We have been traveling down and around Florida with the destination of Orange Beach, AL on our minds. We last saw Chuck and Jay at Vitambi Springs when we spent December, Christmas and New Year's together before they left on 3Jan 2021. We arrived to a warm greeting from Chuck on 24Mar. He met us at the upper parking lot and assisted in my backing into some close quarters amongst the construction crews parking. Many of the spots were taken by the work crews to repair damage from Hurricane Sally's destruction in Sept 2020, when she sat for hours over Orange Beach.
Our first dinner was a home run, BBQ, corn on the cob and beans. Chuck is a wonderful cook. We spent hours catching up on what we have been doing since we saw each other, we have all been traveling quite a bit since leaving Clewiston.
The next day I toured Orange Beach and Gulf Shores with Chuck, we walked the beach seeing the destruction from Hurricane Sally and loss of beach on Gulf and Bay side. Dredging operation ongoing to repair the beach with sand. Drove through Gulf State Park and RV park. Keith and Jay had work to do.
Went over to the rental unit, saw different entrances for Backcountry Trail goes from Orange Beach to Gulf Shores and the entertainment complex.
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| Grass Island, Gulf Shores |
Keith and I went out with Chuck, Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach along the inter-coastal waterway. Pottery, Glassing blowing and fine art. Nice community area for events.
Drove over to Foley, AL to see Holmes Medical Museum that was closed from Hurricane Sally damage to the roof.
We made it to Fort Morgan then we stopped at Matt’s Ice Cream on the way back.
We hung out when we got back, Jay was still working on condo stuff for the annual meeting. We ordered pizza for dinner then relaxed.
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| Fort Morgan |
A bit of history, ort Bowyer was constructed by the U.S. Army during 1813 to guard against possible British attack. This small log and sand fortification was attack twice by the British during the War of 1812. The first attack made by four British warships and a combine force of British Royal Marines and Creek Indians came on September 15, 1814. The ensuing battle was total American victory. One warship, the H.M.S. Hermes was sunk and the marines and Creek Indians were forced to withdraw. During a second battle which took place during early February 1815, a combine British land and naval force forced the vastly outnumbered American troops to surrender the fort. By the terms of the treaty that ended the War of 1812, the British had to return Fort Bowyer to the United States. Fort Bowyer defended Mobile Point until the early 1820's.
Fort Morgan is a Third System masonry fort built between 1819 and 1833. Standing guard where the bay meets the Gulf of Mexico, the fort played a significant role in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864. Used intermittently through the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II, the site showcases the evolution of seacoast fortifications and adaptations made by the U.S. Army for the defense of the country.
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| Fort Morgan from another view |
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| Looking to the parade grounds in the center of the fort |
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| Center of the fort |
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| High walls of the interior make the fort more difficult to enter |
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| Sunrising over Perdido Key and Florabama from the balcony at Chuck and Jay's |
Part of our morning ritual was making the coffee first and foremost, checking the outdoor temperature and dampness then going outdoors with our coffee, watching the sunrise and fog lift. A lovely way to start the day! Made many memories here in OBA!
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| Just give it about hour and the sun appears to great the morning, the above shot is at 6:09 and this is 7:00 on the same day |
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| We may not have been here when all the azaleas were in bloom but we got to see these magnificent white bushes in bloom |
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| Chuck drove through the park and around trailheads then we had a break to get Keith and Jay to join Chuck and me for a bike tour on the trails. |
We finally got a break in the weather, took the bikes from the condo to the Backcountry bike trail down to Alabama's Gulf Shore State Park on the beach, in total we rode 16.0 miles. Really nice bike trails and boardwalks. We nearly killed Chuck with the ride.
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| We started off the adventure... |
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| Boardwalks are part of the pedestrian and bicycle trail |
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| View from the pedestrian and bicycle overpass, looking back towards the intercostal and trail |
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| Alabama's Gulf State Park overpass |
We spent some of our time hanging out on the balcony, watching the sunrise, chatting and having coffee, running errands or Chuck and I would run off to venture out for cool places to see, Jay and Keith would work. One afternoon we went to OSO for dinner with some folks from the condominium, we had met Austin, Amanda and Marty one day for lunch at Tacky Jack's.
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| Beautiful day from the balcony, Keith and I were sitting out on the balcony before we left for dinner at OSO |
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| Restaurant on the intercoastal |
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| Us with the bear, OSO |
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| The evening has arrived after a lovely day |
After another spectacular sunrise, Chuck and I head to Joe Patti in Pensacola, FL for seafood. Chuck plans on making gumbo from his gramma's recipe. We are all salivating for the taste of this family tradition.
