To Ferry or Not to Ferry - that is the question

We travelled to Mobile and Belingraph Gardens yesterday - and along the way, stopped at Felix's restaurant which happens to be Terry's favorite. And they made sure that we were not disappointed. The foods we had were fantastic as was the presentation - you know, all the plates get delivered and set down on the table at the same time? That sort of stuff.

Felix's Oyster covered white fish with succotash and sweet tea

The on to the gardens - beautiful grounds originated by the Coke Cola distributors' wife - or as he put it "what a waste of a perfectly good fish camp" - fantastic layout.

Then the treat of the day, take the ferry back to Fort Morgan across  Mobile Bay - a great ride and about 45 minutes long - so we drove 20 miles to the ferry (after checking their voice mail to assure we'd be there on time. Things looked strange as we arrived because even though we were 30 minutes early, there wasn't anyone else there. Not surprising - the doggone thing had crapped out on the last run and was out of order for the next 2 days. With no choice, we turned around and headed back along the land route - so instead of a 19 mile drive to the condo from the end of the ferry trip, we had to backtrack for about 70 miles instead - made for a very long day.

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Today though, we made up for it with another ride on the dolphin cruises. 

My ladies ready for the Dolphins

On the mend

Naturally, with all the cool (albeit cold) weather we've been having, we both came down with terrible colds. Stuck with the 'it's going to go away in a week', we ended up at the local Quick Care. They couldn't have been nicer and the stuff they prescribed is definitely working. Another couple days and we'll be back to normal - whatever that is.
Well the Mardi Gras parades are now over - I attended 5 but missed a couple dozen more. I had no idea that the celebration lasted that long nor there were that many parades. Unlike the New Orleans celebration, all the ladies stayed fully clothed but the beads were everywhere.
The last parade in this area was a combination Orange Beach and Gulf Shores groups. It was great - in the daytime so it made it possible to see the beads coming when they tossed them off the floats. And because it was the last parade, they were anxious to get rid of all the toys beads and trinkets. It was tough trying to avoid getting some as we already had a couple plastic grocery bags full of them. Now to sort through the pictures and post a bunch - and also get to do some fishing next week. Things are warming up a bit and the flocks of pelicans are showing everywhere. and they aren't stupid - will only show up when there is something to eat. WHooppee.

Fairhope Mardi Gras pictures

Well the cold weather made it down to the Gulf Coast last night - the night we had decided to go to Fairhope for their Mardi Gras parade - outside of Mobile, it's considered one of the best and it did not disappoint.
HOWEVER, the weather sure did.
At parade time, the temperature was 38 and a wind chill of 27. It continued to drop as we were making our way back to the condo and finally settled in at 31 and a wind chill of 22.
But that didn't even come close to upsetting the revelers nor the excitement of the parade. We tried to give away most of the things that we grabbed but it was almost impossible. There had to be 50,000 people there 4-5 deep along the entire route and because it is a small town, the parade route weaves back and forth through the streets so we barely moved and saw the parade 3 times. With appropriate catches each time.
Here are some of the many pictures that I took of this absolutely best parade of all we've seen.
PS - only more parade today at 2PM here in Orange Beach and then no more parades until 2015.

Coming up the elevator with the haul

Had to stop here - my favorite

And of course flowers everywhere

And all the trees are lighted

And decorated with Beads that went too high

What would a parade be without the Shiners go-carts

What a delightful day!!

