So Glad To Be So Cold

     Today was a relatively early morning for me. Before we all went to bed, we had planned to be out of the house and off to Birmingham by 10am. However, by 9am no one had even begun to stir, so I got on the computer and fiddled around, bought my text books, and headed into the kitchen. In the end, we left the house around 11:30am. It was an amazingly quick hour long drive to the city, but I think I am still being haunted by the ghost of jet lag, because by about 11am I am completely exhausted, even when I have had a full night of sleep.

     We reached Birmingham at half passed noon. I was amazed when Lynne and Jess commented on the amount of crime in the city, but once we arrived I could see what they meant. There were no robbers that I saw of course, but the city was a sharp juxtaposition of new and old which can often create a feeling of smallness among tourists. Still, I found many parts of the city to be beautiful. It was, like most big cities, very dirty and cram packed with people and gave off an almost palpable taste of electricity. Most of our day was consumed of wandering from shop to shop. I found some great baby clothes for little Casper, Jess and Lynne had a religious experience in Forever 21, and Dave bought a nice sweater from Gap. 

     The only draw back of the day was my being completely over-heated. Once we entered the huge 4 story mall, I was blasted with serious heat. While it felt good when I first stepped in, by the time I found I store I wanted to visit I was sweating profusely. I was so so so happy when we got to leave the mall. I stuffed my blue jacket in my shopping bag, and walked the rest of the day around Birmingham wearing just a turtle neck and thin black cardigan. Lynne seemed really concerned at first, because it was a very windy and cold day, but I reassured her that I was truly about to ignite; everyone else stayed huddled in their coats, gloves, and scarves.

    We came to the canals of Birmingham at sun set, and took a quick walk around a small area of these canals, and I took a lot of different photos of this interesting area. Unfortunately, they we underdeveloped, so I didn't post them. When the sun had set, we made our way to a good looking restaurant, a burger restaurant, and each had a wonderful meal. Lynne, Dave and Jess had burgers and I got a very tasty salad. At the end of our meal I was finally room temperature again, and willingly donned my jacket and gloves for the long trek back to the parking garage. 

Ugh, politically correct toys.

Las Vegas? Planet Hollywood? Who knew they had just copied this design?

The crowed four story mall.

The whole dollar pound store thing, really must be a universally loved idea.