aintnosunshine

And it's terrible. The traffic is just crazy. Between the Wal-Mart, 459, The Summit, and everything else, there is just so much traffic. Rush hour pretty much starts around 3 and doesn't let up until 7 or so. Don't get me wrong, you could only go to places on 280 and live a pretty full life, but you'd probably end up taking your own life because of the traffic. A nice place to visit, but living off this road is terrible.

This street will take you downtown, and as you go, you'll pass Bottletree, a great cafe and music venue. I saw Rogue Wave here, and have enjoyed the thick vegan chili (and I'm not even a vegan) many times. It's got a great vibe on the inside, but I wouldn't really feel safe 100 feet or so in any direction. Other than the safety issue, the whole street is interesting.

There's not a whole lot on the street to make it different than all the other streets around it, aside from Workplay, a great music venue. It's just the right size to be intimate, but still draw decent artists, like Iron & Wine. I've been to a few shows here, and it's really the highlight of the road. Workplay alone makes it worth the trip.

Around rush hour, or just about any time classes get out, traffic is terrible. Parking gets easier in the evening, but then again, that's really when you don't want to be wandering about downtown, isn't it? The Hill Univesity Center is here, which is where many of the UAB offices are. There's a nice little park accross the street, and the student center as well. Walk, don't drive.

While it doesn't seem like it sometimes, there's a lot out here. For one, there's a ton of apartment complexes, and housing communities. It's also got an ultra-rich high school, Spain Park, which is directly located next to Jefferson State Community College. Near the college, there's a pretty little pond, and in front of the school, there's a massive park, which is great for kids.

31 goes through Vestavia, and there's a ton of great shopping. There's a great Rave movie theater, which is probably the best one I've ever seen. Lots of great places to eat, too. The traffic, however, is terrible. It's like a little 280 all unto itself. After seven or so, it cools out a bit.

There is an 18th St S downtown, but I'm referring to the end in Homewood. There's a Seattle Drip, which is a great coffee place with two drive-thrus. Further down the road, if you don't want to support the man, there's O'Henry's, a more quaint coffee shop. In between the two is the Little Professor, a nice bookstore if you're looking for something good, not necessarily something in particular.

Summit Blvd. consists of the Summit, really, but it turns into another road just past it. there's a lot of good shopping that you can't find elsewhere, like Urban Outfitters. There's also good food, like P.F. Chang's, Zoe's Kitchen, and Ben & Jerry's. I almost always forget there's a Bruno's in the back too (even though you can get overcharged at Whole Foods down the road, only with better quality). Worth a look.

At the bottom of the hill, there's a shopping center with a Whole Foods. It's the only one in the entire state, and it's great. Further up, there's a lot of nice little houses and condos. It's a good place for just about anyone: seniors, singles, families, etc. The only problem for little kids would be the traffic, but other than that, it's good. It also has a great school system.

I had an English class at the Humanities building on 13th St South. On the other side of the street, there's the library, which was pretty impressive. Four stories of books is a good way to kill some time. The traffic's bad, but the crosswalk is usually acknowledged, which helps. As far as downtown Birmingham goes, it seemed safe too.