Yesterday, we went to Magnolia Springs to a lovely little church we had found the week before - it was a wonderful service with lots of singing and everyone being so welcoming. They were having a church breakfast after the service but we had already made reservations to go to our now favorite place - SHIPPS HARBOR PLACE in Orange Beach - hidden away behind a marina, the menu is extensive, and so far we've tried 9 different items and each has been a taste delight. For instance, we couldn't understand the very subtle flavor in cole slaw (that's right - bragging about cole slaw) and asked the waiter. He told us the 'secret' to the recipe was - are you ready? Blue Cheese. The difference was astounding. Normally that's one dish where you leave most of it but not so here. Scrapped the bottom of the dish.
A little shopping then got us back to the condo where the sun was bright and temps were a very mild 75 with a slight breeze.
Unfortunately, we're both stuck with spring colds so the best we could do was a dip in the pool and some time in the jacuzzi to try to break it up. It will go away this week but it certainly can put a damper on doing lots of stuff.
Another Mardi Gras parade tonight - then the biggy tomorrow will wrap up the festivities and move us into Lent season for a long time.  With all the parades here, seems that folks need a break after all the parades and partying.
More parade photos tomorrow

Mobile Alabama - Mardi Gras? What connection?

I have always associated Mardi Gras beginnings with New Orleans but in reality, the celebration was started here in Mobile Alabama. French settlers brought it and it has been kept alive ever since. In this area, parades begin in early February and culminates on Fat Tuesday coming up next week. Here in Orange Beach, we've gone to 2 parades so far and there are more planned for tonight, Monday and Tuesday - in fact one of the TV stations is advertising that their coverage of Fat Tuesday begins at 9AM and runs till 5PM - cut away for national news and then begins again. (we're on central time so evening news is an hour earlier)  I found out that they change the theme every year so all of these floats will be torn apart and plans will begin for 2015 after Easter.

Some of the photos I took are below and Terry's 'haul' of beads should be noted.

The dolphin was 'bouncing' up and down

Saturday nights catch

Friday nights grab

O Gauge Model Rail Road

Travelled to Foley Alabama yesterday and visited a couple of great tourist places - the first was a Hospital museum vintage 1880 and all the instruments that were used back then. Much was a little creepy for me but fascinating for T. But what they had saved all these years was remarkable. There were 10 rooms and each had a purpose - operating room, XRay, quackery (their word not mine) items that were said to not only hurt the patient but kill them in some cases. Old manuscripts and journals lent a good deal to the authenticity.
From there we walked to the end of the block to an original Rexall Drug Store - complete with soda fountain, 10 cent coffee and myriad other things that were older than me!! Goodness gracious.
We finished our tour with a visit to the most extraordinary train layout I've ever seen. Valued at nearly a half million dollars it was huge and beyond description. In addition to the obvious trains, there was a car wash with a car that went through, a fire downtown with an extra fire engine leaving the station and driving to the fire, bells, sirens and whistles going all the way. There was also a drive in movie (Casablanca was playing) and a circus with a couple tents and a working ferris wheel.   The highlight of the layout was a 1/4 scale replica of a local oil refinery that was completed 30 years ago to the tune of $30,000.  No estimate of what it might cost today. Below are a few of the pictures that give you a slight idea of what it was like.

Missed a section to the left

The Circus with a huge wooden bridge in the background

Panorama of the entire layout - oil refinery far right 

And we even spotted a couple cars from the State of Maine Whoopee

Long weekend

Went over to watch the young ladies who played wallyball with the guys on Friday - didn't realize they were the best in the 6 states that were competing. There were teams from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas (where 'our' gals came from). Not only did they win, but did it decisively.  They just never seemed to make unforced errors. And they never slowed down. Coach Patience (real name) kept them moving all the time including breaks and between games. Fun time for everyone.
I went over to see some of their championship games and as I left, each of the young ladies gave me a hug - and the travelling moms made Terry feel like it was old home week. Nicest folks.

The Grandpa's with their new found 'kids'

Got up this morning to find a crescent moon and star shinning down on a returning tug. Looks like it's going to be another perfect day here in Alabama

Spaghetti dinner last night - must have been 500 people show up and was it good! Initially didn't plan to go but one of the wallyball players had an extra ticket so felt obligated - man am I glad we didn't miss that one. They had a 'senior's band' playing during dinner with the wildest collection of instruments - guitar, harp, dulcimer, lap guitars, Appalachia harpsichord, harmonicas, penny whistle, fiddle, banjo and a couple others I just didn't know what they were. But they were really good and played all through dinner. We stuck around to listen for an hour after dinner.

