Fairhope, Alabama

Despite the cold, we wandered over to Fairhope this morning.  This charming community is almost directly across the Bay from Mobile.  It was hard to distinguish where Fairhope ended and Daphne started.  Once in Daphne, you are really in the outskirts of Mobile.

Along the east side of Mobile Bay

Our route from Summerdale to Fairhope took us past pecan groves, farmland, horse farms, golf courses, and a polo club.  As you might imagine, the houses got progressive larger as we approached the polo club.  Entering Fairhope, dwellings got back to a more reasonable size.  In fact, homes along the waterfront, which I’m sure represented the most expensive property value, were quite modest.  We were surprised at the number of properties for sale.  Perhaps these were those “second” or “vacation” homes along the coast that owners are trying to dispose of in these hard economic times.  Whatever the reason, there seemed to be a higher than normal number of “for sale” signs.

At the waterfront, we found a nice little park, small marinas, and fishing piers for the locals.  With the low temperatures and high winds, this was not the day to sit on one of the park benches and watch the shore birds.  I dashed out of the truck and snap a quick picture.  We did our looking through the windshield.

The best old building we found in Fairhope

The commercial downtown area consists mainly of two intersecting streets and comprising about 4 blocks in either direction.  We always go in search of historic buildings, but we only found a few in Fairhope.  In the downtown area, besides the city government buildings and banks, the “commercial” opportunities for shopping consisted of antique shops and a few small boutiques.  In Daphne, near Interstate 10, there is a relatively new shopping area.  Perhaps this has drawn shoppers away from the downtown Fairhope area.

We enjoyed our tour of Fairhope, but wished the weather had been suitable for walking around rather than touring in the truck.

Our return home took us by the shopping area in Daphne where I found my bed sheets at Target and yarn at Hobby Lobby.  Thanks, Judy Patterson, for the tip on Hobby Lobby.

For tomorrow, I think we are all just hoping for warmer weather.

Shopping Spree

Yesterday was another cold one in lower Alabama, but like the previous cold days, we had beautiful sunny skies.  What an optical illusion.  Looking through the window it appears to be a glorious, warm day, but the moment you open the door and that cold wind hits you in the face, the illusion is shattered.  This was another day for indoor activities.  I had a list of things I needed and, of course, we needed a propane refill, so we donned heavy coats and headed to Foley.

I’m not much of a shopper, so I rarely go to the mall.  I was in search of new house slippers.  The Tanger Outlet mall seemed like the place to begin.  I found my slippers at Naturalizer for half price.  That was such a deal we decided to look around at a few other things.  We fingered kitchen gadgets, baseball caps, and hiking gear.  I found a couple shirts at Eddie Bauer, but other than that we came away empty handed.  Still, 2 shirts and a pair of slippers for less than $40--not bad.

Baby afghan for my next grand nephew, due in May

I was also in search of bed sheets, which didn’t appear to be offered at this group of stores, so our next stop was Wal-Mart.  Besides a list of grocery items, I wanted yarn for my next knitting project, a yard flag stand to replace the one which was rusted, shelf liner, and the sheets.  I was really disappointed here.  This store had a very small selection of yarn (none that I wanted) and didn’t have the size needles I needed.  They had sheets, of course, but apparently everybody had sheets on their lists because the shelves were more empty than full.  They didn’t have what I wanted.  They also didn’t have the flag stand.  We got the shelf liner and groceries and went on our way.

A couple words about the shelf liner.  I, like most other RVers, have my shelves lined with that waffle type, no skid liner that they sell at Camping World, Wal-Mart, grocery stores and just about anywhere they sell shelf liner.  I’ve never been real happy with it as shelf liner.  It is great to place between dishes and other breakables, but on travel days I have to rearrange my shelves because it slides toward the rear if we go very far.  A few months ago I found a different type liner.  This one comes in the same size roll, but is a solid piece of very thin foam with a nonskid surface.  In the 2-day drive from Nashville to Summerdale, my dishes did not move at all.  Finally, I think I’ve found something that really works.

Next stop, Ace Hardware for propane.  While they were filling our tank, I found the flag stand.  The shrimp monger came up next and we got a couple pieces of fresh grouper and a couple pounds of fresh shrimp for the freezer.  Good eats in our future.

By that time, the fun factor had worn pretty thin.  We spent the rest of the afternoon at home.  Gene surfed the internet while I finished the last few rows on the baby afghan I’m making for our next great-nephew.

Today, the temperatures are a little warmer, but rain (even sleet and snow) are in our forecast.  Gonna be another indoor day.  We have invited a few friends over for a glass of wine before we all gather for another of Larry’s home-cooked meals at the clubhouse.

The weather forecasters seem to think this cold snap will break by early next week.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.  Until then, try to stay warm.

Pensacola Museums

Even though it was sunny, it was far too cold for any outdoor activity.  We didn’t want to stay home again today, so we consulted with Mike and Gerri and came up with a plan.

