Wandering America
November 2007 - Part I
| A Sunday Afternoon Drive It has been a long time since we just went for a Sunday afternoon drive with no particular destination in mind. We left the RV Park and just followed the eastern shoreline of the Mobile Bay southward, places we've never been before, just to see what we could find. Our first stop was at Bon Secor Bay where Billy's Seafood is located. This is a nice secluded inlet that is protected for the harsh weather from the sea where fishing boats come and go. It is a rather quaint and picturesque spot where remnants of hurricanes past can still be seen.     We then followed the inter coastal waterway east to Orange Bay, Alabama which is located on Perdido Bay. They have a nice city park with a pier that allows you to walk out for a nice view of the bay. The Monarch butterflies are in migration to Mexico and all over the area. In another week they will have pretty much "gone south" for the winter. We had fun just sitting and watching them while snapping a few pictures here and there.       There is no place on earth like being on the beach. The sound of the waves as they wash ashore, the squawking of the seagulls as they look for food, the sounds of people enjoying themselves as they play tag with the waves, and the gleeful squeals of a toddler as the cool waves tickle his feet. There are older people sitting in lawn chairs just taking in the beauty that surrounds them, younger people laying out on a blankets while working on their tans, and a young mother with her daughter building a sand castle. The sky is so blue, the ocean so calm and warm, the fine white sand stretching for miles, and the pleasant smell of the salt air as the breeze carries it past your senses. We spent a Sunday afternoon at the beaches in Gulf Shores, Alabama along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. This has to be one of our favorite spots with over 32 miles of white sandy beach. It is fun to just walk along the shore with the waves washing over your feet. The water was so warm and clean and we just love the smell of the salt air. This time of year there aren't very many people so you feel like you have the beach to yourself. We'll definitely come here often.    Weeks Bay Alabama Weeks Bay is a small estuarine embayment off the Mobile Bay, approximately three square miles of open shallow water, averaging 4.5 feet deep. The reserve property lies in and around Weeks Bay and the tributaries of the Fish and Magnolia rivers. What is an estuary? It is a semi-enclosed body of water where fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from the oceans. The National Estuarine Research Reserve System is a network of 26 protected areas established for long-term research, monitoring, education, and coastal stewardship. The areas are located along the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards and Weeks Bay is one of the twenty-six.  
One of the highlights was the Pitcher Plant Bog. Pitcher Plants
are a carnivorous plants with white-colored tubular leaves referred to
as "pitchers". Insects crawl into the "tubes" where there are
stiff hairs (cilia) which point downward making it easy for the insect
to enter but impossible to crawl back up and out. The insects
eventually die and fall into a pool of liquid that is at the bottom of
the tubes and are "digested" by the plant. Unfortunately it has
been really dry in the southeast this year so the plants were not
thriving very well but we did get a couple of pictures.
  Miss Colleen's House and Punta Clara Kitchen While taking a leisurely drive along scenic route 98, which runs along the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay, we came across Miss Colleen's House. Miss Colleen's House is an old Victorian home built in 1897 by her father in the historic district of Point Clear, Alabama. The house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and today it houses Punta Clara Kitchen, From The Attic Antiques, and a gift shop. Punta Clara Kitchen is a candy shop where you can purchase home made candies, jams and jellies, and other goodies for the sweet tooth. Kim, a descendant of Miss Colleen, gave a quick tour of the shop as well as a brief history of the house. While we were there we got to watch as Mandy was stirring up a fresh batch of lip smacking fudge. You can sample the wares before purchasing them so you know exactly what you are getting - this was as much fun as wine tasting and less intoxicating. We left with a couple of jars of pepper jelly - one hot and one mild. The candies were just plain yummy and we'll be going back again.      Fairhope, Alabama We just love Fairhope, Alabama. It reminds us a lot of Harbor Springs, Michigan where we had planned to retire. Both are on a bay - Fairhope is on Mobile Bay and Harbor Springs is on Little Traverse Bay. Both are tourist towns - Fairhope has the winter tourist while Harbor Springs caters to the summer tourist. And both are clean little towns with lots of Artsy / Crafty shops and fine eateries throughout. Fairhope was founded in 1894 by followers of economist Henry George as a single tax colony. Funds were pooled by 28 followers of George to purchase land known as "Stapleton's Pasture" which was then divided into long term lease-holds. The corporation paid all governmental taxes from the rents collected from the lessees thus simulating a single-tax. The purpose of a single tax community is to eliminate any disincentives for productive use of the land thereby retaining the value of the land for the community. The Fairhope Single-Tax Corporation still operates today with approximately 1800 leaseholders covering about 4000 acres of land in and around the city of Fairhope. First we stopped at the "Town Square" park and walked around the fountain and then out onto the pier. As always, whenever we're around the ocean, we just love the smell of the salt air. After walking around the park we strolled through the town visiting a few of the cute little shops along the way. There are flower gardens everywhere around the city that are kept very neat and trim. It seems funny to see flowers in full bloom this time of year. We ended our tour with a stop at the library before heading home.      At Home at Rainbow Plantation Just a last couple of pictures, this is what makes life on East Traveler Street so wonderful. Good friends sitting around the fire chatting, laughing, and enjoying one another's company while the sun is slowly setting in the west. "Life just can't get any better than this!!!"   |