Birmingham

Had a weekend job last weekend in Birmingham. Figured out that UAB doesn't stand for Uni of AlaBama. Worked through the night Friday, meaning we finished up a lot earlier than expected. I was a zombie when I got through on Saturday, grabbed an omelette at a greasy spoon and a six pack from piggly wiggly before heading back to the hotel. Passed out for a few, got my shit together and discovered the 5 points area of town. Kinda like the Atlanta neighborhood of the same name. I liked it a lot - decent food, relaxed vibe, and coffee. Actually I liked what I saw of Birmingham. Deciduous hardwood forests not unlike those in the northeast, college town, its got the 'we were a busted industrial southern town with a racial history but we're cleaning up our act and getting new industries to come here' vibe. Clean, traffic wasn't bad, wide streets, got a warm feeling there all in all.
Checked out the botanical gardens and sloss furnaces. I've got pics of both that'll be uploaded to flickr soon enough. Sloss furnaces was pretty neat, made better with the overcast weather and Mermaid Ave on the iPod.