Biking has improved considerably - lots of perfect weather for nice long rides. Plan to get out a few times this week.

Haven't been fishing yet - water is still too cold - it's killing spiral starfish, big jellyfish and the guys that have been fishing have only caught drum (toss back) and sheepshead (them too). So maybe next week?

Finally caught up with our friends from Maine who we met last year - went to a brunch on Sunday that was to die for - huge and T's bloody mary was 'strong' - actually just right. There was a lady making omelets and what a hoot!! She had to chat with everyone in line as she made 3 at a time and had a zinger for everyone - I made the mistake of asking for basil which was actually spinach and got a few jabs for that one for sure. Delightful morning

Been a while

Although it's been 4 days since my last post, things have been going here in Alabama. First, Claire has gone back to Maine after her wonderful visit. She was a delight to have visit during her spring break. Only problem was UNITED AIRLINES here in Mobile. I have never been so disappointed in the quality nor the competence of any group in all the years I've been flying. They just couldn't do anything that vaguely resembled customer service. Mentally composing my letter to UNITED as I type this.
In the meantime, here's a picture of Claire leaving Orange Beach for the last time.

That's Claire at the end of the boardwalk 'dragging' herself off the beach

The other day we went over to Bon Secour to get some shrimp. Plan is to make some coconut shrimp (baked of course) tonight using a southern recipe I've found. While we were there, we found a number of oyster shell middens and here is a picture of Terry near one to give you an idea of the size of these things.

We are very close to Pensacola Naval base and often have planes flying by - I got this cool picture of a couple of helicopters going past the other day

Finally, the sun rise here has been excellent - this morning the BIG GUY brought me this one and I wanted to share with you.

RISE AND SHINE !!!

Dolphin Getaway

Yesterday we did the dolphin 'thing' -

Here is one of the two boats that we went on - initially, the boats split up and look for a pod of dolphin then come together and go about 30' apart so there is a 6' standing wave at the back of the boats, The dolphin love that and will play in the wave - 

Bunch of the dolphin surfing

It was a hoot and they stayed there for about 10 minutes - finally got sick of the ride and deserted us. Shortly later, the boats found another pod and this time there were only a couple of dolphin but lots of fun watching them - a mother and calf came up along side the boat we were on and rolled on their sides watching us.

Terry's grand daughter was here to enjoy the sun and the dolphin

Nighty night!

That's our condo in the center - 3 over and 3 down from the top

Dead starfish because of the cold water

Morning treat - beignets with confectioners sugar

Yesterday was a perfect day for being away from the snow - sunny but cool and a slight breeze so we had to hide behind a dune for the best seats on the beach. Talked to a couple fishermen and after all day, they had caught one drum (not so hot eating) and something else that broke off. Everyone is waiting for the water to warm up and the pompano to show up.
Still a nice day for a walk to the jetty and talk to a couple of Coast Guard guys who were doing some snorkeling - said that even with a 3 mil suit under a 5 mil suit, it was pretty cold in the water. So I guess I'll hold off swimming for another couple days.
Later today, it's going to go for a dolphin cruise - have seen a few so it will be a treat to get out on the water and see if there isn't some fun things to see.
So far we've been able to stay ahead of visiting Claire - but barely - had forgotten how much energy a teenagers can have. Great fun to have her here and see things through her eyes.

