Downtown Huntsville Huntsville/Madison County CVB photo

Things are heating up in Huntsville/Madison County, Ala. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center opened its new home for the Saturn V Rocket on Feb. 9. The Davidson Saturn V Center has a 42,000-square-foot exhibit space to showcase the history of the Saturn program. Workers will move the massive rocket to its new home in three stages, to be completed in time for the annual Saturn/Apollo Reunion on July 13. The center’s popular Space Camp last year celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Alabama’s first Westin Hotel is set to open for overnight guests on March 27 at the new Bridge Street Town Centre entertainment complex. The complex, which opened in November, has shopping, dining and movie establishments.

And the city’s art museum is in the middle of an $11 million capital campaign that will fund an expansion, doubling the attraction’s current size.

Come to Huntsville March 29–31 and see glorious spring blooms at the Spring Festival of Flowers at the Botanical Garden, which last year opened the biggest butterfly house in the country.

For information, call the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, (800) 843-0468 or click on www.huntsville.org.

Few people can see a road atlas without thinking of vacations, adventures, or other memories of travel. And fewer can resist flipping through one, looking for the familiar or dreaming of exploring new places.

Modern technology can provide alternatives for maps and directions, but atlas loyalists cite lower cost, reliability, ease of use, portability, and detailed available information as advantages of the printed format. It is considered an essential item to keep in a vehicle at all times.

Covering the United States, Canada and Mexico, the AAA Road Atlas features the latest AAA/CAA comprehensive road information, as well as inset city maps, same-page town indexing, driving times, and mileage tables. The North American version is available in standard, large print, and pocket editions. It is available at your nearest full-service AAA office, at better bookstores, and online at www.AAA.com/BarnesAndNoble. The cost for members is $8.95, $12.95 for non-members. Your local AAA office can also offers expert travel planning and booking services, as well as complete resources for auto travel.

AAA Exclusive Getaways are preplanned vacations that include extras like lodging, meals, tours and more. Regional packages are available to Chicago and Memphis, but destinations explore the continental United States. These trip packages are great for people who prefer to drive to the destination. As your AAA travel professional for details.