Huntsville, Ala.

Friday: From Trains to Tulips. Andy Barker, the robotic ticket agent, fills you in on Alabama’s railroad history at the Huntsville Depot. The site, where visitors can tour locomotives and view graffiti written by Civil War soldiers, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Switch gears and admire the beauty of the Huntsville Botanical Garden. Meander through specialty gardens, along the wildflower and nature trail and past the 110-year-old dogwood. Lunch is soups, salads or sandwiches with a sophisticated twist at Covington’s Downtowne.