In July 2024 our daughter Becca, her husband Josh, son Ezra and stepson Zach came to Pelham for a visit. One thing she wanted to do was take her kids to some places she remembered fondly from growing up in the area. So off we went!
For more nostalgia about Pelham, see my post "Pelham As We Knew It in 1985".
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When Becca and son Amos were kids, we spent some time in the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover over the years. I would often meet Dianne and the kids there after work, and we would have a meal, ride the carousel and visit some favorite stores like the Nature Company and Disney. Once upon a time there was also a bookstore, Bookland, which operated from 1986 until 2007 and was one of four operated in the Birmingham area by Books-A-Million. Ezra and Zach seemed to enjoy their visit.
Of course we had to eat at one of our longtime favorite Pelham restaurants, Cozumel Grill.
We spent much of a day at the McWane Science Center exploring all the exhibits on all the floors. "Ocean Journey" in the basement with live sea creatures was especially neat. The fossil creatures were, too.
Of course, the boys had to milk a "cow".
We all had fun at the Lego wall.
Naturally, Becca wanted Josh and the kids to see where she went to elementary school, which is now a retail space known as Campus 124. I've written about the history of Valley and its redevelopment in posts here in 2020, here in 2021 and here in 2015. Over the years, in addition to visits to the Beer Hog, we've enjoyed eating at the Half Shell Oyster House.
Valhalla is a restaurant, coffee shop and gaming venue located at Campus 124. Becca, Josh, the boys and I spent a couple of Saturday hours there and had a lot of fun. You pay a fee and then pick any board games you want from their extensive selection. We managed to play two or three before we left. We arrived around 11am, and the place was not very busy; by the time we left it was packed.
We did a walk through the new Park 124 just behind her former elementary school, where the playground used to be as she remembered.
The park even has a babbling brook.
On the way home the gang went through Auburn and stopped at her alma mater so Josh, Ezra and Zach could see the campus. Our family has a tradition there; her parents met at the school. My parents also met at Auburn some years earlier.
