Hey JMB, I'm headed to Tuscaloosa next week on Fri/Sat.

Two places we enjoy. The first is Cypress Inn. It's on the river and serves tasty cat fish. More on the upscale side. Then there is Moe's Original Bar B Que. Located a few blocks west of campus on University Boulevard. Started in Tuscaloosa. Today in addition to Alabama, it has locations in Colorado (including Vail), Georgia, and North Carolina. Bet Jack can give you a broader selection of choices.

Man, almost forgot about Rama Jama's. Located in the shadow of Bryant Denny Stadium, it's the place for breakfast. On game weekends, it's a mob scene.

It's a game weekend, but BB so it doesn't really count. They have Tennessee on Sat.

Dreamland Bar-B-Que, Bridge Avenue, Northport. Chuck's fish on Greensboro Ave. Baumhouer's for wings! Wenzell's Oysters right next to Dreamland. Hooligan's (small little place) Greek Food.

This daughter would do the BBQ and the wings. Visited their websites. Looks perfect. Got tickets for gymnastics meet on Fri. night vs Arkansas. She's excited. No basketball game tickets yet. Game is at 12:30 pm vs. TN and sold out. Looks like rain on Sat. too.

Just checked again. High of 58 plus rain and thunder on Sat. Don't think I'm going to bother putting the surfboard in the back of the daughter's Mustang. BTW, I'm not driving up. I'm riding along. She's got to drive her car up there-- all the way!

Not going to be a nice day Saturday at all. I am supposed to do a heart walk at 9:00am but not looking good. May have to give and go and come home and drink beer (blood thinner).

You interested in having a beer at happy hour on Fri. or after the gymnastics thing around 9:30 somewhere? I'll PM you my phone number. Call me any time. We're leaving at 7 am but the tour is pushed back to Sat. at 8:30 am for some reason.

Had a great and productive visit to Tuscaloosa. Daughter is sold and sending in room deposit today so she'll be Jack's neighbor. I'll take the boat up there at some point for a visit and take her new friends out for a day on the water.

We got there Fri. afternoon and drove through campus. We went to eat some BBQ at Dreamland. Outstanding ribs! Then we parked by the stadium and walked the campus, taking pics. Went to the bookstore to get some t-shirts and swag. Then we drove out by Lake Tuscaloosa to check it out. Went to dinner at Baumhowers and got some wings. Went to the gymnastics meet-- over 15,000 there for gymnastics was really amazing.

Afterward, we went to Buffalo Phil's on The Strip where we met Deerfield's son. What a fine young gentleman. Had a nice visit with him and it was good for us to talk with a current student about what campus life is like. After we dropped him off back at his frat house we went back & turned in.

On Sat. morning we did a campus bus tour. Lots of history and very well done. Overall I was extremely impressed with how organized everything is and how well planned and organized everything seemed. Also, I never saw a place where everyone wears their colors so much. Close to 90% of the people we saw were wearing AL gear. It looked like game day each day we were there. And, the campus is spotless and neat. There is a huge respect factor that is obvious about every square inch of the place. I was very impressed.

After the tour we checked out a model dorm room. They are way bigger and way nicer than what I remember. Private individual sleeping rooms and bathrooms shared with only one other person. Nice.

Finally, we headed out of town and stopped to see Jack. We could still see the after effects of the devastation from the tornado last year. Huge trees still down, debris strewn about still- piles of refuse. Jack's place looked way better than most. He has done a great job of cleanup and rebuilding. I am sure he is an inspiration for his neighbors. It will be years before things are anywhere near normal again though. The house is new and very nice. The shop is amazing. Below is a pic of me and Jack in the shop next to the Outback. Didn't get to stay very long and it was in the 50's and raining. Next time we'll hit the water together. It was great to see Jack & Mindy again and gain an appreciation of what they are still enduring in their area. Next time we'll have a little fun.

Here's a couple pics from our visit:

It was great to have Kaneboats stop by and visit. Looking forward to this summer if he gets up here and also going to the Moomba Jam. I am hoping the weather breaks here soon. I do have IBS (irratable boat syndrome) going on right now. Everybody is a great bunch of folks that I have met on this forum.

Sounds like a great trip. Is that lake big enough for a couple of Moombas?

25 miles long. Plenty of room and places to go when the wind gets to blowing