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| 7:01 am with coffee and friends |
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| Made it, Joe Patti parking lot is nearly empty |
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| Ordering 20lbs of gulf shrimp |
Helped Chuck shuck the shrimp, took off the heads and shell, shrimp was ready for Chuck and left overs for the stock. Chuck worked the rest of the afternoon getting the stock and rue ready for the Gumbo. He started the rest of the process the next morning, we watch the fog roll in and out. Incredible view of the Bay.
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| Fog rolled in, took the photos with the iPhone |
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| One hour later, look at the day |
We did it, we talked everyone into playing miniature golf at Pirate's Cove. We had so much fun. Interesting set up and course, 18 holes.
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| Keith is watching Jay drive the ball to the hole |
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| Chuck drove his ball, Jay and Keith in the wait |
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| Chuck is ready to make yet another par.... |
While we were playing around the gumbo was still cooking. Ready for dinner with an appetite for Gumbo. We sit down for dinner and devour two bowls.
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| Gumbo from Chuck's Granny recipe. Beyond delicious! |
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| Experimenting with photography, micro flower |
On 1Apr, Chuck and I are off to Fairhope, AL for lunch and walkabout. Destination was Panini Pete's for lunch. We had a really awesome lunch in a part of the restaurant that had only another couple of tables. It was too cold outdoors for the courtyard and full in the glass "greenhouse" style room.
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| Fairhope center, beautiful old wrought iron work on the porches |
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| Inside walkway to Panini Pete's |
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| Wisteria vines over the portico |
Fairhope is a quaint, nostalgic step into old Alabama's Gulf Coast, known for its lovely parks and its sweeping panoramic views of Mobile Bay. The specialty shops, boutiques, cafes, art galleries, restaurants, Fairhope Brewing make this a must see when visiting the Gulf Coast region.
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| Quaint room for dining at Panini Pete's |
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| Cute buildings with boutiques of all kinds |
Chuck and I got Keith and Jay to join us for a couple of days to go to Mobile and took the bikes out on the BackCountry Trail. We started the weekend with 42° feels like 36° with a cold morning with a gorgeous sunrise.
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| Sunrise from the balcony |
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Great museum that is hands-on individualizing the experience
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| Alabama Shipyard and Austal are across the river from the museum |
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| Keith, Chuck, Jay and Wayne in Mobile |
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Beautiful architecture
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| We were so excited to try this place on the causeway |
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| Riding on Rattlesnake Ridge Trail to Woodside Restaurant inside BackCountry |
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| Selfie time while riding :) |
Cannot believe how fast time seems to go when you are having so much fun, we have done so much together with Chuck and Jay. Chuck and I ran over to run their RV making sure all was well, went to Discount Tire with our RV to change out the left tire. Found a gem of a restaurant in Foley, Taste of Jerusalem, inexpensive and large amounts of very good, tasty Mediterranean food. It was like going to Lebanon.
The new camera arrived, got it ready to play and work with after taking the inflatable kayak to the rig and placing it in the garage under our bed with the accessories. We ended up at The Wharf for dinner, ice cream at Kilwin's and light show.
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The Gulf restaurant on the water, for lunch with Chris and Ian, Chuck and Jay and Keith and me |
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| Outdoor seating under awnings, order your drinks and food up at the bar |
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| A great view to the bridge and inlet to the bay |
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| Coffee and phone in hand, chatting with Chuck. Could not resist this photo at 6:03 am |
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| Look at the size of this appetizer! Yikes, the meals were as big |
Chuck and I went to Foley for haircuts then we went for a couple of hikes at Weeks Bay National Estuary and Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog.
Hurricane Sally has done a tremendous amount of damage to the area. The Estuary and the Bog sustained a lot of damage to the vegetation. The pitcher plants are now coming back. Some of the boardwalks were damaged too.
We made our appointments for our second COVID vaccination at the CVS in Foley, AL for 9Apr. Not a problem. Chuck went with us to Foley, we went in got our temperatures taken, stood in line for less than 10 minutes, had the shot then sat for 15 minutes. Keith had not systems but I was exhausted a couple of hours later and took a 3 hour nap.
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| Orange Beach does not disappoint |
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| As the sun continues to rise |
13Apr we leave the "Alabama Roomies", we really enjoyed our time with Chuck and Jay. Spending time getting to know them, we know we can travel full time together and enjoy every minute. The memories of being at the condo sitting on the balcony chilling out, Chuck feeding the children on schedule and touring the area was a truly wonderful time for us.
We set off happy to spend this time in Orange Beach, look forward to the future travel. Destination Wilmington, North Carolina. We have work to do there on the land in Bolivia and in Wilmington.
