We started our day at Starbucks. Dean is excited to have Starbucks around again. We went to a local bakery, expecting to pick up a morning pastry, but only found cake and desserts. We decided to go ahead and drive into downtown Birmingham for lunch.
Passing by University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB), Dean headed to Dreamland, a famous barbecue restaurant in Birmingham. He had eaten there many times when he worked for SouthTrust Bank. Having told Robin about it over the years, we knew that's where we would eat lunch.
When we walked in, the decor was definitely unique. It was reflective of University of Alabama, Auburn University, and just deep South tradition. Where else would you find a neon "No Farting" sign! The first thing that happened at Dreamland was the waitress brought us a stack of plain white bread and a cup of a special dipping sauce. Dean explained that people dip the bread into the sauce and eat it while they wait for their food. The sauce was very spicy. Our sandwiches came and they were good. However, even the mild barbecue sauce was still pretty spicy. Dean was disappointed that they weren't cooking the ribs on the big pits while we were there. When he had been there before, they apply the barbecue sauce to the meat with a mop. Of course, the mop is only used for sauce!
We left Dreamland and drove to Vulcan Park and Museum. The giant statue is the world's largest cast iron statue, and among the nation's tallest. It is the city symbol for Birmingham, reflecting its roots in the iron and steel industry. Vulcan sits atop Red Mountain, overlooking the city of Birmingham since the 1930s.
We toured the museum first, learning about the materials and history of creating Vulcan.
We rode the elevator to the observation deck. The views of Birmingham were fabulous! It was very hot outside so we didn't stay outside for long.
Back in the car, we drove around Birmingham. We thought we were going to be able to go to our friend, Linda's, store, but we realized we were running out of time, fighting the local traffic. Robin had a bad headache and was beginning to not feel well. We went back to the hotel so she could take some medicine and lay down. We fell asleep, but it was to be a short nap since we were supposed to meet some of Dean's former colleagues from SouthTrust for dinner.
Upon waking up, Robin was very sick to her stomach and really felt bad. We decided she would stay in bed and Dean would go to dinner. Robin went back to sleep and slept for a few more hours.
Sandra and Gretchen came to the hotel to pick Dean up. They enjoyed a great dinner and conversation at The Fish Market, which is a well-known local seafood restaurant. They had fun catching up and sharing stories.
Robin had tried to eat some soup from the Courtyard Bistro, but didn't have much luck with it settling her stomach. Once Dean arrived back from dinner, we went to bed for the night. We were hoping Robin would feel better in the morning.
