I'm home......

Here's the trip report. It's not entirely sequential, so I hope y'all can follow it.



GULF SHORES

September 22-October 22, 2006



A month in Gulf Shores! So far the weather has been perfect—perfectly HOT. It’s been in the 90’s with sun, sun, and more sun. The water temperature has been just right, the sunsets have been beautiful, and the days have been long and lazy. I’m writing this at the end of our second week. We had one cool-ish snap the first week, that lasted all of one night, then it heated right back up. Another cool front is supposed to come through this weekend and temps should become more seasonable—80’s.

I intended to keep a daily dairy of the month at the beach—but….since that hasn’t happened, and since it’s too far along to play catch up, I think I’ll just free associate (meaning I’ll just jot down some general musings—in no particular order and of no particular meaning….)

Today (Friday 13th) =8-0000 as I sit here typing at 8-ish am it’s cloudy and cool outside. 61 degrees But….the cool isn’t going to last long. By tomorrow the warm air will make its way back and it’ll be in the 80’s once again. This morning I’m being lazy—sipping coffee as I write. (I do have a load of clothes going.) Jim will be in tonight. He stayed the first week (nine days), went back to work, came back for a long weekend, went back to work, and will be here for the last week.

Before my helter-skelter musings, let me recount yesterday. The Shrimp Festival is going on here—started yesterday, so since the weather was supposed to be cooler I decided to pay a visit. Now this was to be no easy feat. I had to walk about two miles to get to the shuttle pick up destination. No problem! It was cloudy with a breeze. ….It turned out to be warmer than predicted, but still not bad. So, with my ever-present bottle of water in my tote, off I went! I made it to the shuttle pick up, saw the sign—but asked anyway (and was assured I was in the correct place), and stood there waiting. A nice guy walked up shortly after I arrived and we stood there waiting….and noticing that a small group of people was gathering on the other side of the highway—waiting…. We saw the shuttle approaching, reasoned that since the Shrimp Festival was on the other side of the highway, we might be on the wrong side of the street. So we made a mad dash across the highway, caught the shuttle, sat back and enjoyed the ride. ….Well….I didn’t really enjoy the ride ‘cause I was already warm from all the walking I’d done earlier and the shuttle wasn’t air-conditioned. But it was a very short ride and it was good to sit for a couple of minutes. Plus, it was even warmer outside.

This was my first Shrimp Festival, and I would definitely go back. In fact….I intend for Jim and me to go Saturday and Sunday—if only to eat. I did find a few things I’m thinking about buying. A funky wind chimes for the girls’ house (maybe). Some lovely glass pieces for necklaces. Lots of art—but I’ve already bought a FloraBama print so I’m not sure about more. A neat wood log carved with drawers that slide in and out—even a hidden drawer (it’s neater than it sounds in words). There are some beautiful wooden bowls, but I don’t know where I’d display them. And….I think I’ve found my birthday present. I think the artist is from New Orleans, but she has the funkiest prints. They make you smile. I have one in particular in mind at the moment. And what can I say about the food. Festival food at its best. The usual funnel cakes, kettle korn, corn dogs, sausages, Greek food, Chinese food, and seafood, seafood, and more seafood. And, of course, shrimp in every imaginable way. A quick observation here. People talk about us-uns from south Louisiana and the way we drink. Well, let me tell you, south Alabama (or L A—Lower Alabama as the locals call it) is no slouch in that department. I got to the festival around 11am and there were people walking around everywhere with beer in hand. I would have expected this in Louisiana, but it sort of surprised me to see it in Alabama. Ummmm….maybe it was all those nawtherners or….those of us who moseyed over from Louisiana. Whatever or whoever, it is a fun atmosphere. The only problem was that at times it was gridlock. I swear there were places you couldn’t walk because of the people. I hope the turnout turns out to be as good as it looked because this area is still recovering from Ivan and needs it.

Now for the walk back. I’ll recount it only because it illustrates my end-of-the-day ritual. My days have been so full of sun, walking the beach, wading in the surf that by late afternoon I’m exhausted. By the time I make it back to the condo I want nothing more than a shower, a drink, and to sit and watch the sun set. It’s a special time of day for me and I so look forward to it. It was no different yesterday. As I said, it was quite warm at the festival. As usual I had water or lemonade to sip as I ambled along. At about three I caught the shuttle back. It dropped me off at Pier 33 (where I picked up a pack of chips, a Three Musketeers, and a cold bottle of diet lemonade) and I had a two- mile walk back to the condo. Yes it was warm, yes the breeze had died down, yes I was tired, yes I was sweating, but I was encouraged that I felt fairly good. I was not exhausted or over-heated like I usually am, so maybe that daily beach walking has helped a bit. All that said, as I neared the end of my walk I yearned for the sight of Compass Point and our 7th floor balcony. Once inside I wasted no time fixing a peanut butter sandwich to go with the chips. The shower and drink were delayed till later as I spent a while sitting in the swing, reading on the balcony. When I finally managed the shower and fixed the drink—it was much welcomed.

*Update: J and I did go to the Shrimp Festival Saturday and Sunday. He complained some, but managed to find himself a couple of things to buy – and to eat. Here’s what I probably shouldn’t admit, but…. You remember my two-mile walk to get to the shuttle? Well….as it turned out, all I would have had to do would have been walk two blocks to the ‘highway’ and hail the shuttle as it passed. The driver had no problem stopping along the way to pick you up or drop you off. Crap-o-la! Rules oriented person that I am, when I read the list of designated shuttle stops, I assumed they meant what they wrote. The laid-back beach atmosphere sneaks up and bites me sometimes. No worries. The exercise was good for me.


