Wandering America
November 2009| Heritage Days Americans just love to celebrate therefore you can find all types of fairs and festivals across this wonderful land of ours. It is a serendipitous thing indeed to stumble into a small town during one of its celebration festivals. Beginning in 2001 Foley, Alabama began its annual Heritage Harbor Days festival which is held in early November each year and "is an award winning cultural heritage exchange between two cities in different states. Every year Foley packs up and takes a 28 ft. shrimp boat, the Miss Foley, and a small slice of rich culture to visit another U.S. city. Alabama shares its boat builders, net makers, fried green tomatoes, seafood, country music, beach music and Gospel choir - all representing the varied heritage of the Alabama Gulf Coast Area. We welcome our guests from other states here in Foley each year with the Heritage Harbor Days festival." (festivals.com) This year Judy and I attended the Heritage Harbor Days festival with our good friends, Randy and Terry Guiler (Guiler Travels). But first we had to stop at the Foley Coffee Shop for breakfast and a great breakfast it was. We just love these small hometown restaurants that "sling hash". The food was good, the meal was hot, and the service was just as it should be. Once we had stuffed our faces we made our way across the street to Heritage Park where the festival was being held.    Friday was the first morning of the festival and even though they had three stages set up there was no music being played. We were there until almost noon time and there was still very little going on. Hopefully it got better as the day progressed; Saturday would have been the better day to attend but, we wanted to "miss" the crowds. The festival did have a lot of good exhibits and crafter's vending tents. It's always fun to see just how talented some people are. The antique/old tractor displays were my favorite exhibit at the festival.     After leaving the festival the four of us took a drive to Bon Secor to visit the Swift-Cole House. The home was built as a four room house in 1882 and Charles and Susan Swift moved into it around the turn of the century. About eight years later they added a downstairs wing followed by an addition of the upstairs which completed the 16 room house as it stands today. The house remained in the family until 1976 when Mrs. Susan Nell Swift Marshall passed away. Mr. Nick Coles purchased the house and began preserving it. He acquired the collection of antiques that is currently displayed in the home. Mr. Coles left the house to the Baldwin County Historic Development Commission who now operates the house. We did a drive by but weren't inclined to stop at this time as there was still some restoration work taking place and the grand opening wasn't scheduled until later in the month. Not only that, we didn't even think to snap some pictures of the house while we were there. Rainbow Plantation It's not very difficult for us to stay busy without even leaving the Plantation. It seems that from our very arrival we have had more than enough to do. There are dinners scheduled every Tuesday and Thursday evenings as well as breakfast every Saturday morning and Ice Cream Social every Sunday evening. Not only that, there are several other "pot luck" events that crop up every month such as the Thanksgiving Day Pot Luck on Saturday evening following Thanksgiving. Also, we had an International Dinner where 17 "chefs" created a dish with international flavor and for a $3 donation you get to go through the line and sample as many dishes as you like. On top of that there are many other "gatherings" all around the Park; this becomes an extremely hard place to try to lose any weight.   Besides
all of the eating that we do, Judy and I generally attend the four
o'clock social time at the clubhouse. It is a great way to meet
new friends as they arrive in the park as well as find out what
activities are taking place in and around the Plantation. You
just never know what's going to happen next or who will show up at
social time - note the photo of the Paynes.   On
top of all of the that, we have live bands that perform every other
Sunday night following the Ice Cream Social. There's dancing as
well as other shenanigans that take place providing us with a good time
and lots of laughs.   Then,
there are all the gatherings around park. We've not participated
in any of the campfires so far this fall but did attend a dinner party
with Don and Gloria Martin at Norm and Linda Payne's  So,
as you can well see, we are very socially active here at the
Plantation. Next month I will provide you with a rundown on all
of the events that take place here at Rainbow Plantation. Foley Railroad Museum The museum is located in the old L&N railroad depot which was built in 1908. The company's plan was to tear down the building when train service was stopped in 1971, however, the owner of the local telephone company bought the building to use as a warehouse. The depot was deeded to the city of Foley in 1995 and subsequently turned into a museum.   A gentleman by the name of Alan Goldman donated his model "O" gage railroad collection to the City of Foley, Alabama on the condition that the exhibit be free of admission and be available for children of all ages to visit. The Caboose Club, a group of volunteer railroad buffs, disassembled the extensive collection and kept it stored until a building was made available to house the layout. An annex was built next to the L&N Depot Museum in 2005 and it took another fourteen months to reassemble the exhibit which opened in February of 2007. As you look at these pictures notice the attention to details.  The exhibit has over a quarter mile of track and represents the 1950's era when rail lines were converting from steam to diesel power. Again, there is considerable detail in the exhibit with several animated sites located throughout the layout. You can almost see Fonzie, Richie, Potsie, and Ralph walking out of the Diner and is that Cunningham's Hardware there on Main Street? Probably not, but that is the time and the setting for this extensive collection. At Mel's Drive-In the '57 Chevy actually pulls up and a car hop comes out to take the order. Notice the people congregating outside of the church and the cemetery next door.     What
city would be complete without a filling station and a car wash.
