mode=add</a></p>
<p>T-town Visitors Guide…and you can request a Visitors Guide</p>
<p><a href=“http://visittuscaloosa.com/things-to-do/[/url]”>http://visittuscaloosa.com/things-to-do/</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://visittuscaloosa.com/request-a-visitor-guide/[/url]”>http://visittuscaloosa.com/request-a-visitor-guide/</a></p>
<p>In Birmingham, I would highly recommend the Civil Rights Institute: [Plan</a> Your Visit](<a href=“http://www.bcri.org/plan_visit/index.html]Plan”>http://www.bcri.org/plan_visit/index.html)
They have a great exhibit that is well worth 2 or 3 hours of time.</p>
<p>We are planning a trip after we are done with Bama Bound in July. We are driving down from Rhode Island, so we will be passing through many states. The kids aren’t offering any ideas except my youngest who wants to go to Atlanta to see Coca Cola World. I want to maybe drive through the Smoky Mountains and I’ve always been curious about the Outer Banks in North Carolina. My husband suggested there would be more to do in Virginia Beach. Anyone have any other ideas?</p>
<p>Proudmama3…We own a home on the Outer Banks…have been vacationing there for the past 15 years. We LOVE it. I wish I could compare it to Virginia Beach but I haven’t been there. From what my second DD says (she and her boyfriend share a beach home in Virginia Beach with another couple)…OBX is a little more beachy and family orientated. It’s just been the past few years that we have gotten cain restaurants. The beaches are wide and very nice…life guards are abundant (this provided hours of entertainment when our girls were younger…let’s just say the guys were nice to look at ). You can horse back ride, wind and para sail, climb Jockey’s Ridge which is a HUGE sand dune, ride go carts, go deep sea fishing or just fish off the Avalon Pier. There is the Lost Colony in Manteo and if you are adventurous you can go down to the Hatteras Light house and climb it! There is great boutique shopping and an outlet mall…You can drive up to Duck and Corolla…
I will warn you that YOU DO NOT want to travel the bridge to Norfolk in or out on Saturdays. That is the day the houses turn and the traffic is HORRIBLE!!! So avoid Saturday.
By the way my husband and I love Naragansett and Wakefied…We usually stay at The Admiral Dewey Bed and Breakfast.</p>
<p>I thought this looked fun in Gaitlinburg
[CLIMB</a> Works Zipline Canopy Tour in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge | ClimbWorksCanopy.com](<a href=“http://www.climbworkscanopy.com/]CLIMB”>http://www.climbworkscanopy.com/)</p>
<p>And these in Chattanooga
[Ruby</a> Falls](<a href=“http://rubyfalls.com/]Ruby”>http://rubyfalls.com/)
[Lookout</a> Mountain - Chattanooga - Reviews of Lookout Mountain - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g54946-d105134-Reviews-Lookout_Mountain-Chattanooga_Tennessee.html]Lookout”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g54946-d105134-Reviews-Lookout_Mountain-Chattanooga_Tennessee.html)</p>
<p>We were looking at time in Gaitlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Chattanooga. There is always Dollywood too.</p>
<p>Mamouth Cave made a HUGE impression on me as a kid.</p>
<p>If you are going to Atlanta to see Coke World, Stone Mountain is pretty awesome. The nicer hotel there has a great package deal with the best, best breakfast buffet and park tickets</p>
<p>[Stone</a> Mountain Park: Georgia theme park and camping in Atlanta](<a href=“http://www.stonemountainpark.com/]Stone”>http://www.stonemountainpark.com/)</p>
<p>(The advice given for avoiding Norfolk bridge on Saturdays applies to Smokey Mountains as well)</p>
<p>If you’re going to be in Tuscaloosa this summer on a Thursday . . . you might try the Homegrown Alabama Farmer’s Market: </p>
<p>[Homegrown</a> Alabama Farmers Market | Events Calendar - The University of Alabama](<a href=“Events Calendar - The University of Alabama”>Events Calendar - The University of Alabama)</p>
<p>Homegrown Alabama is a student-led group at the University of Alabama that seeks to educate students about the value of local produce, as well as to foster partnerships between local farmers and the University of Alabama.</p>
<p>[Homegrown</a> Alabama](<a href=“http://www.homegrownalabama.org/]Homegrown”>http://www.homegrownalabama.org/)</p>
<p>Proudmama3…D and I did Atlanta in March after Greek Preview Weekend in T-Town. It is an easy drive. She LOVED the new Aquarium, we spent all day there. Coke World was fun per her review. We really enjoyed walking thru Olympic Park, it is beautiful with fountains and statues, etc. I do highly recommend Atlanta. We even went to Varsity, the huge drive-in.</p>
<p>Last year when we were in Town in June we went to the Farmer’s Market on campus. It is small but very nice. We had some wonderful peaches, and great cheese. It was fun to walk around and see and sample everything. Nice way to pass a bit of time and get a feel for campus.</p>