Get ready for a wild time when you set out for Alabama's Sipsey Wilderness Area. This is the third largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi and is located in the Bankhead National Forest. Located just 90 miles northwest of Birmingham, the outdoor area offers camping, fishing, hunting, horseback riding as well as numerous streams that are perfect for a canoe ride. The amazing canyons and bluffs range from 50 to 200 feet high, and the trails were created by Native Americans and offer a unique way to view this rustic pocket of nature.
The grooves are still spinning at Charlemagne Record Exchange in Birmingham. The staff gets kudos for not only being extremely knowledgeable, but they are uproariously funny and always try to help you find what you're looking for. And there is plenty of vinyl through which you can rummage. Various LPs and 45s are stocked, and you will want to flip though them all—you never know what you will find. If you select a few discs that you would like to preview, the listening station complete with a turntable and headphones will allow you spin it before you take it home!
Jazz is truly America's music. Some of the most iconic musical entities have their inextricable link to American popular culture. That is what is celebrated at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Learn more about the lives and music of such performers as Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and more. Several multimedia exhibits are presented, as well as various programs and classes designed to bring the art and appreciation of jazz to music lovers of all ages. The museum is located inside the historic Carver Theatre.