The car wash is another of the animated scenes where the
attendant collects the fee, the car goes through the wash, and the two
men standing on the left wipe down the vehicle as it passes by.   We
happened to catch it at just the right time as the circus was in town
complete with a three ring big top and and elephant show.    But
not everything is fun and play in Railroad City. Here the Fire
Department is hard at work putting out a fire in an apartment building
while at the other end of town hundreds of people are working at the
refinery.   As you can see, there is in fact a lot of detail put into this exhibition. We had a great time finding so many surprises through out the entire layout. There are so many that we couldn't possible put all of the photos into this travelogue. However, here are just a few more random shots.     Stacey Rexall Drug Speaking of the 1950's, a stop at Stacey Rexall Drug Store will take you back there in a flash when you walk into their Old Time Soda Fountain area.   Judy and I just had to go in and get ourselves a nice old fashioned milk shake made just way they used to make it when I was a teenager. They have soda jerks using the same old mixing machines and serving you your shake in the same old glasses; they even leave you the mixing cup with the rest of your shake to add to your glass once you've drunk it down a little.   The memories just came flooding in, this is something that we will have to do every so often. Oh yes, let us not forget to mention that they still have a 10 cent cup of coffee!!! If you find yourself in Foley, Alabama, do yourself a favor and stop in! Harvesting Cotton I was almost back to the Plantation when I saw that the cotton was being harvested in the neighboring fields so I stopped to make some pictures. As I stood snapping pictures of a harvester in the field, a second harvester came rolling down the road heading for the field. The farmer, whose name is Tim Mullek, stopped and asked if I wanted go for a ride - well now, "is the Pope a Catholic?" I spent the next hour riding along in the harvester witnessing first hand the whole operation.       There are basically two types of machines used to harvest cotton, the cotton picker and the stripper. Tim's machine is the cotton picker which uses revolving barbed spindles to pull the cotton from the boll and then releases it to be deposited it in the basket that sits behind the cockpit. It is a self propelled machine with four wheel drive that can simultaneously harvest six rows of cotton at one time. The cotton picker travels at speeds from 2.5 to 4 miles per hour and harvests an average of 11 acres per hour. Based on the average yield per acre and the current price of cotton, the harvester produces at a rate of approximately $20 per minute.  Once the cotton pickers basket is full one of two things happens; either a tractor towing a basket trailer pulls along side of the cotton picker so that the cotton can be dumped or the cotton picker must make a trip to the module builder to dump the cotton. It is far more efficient to keep the harvester in the field therefore Tim's operation has separate tractor with the basket trailer that services both harvesters and delivers the cotton to the module builder.   The module builder is a stationary piece of equipment that compacts the cotton into modules for transportation. Once the cotton has been compacted into a module it is as hard as a rock and is covered with plastic. A module of cotton, which is shaped like a giant loaf of bread, can weigh as much as 25,000 pounds. After the module has been formed, it is covered and numbered at which point it belongs to the transporter and is no longer the farmer's responsibility.   It was an interesting hour to say the least and a special thanks goes to Tim for picking up this hitch hiker and making his day.   U. S. Air Force Jazz Band The U. S. Air Force Jazz Band known as the Airmen of Note was performing at the Coliseum in Robertsdale so eight of us joined up to attended the concert together; Randy and Terry, Dick and Pat, Ron and Ruth, and Judy and I. In Terry's words, "They were excellent. We all enjoyed it."  The Airmen of Note is the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force Band which was created in 1950 to carry on the tradition of Glenn Miller's Army Air Corps dance band. It is one of today's few touring big bands. As a result, it has attracted 18 of the finest musicians in the country. Twice yearly the Note ventures throughout the United States, spreading its big band sound to communities from coast to coast. The Airmen of Note also has an extensive record of international performing. Its appearances in five South American Countries, eight European countries and Japan have solidified its reputation as one of the best bands of its kind in the world. This reputation has led to the Note's regular and greatly anticipated feature performances at the world's most famous jazz festivals, including the Detroit/Montreux Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, Notre Dame Jazz Festival, Jacksonville Jazz Festival, Wichita Jazz Festival, Elkhart Jazz Festival, Hartford Jazz Festival and the Pensacola Jazz Festival. (from the Official Website of the U. S. Air Force Band)   Each of the Armed Forces have their own band and many of those bands have smaller ensembles as well. If you ever get the chance to attend a concert performed by any of our Armed Forces bands or ensembles by all means go - you'll not be disappointed. The concerts are always free and the music is performed by very accomplished musicians. Thanksgiving at the Plantation If you can't get together with blood family during the holidays then your Escapee's family is next best thing. This year there were 18 tables seating 10 to 12 people each making the head count somewhere between 180 to 200 people for dinner. The deal is that each person antes up two bucks for turkey and gravy (the Plantation also provided ham for the non-turkey eaters) and then brings "a dish to pass" as co-ordinated by the table hosts.  