Interesting day

Yesterday started out pretty normal - that is, if you consider wondering if Terry's grand daughter was going to be able to fly out of Boston given the Nor'Easter that had blown into town. She was to arrive Mobile in the early afternoon after a stop in Houston TX. We thought we'd make a day of it so headed out to Mobile and took the scenic route which got us to Mobile with ample time and considering Claire had been fed on the plane, we stopped about a mile or 2 away from the airport. Bob has a 'thing' about using FLIGHT AWARE to see how the particular flight is going. Not only was the flight to Houston on time, it was ahead of schedule.
Foolishly, he checked the flight from Houston to Mobile and OOPS!! IT WAS CANCELLED!! After a lot of scrambling from Maine, they got her on a flight that arrived in Mobile at 10:30PM and it was now about noon.
WHAT TO DO? Hang around Mobile for 10 hours or make the 2 hour trip back to Orange Beach, catch some pool time. Considering there was another flight that would arrive about 4:30 we opted to drive back part way to our favorite town - Fair Hope. Which we did. But then when we hadn't heard about the possibility of the early flight - headed back to Orange Beach but fortunately, only got a few miles before we heard she would get a seat on the early flight and be in Mobile about 5:30 - headed back only to run into the worst traffic jam ever - but made it back with time to spare. Then waited until the personnel could figure out who could walk her from the gate to the security area. That took another hour -
Long saga but Claire is now safe and sound at the condo, bringing with her the best weather of our stay yet. Temps are forecast to be in the mid to upper 70's all week with cool night breezes for good sleeping conditions.

Let the BIKING BEGIN

Bikes are ready and so am I - here's to good weather from now on

Wet Weather and an Angry Gulf

We are at the southern side of a huge storm heading across the US and ready to dump on Georgia AGAIN!! Even a few miles north of us there is snow and black ice while we have only some light rain and some waves on the Gulf - enough so that there are a couple of surfers out there this morning.

I know that it doesn't seem like much to folks who are used to a lot bigger surf but for us southerners - it's huge. Consider I'm on the 11th floor and the waves are about 200 yards away - well figure.

The bike ride the other day didn't go as planned - ended up getting a couple flats and walking over a mile to get picked up - never did find what caused the problem but replaced the tire (it was on the last leg) as I have no intention of making that walk dragging the bike along again. And if I believe that, I'm really getting senile. It's a factor of Murphy's law that if you are going to get a flat it will be the absolute furtherest distance from the parking lot that's possible.

Here is a map of the biking trail we get to use - I was about half way across that green trail when things broke

  

Finally today, here is a picture of our condo building I took last night - there are 220 units and this is the street side view

Here is the condo building and we are up 11 floors about in the middle

Let the BIKING BEGIN

Well the weather finally cooperated and the bikes got out of the van and shined up - and off we were for some riding. Wasn't sure that it was going to happen this early given the weather here but today was a beauty - mid 60's and no wind so everyone was out - we had to sneak into a secret parking spot to get on the Back Country Trail - 20 miles of paved paths the wander through the woods and swamps. Although we didn't do all the trails today, our break in run was pretty nice and were pleased how the bikes felt after too many months sitting there.
The beach was getting it's share of strollers although like the bike ride, a fleece or windbreaker were the order of the day, Even at 65, it does get a little chilly around the edges which of course macho man me had to leave in the van - had to cut short the ride, Live and learn but it will be the first time I do - I seem prone to be stupid on stuff like that.

Great Day for a PICNIC

The weather has finally turned for the better and today was no exception - about 60 and cloudless skies meant it was time to picnic - went to Mobile Bay where the ferry docks to take you to Dauphin Island. The pictures below show how nice it was - the ferry coming in with a load about to leave with a line of cars waiting. There was a Mardi Gras parade on Dauphin so lots of people were heading across. The alternative was to drive all the way around Mobile Bay for a good 60 miles.
Watching the Olympics last night was something else - talk about a technical presentation of epic proportions! I think I spent the evening with a stupid grin being awed by the whole presentation. Russia should be really proud with what has been accomplished in only 7 years. Every venue I've seen so far has been excellent. GO USA!!!
Here are some pictures you might like.

One of the 12 oil rigs we could see in Mobile Bay

These Terns were waiting for the Ferry as they 'ride' over

Saturday night 2/8sunset on our beach

The Dauphin Island Ferry heads for the dock