July 4th weekend, Kimberly and I headed down to Birmingham, Alabama to visit the Birmingham Zoo (
http://www.birminghamzoo.com/) and Vulcan (
http://www.visitvulcan.com/). For those who are unfamiliar, a zoo is a collection....I kid, I kid. You're more than likely familiar with what a zoo is, although Vulcan may be another story. More on Vulcan in a while, right now, it's zoo time.
For those interested in the visuals, you can see them
HERE.
After visiting (and being spoiled by) the Memphis Zoo, I wasn't sure what to expect from Birmingham's. Well, I was pleasantly surprised at the large amount of natural landscaping. It really is a pretty place to walk around. One unique feature is a woven wood/vine trellis near the Predator exhibit. It offers great shade and it's just really neat to look at. Speaking of shade, the zoo made a good choice with another mesh trellis over in the children's area, along with the carousel shaded under a rather unique tent. Who needs a round building when you can have an artsy and unique tent? I liked this feature and you might even say they have one really intents carousel.
Kimberly's high point of the day was a Camel ride while mine was a ride on the Birmingham Zoo Express. Thankfully got video of both occasions before Fail Cam once again lived up to it's name (and cemented it's ultimate replacement). The train ride was fun as always and I've really come to enjoy these C.P. Huntington mini's that are fairly common to zoos and parks. I liked the Birmingham Zoo Express in particular for it's African themeing. It's the third C.P. I've ridden this year.
Also, as per tradition, I wore my Kavu Chillba sun hat. If you've never seen one, it looks like the modern equivalent to the Chinese Coolie hat. It also draws some interesting looks. Got more compliments and "where can I get its" from folks, just like other trips this year. Hey, the kind words are always appreciated when it comes to my "funny hat", that was so named by a cute kid at the Memphis Zoo earlier this year.
After 4 hours, Kimberly and I bid the zoo farewell, with magnets, lanyards, and toy camel in hand. Our next stop was Vulcan. Vulcan is a large statue on a hillside over-looking "The Magic City". Vulcan and the accompanying museum celebrate Birmingham's industrial heritage and offer an impressive view of downtown. It also has a colossal metal arse, you're just hypnotically drawn to.
The park grounds around Vulcan's base offer nice places for picnics, including a rather unique ledge off the main pathway that has picnic tables. At the top is the museum with a large map, set in stone, at the front entrance. Inside is a floor to ceiling metal collage of everything from gears to machine parts. Very artsy.
A quick spin through the museum yielded the statue's history and renovations. Fascinating reads, especially for the structurally inclined. The gift shop had one of the strangest souvenirs I've ever seen. While a bobble head is nothing new, a bobble butt is another story. Yes, you read that right. You can buy a mini statue of Vulcan where the head and arse both jiggle. There are also magnets available with a clear shot of the statue's backside. Cool points for cleverly capitalizing on the humor folks.
Time to go up to the observation deck just under the statue. Naturally, my fear of heights kicked in, so I opted to take the stairs...all 161 ofthem (13 flights) to the top. After 4 hours of zoo walking this was not the smartest idea, despite it making me feel safer going up. Unfortunately, anxiety got the better of me when I discovered the observation platform was about a 3 foot grated catwalk. Looking down made things worse. The clincher was feeling the whole tower sway. My knees buckled and that was it. Time to go. Snapped a quick pic of the downtown view and dashed back inside the tower where I felt safer. Felt much safer at the bottom and that picture is definitely worth a thousand words...more than half of which would be anxiety spawned cussing.
After a good time (nevertheless) at Vulcan, we headed over to Riverchase Galleria (Galeeria according to Muldoon, our Aussie voiced GPS). Cheers for metropolitan malls and all the goodies they offer...including air conditioning. Had a fun time looking at the shops and met up with mybuddy Raymond for dinner at Cajun Steamers. Glad to see him and his wife, Paris, since their wedding last May (2008). They were also kind enough to let Kimberly and I stay overnight and make a late night run to Whataburger so I could try it for the first time. Good times and happyto catch up with them. Looking forward to seeing them again soon.
The next morning we all met at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then parted ways. All in all, another good trip made even better by an enthusiastic travel partner (and girlfriend!) and dear friends. Truly, a great way to spend 4th of July weekend.
