• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 550 0

most agreeable of the four towns, is where you wanna be for nightlife. The hip spot downtown is Ricatoni’s, a trendy Italian joint full of coeds and an addictive olive oil and herbs bread dip. After dinner, hop across the street to On The Rocks, the best of the many bars offering live music nightly (read: the best bar, not necessarily the best music). For something more classic, Dale’s restaurant serves an excellent fillet mignon with a house-made seasoning famous state-wide.

A rich musical pedigree of a different kind finds its roots in Florence. The WC Handy Museum celebrates the life of local boy WC Handy, the “father of the blues.” Handy didn’t invent the genre, of course, but he sophisticated it. The cabin he was born in is part of the tour. The best spot in The Shoals to sit on a porch and practice some blues of your own is Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, about 25 minutes outside Florence. At pristine Wheeler Lake, the Joe Wheeler State Park Lodge, though aged, sits right on the lake. There is a wealth of boating, fishing and 7.5 miles of hiking around the gorgeous 2250-acre park. The North Alabama Birding Trail rolls right through – there’s a 10ft-high birding blind in the northern end, where wading birds are common in winter (and the occasional bald eagle). Listen closely – even the birds around here sing a soulful tune or two.

Kevin Raub

* * *

The Tennessee Valley is rife with outdoor recreation opportunities with fishing, bird-watching and hiking topping the list. The private, 433-acre Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve offers hiking trails, camping, waterfalls and Paleo Indian rock shelters – all for free – 10 miles outside Tuscumbia. The Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge is a haven for bird-watching – check those grasshopper sparrows and dickcissels – 7 miles from Florence.

* * *

* * *

TRIP INFORMATION

GETTING THERE

From Birmingham, it’s a two-hour drive north on I-65 (northbound) to Hwy 157, then to Hwy 72 (westbound).

DO

Alabama Music Hall of Fame

This $2.5 million exhibit hall showcases Alabama’s finest. You can board one of Alabama’s tour buses! 256-381-4417; www.alamhof.org; 617 Hwy 72 W, Tuscumbia; adult/child $8/7; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun;

FAME Studios

Call ahead – if there’s nobody recording, you can stand in the room “where it all started.” 256-381-0801; www.fame2.com; 603 E Avalon Ave, Muscle Shoals; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri

Muscle Shoals Sound Studios

Cher put the facade on an album cover, the Rolling Stones and Stewart recorded in its hallowed halls. 256-783-2641; www.muscleshoalssound.org; 3614 Jackson Hwy, Sheffield; admission $10; noon-6pm Mon-Fri

Tennessee River Guide Service

Fishing guide Barry Holt takes anglers of all skill levels on eight-hour trips on Pickwick, Wheeler and Wilson lakes. 256-383-7481; Holt Upholstery & Audio, 1114 N Main St, Tuscumbia;

WC Handy Museum

The father of the blues is memorialized in this small museum and relocated wooden cabin. 256-760-6434; www.florenceal.org; 620 W College St, Florence; adult/child $2/0.50; 10am-4pm Tue-Sat

EAT & DRINK

Claunch Café

Everything is good at this comfort-food staple overlooking Tuscumbia’s pleasant Spring Park. 256-386-0222; 400 S Main St, Tuscumbia; mains $2.50-8; 11am-2pm Sun-Thu;

Dale’s

Small-town chophouse with a renowned steak seasoning and an oddly unrelated appetizer choice: onion soup or tomato juice? 256-766-4961; 1001 Metro Blvd, Florence; mains $16-38; 5-10pm Mon-Sat

On The Rocks

There are lots of places around The Shoals for live music nightly, but here the crowd is easier on the eyes. 256-760-2212; 110 N Court St, Florence; 11am-2am Mon-Sat

Ricatoni’s

Trendy Italian hotspot with solid eats and a waitstaff of coeds from the University of North Alabama. 256-718-1002; 710 N Court St, Florence; mains $10-18; 11am-10pm Sun-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat

SLEEP

Joe Wheeler State Park Lodge

Fishing, bird-watching and hiking are the big draws at this lodge on picturesque Wheeler Lake. 256-247-5461; www.joewheelerstatepark.com; 201 McLean