Bundled up in heavy coats, we drove over to Pensacola making our first stop the Visitor’s Center.  We had coffee and cookies there, picked up brochures of area attractions, and sought professional advise on what we should see from the lady at the desk.  As the Visitor’s Center was located right on the Bay, I stepped out very briefly to make a couple pictures.  Oh yea, we browsed through the very small gift shop while we were there.  Hats and tee-shirts were on sale, but we managed to get out without spending a dime.

Just a little cold this morning

The Pensacola Museum of Art is free on Tuesdays, so we made that our next stop.  It is a small museum in what used to be a jail.  The current exhibit is Audubon: Birds of America.  There were about 40 prints from John James Audubon’s Birds of America Series.  Fantastic.  There were also some very nice items in the small gift shop, but, again, we managed to get out without spending a dime.

Mike in his cell at Pensacola Museum of Art

Our next stop was the T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum.  This also was a very small museum, but very nicely done.  The exhibits outlined the history of the Pensacola area from Native Americans, Spanish exploration, French and British occupation,  and up through the Civil War years.  There was also a small exhibit, a shrine almost, featuring T.T. Wentworth, Jr.

T.T. Wentworth Florida State Museum

The lady at the Visitor’s Center had recommended Hall’s Seafood Family Restaurant so we finally found our way back there for lunch.  None too soon, either, as we were all getting pretty hungry.

By the time we got home, we had put in a full day.  Museums were the ticket for this cold day.  Of course, the best part was spending it with friends, Mike and Gerri.

Chef Larry is preparing our dinner for us tonight.  One thing for sure, there is no lack of social activities at the Escapees Rainbow parks.

Who knows what we will be doing the next few days.  The weather is supposed to deteriorate with clouds tomorrow and rain (maybe even snow) on Thursday and colder temperatures.  We’ll probably be looking for more indoor things to occupy our time.  Whatever it is, it’ll be fun.

Burrr, It's Cold Outside

This is absolutely a gorgeous day.  The sun is shining and the sky is that beautiful blue, but the air temperature is a very chilly 31 degrees.  As bad as that sounds, it is a vast improvement from the 26 we woke up to.  Not what we expect in Lower Alabama.  I’m not complaining, though.  It is far better than the 9 or 13 or whatever it was in Nashville this morning.  Gene trotted off early this morning to refill propane.  We certainly don’t want to risk running out.  It is supposed to stay cold for the rest of this week and, believe it or not, there are snow flurries in our forecast for Thursday.   As I’m writing this Gene is  out attaching our insulated water hose.  Who would have thought we would have needed it here?

In an effort to get the adventure told of our trip to Pensacola, I have neglected a couple things that I definitely want to share.  First is our new cat carrier.

Folds flat for storage

When we travel, the Peanut gets to ride in the backseat in his carrier.  That’s keeps him safe and it keeps us safe, as well.  There is no danger of him crawling around under the driver’s feet.  We have been happy with the standard, hard plastic, carrier, but when we are not traveling, it is just something else to store.  We found at Target a pop open polyester and mesh collapsible carrier.  The best part about this carrier--it stores flat.  You can also twist it up like those mesh window sun screens and it will store back in its small box.  It doesn’t come with brownie mix; I just used that box to give you an idea of the size box it comes in.  Peanut seemed perfectly content riding in it the two travel days we had coming here.

I saved the best for last--meeting new friends.  Well, I guess they really aren’t new friends.  We’ve read each other’s blogs and have corresponded via e-mail for a couple months now.  Yesterday, we finally got to meet, in person, Mike and Gerri.  I have said before, and so many others have said, when we meet folks whom we follow through blogs, it is like we are meeting old friends.  It was so comfortable welcoming them into our home--like they had been part of our lives for years.  We talked and talked and time flew by, but we didn’t get through talking, so we’ll have to catch up with them later in the week to continue our conversation.

We plan to sit by the fire today.  It’ll probably take the rest of the day for Gene’s hands to thaw.

Naval Aviation Museum

Our primary purpose for driving to Pensacola yesterday was to visit the much acclaimed National Naval Aviation Museum.  All those people who told us to be sure to go there were not wrong in their assessment.  It was first class.

Located within the Pensacola Naval Air Station, we had to pass through base security.  With literally hundreds of visitors a day to visit the museum, they are used to us nonmilitary types.   We showed our driver’s license and were waved right in.  The guard also gave us easy directions--turn right at the second traffic light and continue for 3 miles.  It was along this 3 mile section that we spotted the Gulf Islands National Seashore sign, which was a total surprise.  We could also see the Pensacola Lighthouse from the parking lot of the museum. That’s how we got off onto those other adventures.

The museum is a huge expanse as you might well imagine since they are displaying airplanes.  There are aircraft of every description everywhere on the floor and hanging from the ceiling.   There are free guided tours of the museum or you can wander around on your own.  On the second level, a walkway around the perimeter houses several exhibits plus a fantastic overview of what’s on the floor below.

