The car rumbled and the stomachs grumbled.

JF and I had been through the town of Northport which is also in the county of Tuscaloosa. (More about this further down) While visiting one of the art galleries, the owner told us about Wintzell’s.
She raved over the food, flavor and atmosphere of Wintzell’s and how there was more of a selection than at Cypress Inn. Prices she said were comparable to those of other eating establishments of the same caliber.
JF: (turning to CM and me) Do you want to try…
CM and me: Yes! ( JF didn’t get to finish the sentence)

It turns out that Wintzell’s was just a few blocks away. We went in and were seated immediately. Apparently we’d come at the right time. It was a pleasant day so we sat outside on the large patio. There was a small trail that pretty much abutted the patio and from time to time walkers would pass by . At one time being in the south meant that if you made eye contact with someone you have to speak. And if you didn’t you were just being plain uppity. Thank goodness that rule has been relaxed. You acknowledge who you want to and the rest you just don’t look at. Now, there are older denizens who would beg to differ with me but in that case you adjust the rule as needed.

Just past the walking trail was the Black Warrior River which we also had a view of. A very enjoyable and serene setting overall.

I really would like to tell you what we all had but about that time I had gone into “me hungry” mode. I had a combination of fish, shrimp, crab claws (very small ones), crab cake and oysters. I had slaw , hush puppies, and green beans as my sides. And yes, every bit of my entrée was fried. I don’t usually eat oysters but even they were delicious. It was really enough food for two people. We all enjoyed the food and were finally sated. Before we headed back to Birmingham CM went into Dreamland Barbeque which was located right next door to Wintzell’s to pick up ribs for her mother.


Now, back to Main Street.
Main Street is very quaint It reminds me of Mayberry or a Norman Rockwell type of place. There’s more than one shop that sells clothing. There are antique stores, restaurants, art galleries, barber shop ( didn’t see Floyd inside) , hardware store and even a five and dime store. The buildings all seem to have their original architecture which only adds to its attractiveness.

The 5 & 10 was reminiscent of a bygone era.

What I’m about to describe would be purely foreign to most people under the age of 40. Inside the store were a few piece goods (bolts of fabric), zippers (some of them metal), ladies dusters (not for dusting furniture), snuggies (not the diapers).

The owner had a black rotary phone and an old style cash register. I bought 5 of the zippers to use in future craft projects. The prices were .45 for a 7 inch and .65 for a 9 inch. BTW you’d be hard pressed to find a 7 inch or 9 inch metal zipper these days.

As you can see in the picture of Dreamland Barbeque, heavy clouds were moving in. Our journey back to Birmingham was accompanied by a torrential downpour which lasted for quite a while. It was a bit scary for me. By the time we reached home it was still raining steadily but at least we were back in familiar territory.

I blew a sigh of relief and a heartfelt thanks for our safe return.

THAT'S IT***