A Rhodesian Ridgeback in Alabama

As I continue on my travels headed to Greenville, South Carolina, I wanted to take a second and thank Michael Jones, Jill Rovner, and Bovver for hosting me in Birmingham for the first couple of nights.

The weekend was filled with great food, some interesting adventures, margaritas and photography. We started the night off with burgers and beer at Carrigan's Pub. The weather was great and the food spectacular. Catching up with Michael and finally getting Jill's life story of a California girl being transplanted in the south made for a great evening.

Once we wrapped up dinner, we walked to the Collins Bar where they make specialty cocktails and have an assortment of card games, dominos, and even an original Rock'em Sock'em Robots game. They absolutely kill it. The way it works is you tell them something you'd like such as "a spin on an Old-Fashioned" or something "like a Salty-Dog," and then they take their time to concoct you something so great you can't even describe it. My "Salty-Dog-ish" drink had crushed sea-salt rim, with grapefruit juice, Tito's vodka, lime, rhubarb bitters, and lemon. I had three. They were delectable. If you're ever in Birmingham, stop here for at least one cocktail and a game of Cards Against Humanity. You won't regret it.

The next morning we at breakfast at Over Easy, and had a great egg sandwich. We then proceeded to head back home and do some family photos with Michael, Jill, and Bovver to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Michael and Jill being together. The photos turned out great. Bovver is basically a Rhodesian Ridgeback model.

We were able to try out Cahaba Brewing Company on 5th Avenue and play Jenga for a solid hour while tasting their local brews. It was during Jenga that I learned "Any pizza can be a personal pizza if you try hard & believe in yourself." Truer words have never been spoken.

We then ventured over to Locked In, the Birmingham Escape Game where we were locked in a room with 5 other people as we had to solve small clues for nearly an hour in order to free ourselves from the room. It's thrilling and exhilarating. Not at all like the move, Saw. Go with some friends. It's a lot of fun.

We ended the weekend with some wood-oven pizza from Post Office Pies. If you want a real pizza in Birmingham, put this place on the top of your list. They also hire the United States Wounded Veterans to work here. It's an awesome business and everyone should check it out.