Wandering America
Relaxing at Rainbow Plantation
| Rainbow Plantation We left Tennessee on the 2nd of January and headed back to Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, Alabama. Having spent two days there in late October we wanted to return to further explore the Gulf Coast area. Also, we had some unfinished projects that we wanted to complete and Darrell's knees had been bothering him so he visited an orthopedic surgeon to take care of the problem. Some of Darrell's projects were washing/waxing the RV and truck, getting our website online, mounting the plasma TV in the bedroom, installing cabinet doors under the computer desk, taking care of financial "stuff" and completing our tax returns. Judy finished our grand-daughter's quilt, organized our office supplies and files, organized all of her scrap-booking pictures and supplies, and finalized our budget. "Sounds too much like w*rk to me, maybe we had better go get J-O-Bs, Not!!!"   The Kidnapping of a County This is just a little tidbit that we found interesting. The east shore of Mobile Bay is located in Baldwin County which had its county seat relocated through the act of kidnapping. The county seat had been located in Daphne, Alabama but in 1900 its relocation to Bay Minette was authorized by an act of the Alabama Legislature. Daphne however resisted this movement so some men from Bay Minette lured the sheriff and his deputy out of the city by prefabricating a murder that required their presence elsewhere. While they were out of town the men snuck into the courthouse, "stole" the county records, and transported them to Bay Minette which has been the county seat ever since. Politicians haven't changed a bit in over a hundred years. Food Fight at Lambert's? Lambert's Cafe is located in Foley, Alabama and is known for its unique dining experience. First of all there is the "13 Golden Rules" which guide the restaurant's operation. We won't list them here but will say that they all contribute to your dining pleasure. You'll not leave the place hungry since they serve wonderful homemade food and the waiters continually dish helpings of potatoes and other vegetables as you are enjoying your meal. "But what about the food fight?", you ask. Well, Lambert's is the "home of the throwed rolls". Don't expect someone to just hand you a 5" diameter hot right out of the oven roll. No siree, ya gotta catch'em. Lambert's Cafe was founded in Sikeston, Missouri by Earl and Agnes Lambert. They added two more restaurants located in Ozark, Missouri (just outside of Branson) and Foley, Alabama (right on the way to Gulf Shores). But what's with the "throwed rolls"? Well, you might say out of necessity! As stated by one of the Lamberts, "In 1976 while still in our old building, I would try to pass out our hot rolls in the traditional manner. You know, real nice like, by saying, 'Would you care for a hot roll?' This was really awkward and uncomfortable to me so on an extremely busy day, when getting through the lunch hour crowd was impossible, a customer said, 'Just throw the d*** thing!' I did and everybody else joined in. We started throwing rolls May 26, 1976 and have continued ever since." So, if while dining at Lambert's, you get a "whack upside the head" then you'll know that someone didn't catch their "throwed roll". By the way, these are home made yeast rolls hot out of the oven and just as good as mother Patterson used to make, mm-mm good! Can't wait to get back to Lambert's Cafe for another roll or two.   The Boys in Blue Fly Too! The Air Force isn't the only branch of the armed forces that can sing "Up we go into the wild blue yonder". We visited the National Air Museum at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, home of the Blue Angels, and those sailors certainly "go up into the wild blue yonder" as well. This museum has been established to capture the history of naval aviation, from the first seaplanes along the shoreline of Pensacola, Florida to the modern aircraft carriers serving in our country's defense today. There are over 140 aircraft on display and more than 250 stand-alone exhibits. One of our favorite was the stroll down "Home Front USA" which portrays what life was like for families during World War II. There is also I-Max theaters inside the museum that shows seven films daily, a motion-based simulator that you can ride, and flight simulators that you can fly. The Blue Angels practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays during their show season, but unfortunately we were out of season.    Katt's Korner Hi, Katie here. I just wanted to say that Alex and I really enjoy our site here at Rainbow Plantation. We are parked in the middle row and there is a large grassy space between us and the next row. Dad parked the coach a little further back than the rest of the RVs. He wanted to keep the awning from being under a tree so he had to "hug" the utility post which meant backing up far enough to allow the dining room slide to go out. That gives us katts excellent views out of all the livingroom windows. So, what's the significance of that you may wonder? Well, it's all about birds, silly!! We katts have taken up bird watching. We even have our own bird book entitled "The Bird Feeder's Guide for Serving Bird" (It's a companion book to "101 Ways to Wok Your Dawg" and "Mouse on a Shingle"). Anywhoo, we love to watch birds everyday while sitting on the back of the recliners or the sofa or while we're just stretching out on the desk. "Hey Katie, did you see the size of that robin?" to which I replied, "Alex, quit licking your chops!" "Now you've gone and done it Alex, you're making me hungry! I'm gonna have a Cardinal roll and a Blue Jay smoothie with a piece of Black Bird pie, you coming?" "You betcha!!" (Don't worry, no birds where actually hurt, cooked, or eaten in the making of this article 'cause we're indoor katts, remember? We're purebred Ragdolls and are not certified for outdoor use.)   Friends at Rainbow Plantation When we first arrived at Rainbow Plantation and after we got set up we took a walk around the park. To our surprise saw a sign in the front window of a Winnebago Journey that said "Don and Gloria Martin, Kokomo, Indiana. This is Norm Payne's sister and her husband who we had had dinner with back in Clarksville, Indiana on October 15th. A couple weeks later, while visiting outside with Don, someone tapped Darrell on the shoulder and said "Darrell and Judy". It was Dave and Jan Verse who we had met in Nashville back in November. Just some more small world experiences.   |