Wandering America
Sightseeing in the Gulf Coast Area
| Gulf Shores State Park (Gulf Shores, Alabama) The weather improved (not quite so cold) so we decided to start seeking biking trails in the area and found a very pleasant trail that runs from Gulf Shores State Park to Orange Beach. Currently it is only about a five mile trail but once it is completed it will be over seven and a half miles. We walked two and half miles of the trail and decided that we wanted to come back with our bikes. Dick and Jodi, some people from Manton, Michigan that we met at the park, went with us and we had a fun afternoon biking the trial.   Magnolia Springs, Alabama Just about every small town has one, a little eatery that is back off the beaten path. On route 49, just south of Magnolia Springs, is a nice little restaurant called Jesse's. Charlie Houser, who was a successful businessman, wanted to return to his childhood home of Magnolia Springs so he purchased the old Moore's Grocery and the old town hall next door to create some nastolgia as well as a pleasant dining experience. The grocery store is filled with lots of unique foods, wines, and fresh meats while the restaurant has a wonder atmosphere with very reasonable prices. We went with a group of twenty-six people from the park to celebrate our friend Heidi's birthday. Judy had the shrimp po-boy and Darrell had the oyster po-boy both of which were as good as the one's we had at Suire's Grocery and Restaurant in Abbeville, Louisiana. Blackwater Heritage State Trail and a Diamondback Rattler (Milton, Florida) This is the westernmost Rails to Trails trail in Florida and extends north from Milton, Florida to the gate at Whiting Naval Air Station. The trail is nine and a half miles long with seven bridges crossing various streams along the way. There is piney woods, a cypress/bay tree swamp, and an area of white topped pitcher plants. We rode the entire trail which made the trip nineteen miles in all. Needless to say we were "pooped" when we finished the ride. We got to see our first, and hopefully last, diamond backed rattlesnake. It was stretched out right in the middle of the trail sunning itself. It was a just small one being only a little over a foot long. We didn't know what kind of snake he was until describing it to the park ranger after we had finished the ride. He told us that he thought it was a diamondback and that there was a larger one about three miles north of where we had seen this one. Once we got home we looked it up on line and sure enough, it was a diamondback rattler. Being that we "don't like spiders and snakes" we didn't stop to take a picture; however, if we had known what it was we sure would have (from a distance, of course). Mardi Gras (Fairhope, Alabama) Much to our surprise, Mardi Gras is not just a New Orleans thing. It is celebrated around the world and Mobile, Alabama was celebrating Mardi Gras some forty years before New Orleans. Mardi Gras is french for Fat Tuesday which is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday that begins the period known as Lent. It is so named since it is the last day of feasting on fats (and other goodies) that are to be fasted during the Lent period. Carnival takes place over a period of ten to twelve days prior to Ash Wednesday and concludes on Fat Tuesday. Carnival is orchestrated by Mystic Societies known as Krewes and is celebrated with parades and parties as well as other ceremonies. The primary colors used in celebration are purple (which stands for justice), green (for faith), and gold (for power). "Throws" are tossed out from the floats by Krewe members as the parade proceeds down its route. The primary "throws" consist of beads, duobloons (these are aluminum coins that identifies the parade on one side and the sponsoring Krewe Society on the other), and moon pies that are representative of King Cakes. Other things such as frisbees, little footballs, stuff animals, etc. are thrown out as the parade watchers yell out "Throw me something, mister!" Mardi Gras in most cities and towns is a family event and not the drunken brall with bare breasted women that we read about in the news. We attended two parades in downtown Fairhope, Alabama with Randy and Terry Guiler and Dick and Pat Schellin who are new friends that we have made while staying at Rainbow Plantation. Did we ever tell you that the best part of fulltime RVing is the people you meet and the friendships you build while traveling across this land? Fairhope is a quaint little tourist town along the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay and has lots of pretty flowers planted next to the sidewalks. The first parade on Saturday afternoon was for pets, primarily dawgs - have you ever tried marching katts in a parade? Saturday evening was the Knights of Ecor Rouge parade which had marching bands, floats, horses, and ended with a firetruck. It lasted about 45 minutes and they were definitely not stingy with the "throws".       Between the parades we ate lunch together at the Old Bay Steamer restaurant. This was the first time that we had ever had gumbo and it was absolutely delicious. Did we ever tell you that the second best part of fulltime RVing is the different dishes you get to try? Along with the seafood gumbo Judy and I split a shrimp po-boy (we've gotten hooked on these things and plan to go back to Jesse's to have another one before we leave Alabama). It was great fun dining out with new friends while enjoying new foods - as Katie and Alex would put it, "It was just a purr-fect day!" Reflexions (Summerdale, Alabama) While at Rainbow Plantation we completed our first four months of fulltime RVing. We just have to say that we really enjoy this lifestyle even though we have not moved around quite as much as most newbies do during their first year. Having been a camping family for many years we have had way too many vacations where it meant driving long hours with short over night stays just to get to our final destination. Then packing all that we possibly could into few days before picking up and heading back home again. Being that Darrell was from Maine and Judy from Michigan our vacations ended up being family visits mixed with some vacationing. We would take a two week vacation each year that required packing up four kids and camping gear then driving eighteen hours just to get to our destination. Many times, when the kids were younger, we would drive all night just so we could have more time to "relax" once we arrived (the good Lord knows we needed it after that episode). So, now that we are free to move about at our own pace we have decided to just slowdown and enjoy this lifestyle. We plan to visit all of the lower forty-eight states before we put down roots. We spent a little over eight weeks at Rainbow Plantation where we made many new friends. Judy attended several different craft classes including stick weaving, Swedish weaving, tenerife embroidery, and silk ribbon embroidery. Darrell spent a lot of time getting the RV outfitted and organized to his satisfaction, publishing this website, and waxing the RV and truck. We both worked on our financials by finalizing our fulltime budget, setting up our online banking, and doing our 2006 taxes. Socializing and making new friends is very important to us so that means that we will need to mix our traveling with periods of staying "put" from time to time. We enjoyed our seasonal site and the comaradie that we had at MeCosta Pines Campground and have enjoyed the socializing, crafts and other activities at Rainbow Plantation. Also, it has been fun worshiping at different churches along the way. These include Grace Community Church in Morley, Michigan, Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and Jubilee Shores United Methodist Church in Fairhope, Alabama. We look forward to returning to those churches again in the future. Another thing that appeals to us is doing some trips with others in the future. Norm and Linda Payne have done several trips with Rich and Diane Emond. They have also traveled with Don and Gloria Martin (Gloria is Norm's sister) and will be doing so again this summer. What a great way to see America while sharing the experience with others; so we look forward to the time when we "click" with another couple who we can travel with. Your lifestyles have to be compatible in order to travel like this but the rewards are enumerable. |