Now for the musings:

Compass Point #710 is where we’re staying. This is our second or third time to stay here. The view is why we return. You have a wrap around balcony with the Gulf in front and Little Lagoon on the side, so there is water almost everywhere you look. They are building a tower right smack dab in the middle of the front balcony, but you still have plenty of view around it. The sunsets can be drop-dead gorgeous, turning the sky into a watercolor painting. It is an end, top unit with no one on either side or over you. Nice. Plenty of room—three bedrooms and two baths. It is an older building and 710 could use some updating as far as furniture and dishes and bedroom carpets, but all in all it works for us. And….did I mention the balcony with the view?!?!


EATING: No problem. Plenty of choices. We’ve eaten at Shrimp Basket, Hazels, Papa Rocco’s, the Oyster House, DeSoto’s-- (tried Tacky Jack’s but the wait was too long), Long John Silver’s (WHY? Ask Jim.), and, of course, Hope’s. In Pensacola we ate at a very good Mexican restaurant and made our obligatory visit to Hungry China. We usually buy steamed or boiled shrimp with the fixin’s to have at the condo, and pick up frozen gumbo from Theodore, AL and stuffed crabs from Bayou La Batre. It’s all good.


BEACH: Fantastic! Nuff said. The sand is sugar white and the water is differing shades of emerald, saphhire, ….just all the shades of blues and greens that I don’t have the words for. The shelling has been good a couple of days. The surf has been tame—rough a day or two. The jellyfish and sting rays have been around—some as big as platters! The beach has not been crowded except for a very few days. Maybe because of Washington’s Birthday and the Shrimp Festival?

We discovered a nugget—Bon Secour nature trails. It’s on Fort Morgan Road.
It was afternoon when we finally made it there and we had no idea what it would be like, but after seeing what was there we decided to go back while Jim is here for the last week. Nice long walk along a nature trail that ends at the beach.

*Update: We made it back to Bon Secour. Hiked in carrying some brats, pretzels, and beer, and picnicked on the beach. As we passed the sign pointing to Alligator Lake, I tried to cover the brats well so, hopefully, the gators couldn’t smell them. At least we didn’t see any “Do Not Feed the Alligators” signs. ….Those always bother me. The weather had been stormy for two days prior and you could barely walk for the huge shell pieces. We found a couple of keepers, but most of the shells had been battered to pieces.


ACTIVITIES: Pensacola Naval Museum. Always a must-do. We went the first Sunday we were here and then again the following Wednesday morning to see the Blue Angels practice. AWSOME! Jim got their autographs on his shirt and is planning on having some Blue Angel planes air-brushed around the signatures. I’m sure we’ll be going back next week….

Walking downtown Pensacola: Seville Square: Always fun.

Gulf Shores Museum: A really quaint museum in a restored house. At first glance, you wouldn’t think there was much to it, but, somehow, it works.

The dog track: I hit four winners in a row. J hit a long-shot. We should have quit while we were ahead.

The Little Zoo That Could in Gulf Shores: My daughter tells me that Animal Planet is doing a series on the zoo. As we were walking through we saw some signs warning that constant filming was going on and if you went on certain platforms you might end up on tv. If that happens I’ll gladly be selling autographs. In all seriousness, the zoo lost over 100 trees due to Ivan. They’ve really been working on it and it’s looking good. They have a huge landscaping project planned for winter. The animals look happy.

Let me say here how much I luv Gulf Shores. Orange Beach is nice, but not the same. I absolutely hate it that you can drive along Beach Highway and can’t see the gulf because of the towers lining the road. From what I saw, Gulf Shores is headed that way, too. Shit!


Outlets in Foley: Bought too many pairs of shoes at Bass! Most of them flip-flops. I’m wondering if I have a flip-flop fetish.



Movies: Saw “Fly Boys”. Surprisingly enjoyable.
Saw “One Night With the King”. Tried to walk out but J threw a hissy fit.
Would have seen more movies if J had had his way. He loves them. I don’t – usually.


Reading: Not nearly enough. Don’t know where the time goes. I guess it flies by while I’m sitting on the balcony staring—at the water, at the sunset, at sail boats, at people, at pelicans and other birds, at the lights, at the workmen building the tower, and just....staring at nothing in general.

Fairhope is on the list for next week.

*Update: Never made it to Fairhope. I don’t know why I can’t seem to get there. It’s like the Cloisters in NY. Just can’t get to either place. But….mark my words. One day I’ll make it to both places.


WEATHER: The weather was mostly glorious. I took way too many clothes because I figured it would turn cool sometime during October, but….didn’t happen. It was in the 90’s most days, finally getting to highs in the 80’s the last week or so. I must make mention of two particular days when some kind of front came through and then backed up once it hit the Gulf. The winds were horrendous – for two days – two days straight – day and night – they wouldn’t let up. It ‘bout wore me down. We had to bungee the furniture on the balcony. People were going around with glazed looks. It was like, WTF, are we having a hurricane and no one told us? All part of the price you pay to live in paradise.


Well, that’s about it. I’m home now and getting close to catching up on things here. It was a bit disorienting being gone for over a month. It’s been hard getting back to my regular schedule. At times, it’s even been hard remembering where I was. I read once that it takes three weeks to form new habits. I can believe it. I’ve had a collision of habits since I’ve been back home. But, it’s all good.