At Oh-Dark Thirty in the morning I ventured over to the clubhouse to help prepare thirteen turkeys for our Thanksgiving dinner.     Doug and Anna Craw were our table hosts and they did an excellent job with the menu. Besides Doug and Anna we had Norm and Linda, Don and Elaine, Bob and Kathy, Ralph and Pat, and Judy and I at our table. Everyone did a fantastic job on the dishes to pass - we had stuffing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, squash, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, a special salad, and rolls for dinner. Everything was home made except the rolls which came from Walmart's deli section. There was, also, tea, lemonade, and coffee supplied by the clubhouse and each of us brought our own wine to enjoy with dinner. For dessert we had the traditional pumpkin pies and a pecan pie (all home made as well). Needless to say, we were bulging at the seams when we finished chowing down.   We really enjoy our family here at Rainbow Plantation and are thankful that we discovered this place when we did - it has truly become our home. A Special Get Together Norm and Linda had invited Howard and Linda, Nick and Terry, and Judy and I to their house after the Social Hour for a "chat and chew". We had a little beer and wine to loosen our tongues along with the snacks. Then the stories began; stories about places we've been, people we've run across along the way, and funny things that have happened to us or we'd seen happen to someone else. It seemed a general consensus that all of us have seen someone who hooked up the water to the backflush connection and then either forgot about it or took off and left it. We all had quite a few good laughs throughout the evening which passed by waaaay to soon. Here's a picture of the group - I'm the one on the far right, just behind the camera.  What a serendipitous thing it was to have almost 30 years of RVing experience sitting around in one room swapping stories. Norm and Linda were fulltimer's for 10 years and 1 month before settling down here at Rainbow Plantation -They will continue traveling on an extended basis. Nick and Terry, also, have over 10 years of fulltiming behind them and have just purchased a "new to them" Winnebago Ultimate Advantage motorhome to continue their journeys in - They aren't planning to come off the road anytime soon. Howard and Linda now have over 4 years of fulltiming under their belts - They where on the left coast last summer, will be spending this winter on the right coast, and next summer they will be experiencing the Great Lakes. Judy and I were the babies in the bunch with just over 3 years of fulltiming - We have been traveling mostly in the eastern United States and look forward to traveling west of the Mississippi.     It was an enjoyable evening but, it always is whenever you get a bunch of fulltimer's together in one spot - there's bound to be food and a lot of lively conversation. Here are some parting pictures from the evening's gathering.    Dinner Guests Throughout the Month We always enjoyed entertaining when we lived in sticks and bricks so why would that change when you live in an RV? The RV way of life makes it a lot easier to entertain though; it's a lot less formal. Instead of fancy table settings you use Corell Ware, instead of serving everyone a three course meal you do it buffet style, and instead of schematic seating arrangement some of you eat at the table while others eat off a TV tray or even standing up. It all tastes the same and you have a great evening with friends with all the pretensions eliminated. We have had as many as eight guests (ten counting us) for dinner inside our "Little House on the Wheels". By the way, cooking in an RV is no different than cooking in a house. The oven is a little smaller and we only have three burners but, the convection oven is full sized which gives us two ovens to use. Sometimes counter space is a little limited but, we can use the diningroom table for additional counter space. Depending on what we are serving, we are generally able to prepare a lot of it before hand and have it ready to "finish off" just before guests arrive thereby availing us of a nice hot, out of the oven (or off the stove) meal. This month we wanted to prepare a fish "chowdah" for our flatlander friends Don and Gloria Martin and Norm and Linda Payne. Unfortunately we were unable to get haddock (normally Walmart has frozen haddock but they were out) so we were force into using a combination of whiting and tilapia but, the "chowdah" turned out just fine. In fact, Linda, who is not a fan of chowdahs, came back for seconds - it's gotta be the recipe that my dad taught me, I know it is!! Along with the fish "chowdah" we had a nice garden salad and wine followed by a chocolate pudding with whipped cream dessert. It was all yummy but, the greatest part of all was the time we all spent together. Also, Howard and Linda Payne were arriving just before Thanksgiving so we (Judy) prepared her "world famous" lasagna served with a garden salad and wine (see a trend here?) and a nice dessert of home made, by Judy, apple crisp. It is a tradition among a lot of the fulltime RVing community that friends prepare a meal for the arriving party on travel day (the "no cooking on travel day" rule). Again, the best part of the evening was spending time together, however, I gotta admit that the lasagna was mighty good - "Oh So Good!" What a way to live!!! |