There are more planes parked around the restoration hanger outside.  This area is accessible by trolley only, but again, this is a free guided tour.

We had our lunch at Cubi Bar Cafe, inside the museum.  Cubi Bar is special.  The “bar” area was the actual Cubi Bar at Subic Bay, Philippines.  When the base there closed, the bar was taken apart and shipped to Pensacola and reassembled.  Cubi Bar is famous for the plaques of squadrons which, for whatever reason, passed through Subic Bay.  The food was not outstanding (it’s just a soup and sandwich kind of place), but it was fun to eat there and look at the plaques.

Pensacola is the home of the famous Blue Angels.  They are off at their winter training grounds right now, but if you are here in February or March, you can come out and watch them do full dress rehearsals.  They fly 2 mornings each week and, yes, that’s free, too.  Just another reason why I’m gonna have to come back here.

Fort Barrancas

Fort Barrancas is one of a trio of forts guarding the northern Gulf Coast at Pensacola.  Now under the direction of the National Park Service, it is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore which stretches from Florida to Mississippi.

Series of archways in the Scrap Gallery

The Spanish built the first fort in 1698 to defend against the French and British.  That fort, called Bateria de San Antonio, still stands on the site and is open for touring.  Today it is connected to Fort Barrancas by an underground tunnel and we walked through the tunnel to access the Spanish fort.

The only big gun left

As time passed, the French took over the fort briefly before it landed in the hands of the British.  In 1763 the British built another fort behind Bateria de San Antonio.  The Spanish recaptured Pensacola some 20 years later and added to and reenforced both forts.

General Andrew Jackson won the forts for the US in 1814.  After Florida became a state, the Navy saw Pensacola as a great place for a naval yard.  For protection of the naval yard, improvements were again made to the original Spanish fort, now called the water battery and built Fort Barrancas over the ruins of the British fort.

The Spanish Fort

Fort Barrancas and the water battery site on Pensacola Bay and are the top of the triangle of forts which defend against attack from the Gulf.  Fort McRee and Fort Pickens form the points at the bottom of the triangle and sat opposite each other at the narrow passage between the bay and the gulf.

In the late 1940s, coastal forts were deemed unnecessary.  Fort Barrancas along with Water Battery  became part of Gulf Islands National Seashore in the early 1970s.

Pensacola Lighthouse

This afternoon we toured Fort Barrancas and Water Battery.  Not far away is the Pensacola Lighthouse.  We stopped by there for a photo, but didn’t go inside.  These two stops were a bonus for our day trip.  Our primary purpose for coming to Pensacola today was to visit the highly recommended National Naval Aviation Museum.  The brochure claims this museum is “world class” and we have not talked to anyone who didn’t recommend it.  Truly, it is world class and we will recommend it to anyone visiting Pensacola.  More about that and photos tomorrow.

Pensacola is about 40 miles from Summerdale making this a good day trip.  We plan to go back again before we leave here.

Off To A Good Start

We have one resolution for the coming year--no resolutions.  So far, so good.  We have made resolutions every year.  Some years we do better than other years at keeping those resolutions, but we never seem to be totally successful.  Besides the feeling of inadequacy at not being able to meet our goals, we spend a great deal of time during the year worry about, fretting over, and beating ourselves up over a list of resolutions.  We say, “enough is enough”; we’re not going there any more.  Instead, we’ll spend all that time we would have spent on worry, fretting, and beating enjoying life and being grateful for the opportunity to live our dream.

We brought in the new year with a hundred or so fellow RVers at the Plantation clubhouse.  The evenings festivities got under way at 6:30 with dinner.  Chef Larry worked his magic in the kitchen and we had a wonderful meal of either roasted half chicken or stuffed pork tenderloin served with a roll, garden salad, green beans, potatoes, cranberry relish, and dessert.  Gene and I both selected the chicken and it, along with everything else, was great.  We also volunteered to help serve the meal to the guests.  Gene took chicken/pork duty and I scooped potatoes and cranberry relish.

Following the meal, a local band played for our listening enjoyment and dancing.  We rang in the new year at 9:30.  Hey, it was past midnight in a good portion of the world anyway.  In fact, I wouldn’t mind celebrating with Australia and get that out of the way early so I could go to bed at my regularly appointed hour.  Seriously, we had a good time and even though the band left (along with more than half the crowd) there were CDs to provide the music for dancing and several night owls brought finger foods to sustain them til the witching hour.

This morning we drove down to Gulf Shores to Gulf State Park for a short walk along a portion of the paved trail there.  The wind was blowing pretty strongly making the air feel colder.  We walked with coats, gloves, and hoods on our heads.  After our walk we took our picnic lunch to the beach pavilion, but the wind was just too strong to eat outside.  We ate in the car, walked out to make a couple photos of the deserted beach, then headed home.  I’ll write more about Gulf State Park later.

Along Oak Ridge Trail

For now, I need to get busy with my hoppin’ John.  Don’t want to risk not eating those black-eyed peas.

It has been a great first day of the new year.