Alabama Coast - Bayous, Boats and Blossoms Steve
We're logging in from Alabama Gulf Coast this month, a place I'd never seen before - though it's warm enough here to feel like summertime back home in Minnesota! Our son, Mike, and his family met up with us in Mobile for a quick vacation. They live in Denver, so they were happy to escape the snow for a warm beach vacation. And of course we were glad to have them.
We started out in Mobile, getting the kids settled. Mike and his wife, Norah, brought the grandkids, little Callie who's just turning six this year and the baby, Alex. Callie said right off that she wanted me to take her fishing, so I started making plans for a side-jaunt down to Gulf Shores where we could get out on the ocean. But in the meantime, Mike was happy to tag along while we visited the USS Alabama Battleship.
If you're a history buff, then you no doubt know all about famous Civil War sites like Richmond and Gettysburg, and you've probably heard more than you need to know about Sherman's march to the sea. But you might not know the story of Mobile, Alabama. It only became part of the U.S. after the War of 1812 when we took the French-built Fort Conde and re-named it Fort Charlotte. Later, during the Civil War, Mobile was an important port and trading center for the South. In August 1864, the Union fleet managed to take the port, but the city held out against the troops for seven months - seven months! - before they finally fell to Union control. There are a ton of great museums and historical sites around Mobile.
Once we moved down to Gulf Shores, I started looking seriously at the boating and fishing charter options. We finally settled on a trip with the Natural Environs Cruise Experience because they take you in near the wildlife refuge, into the bayous. Mike just loves seafood, oysters in particular, so we went out for a big seafood dinner one night while we planned out the rest of the trip. We decided on a sailing adventure that the whole family could go on. Then I spoke up for Callie's fishing trip, so we locked in a few days of fishing at Lake Shelby in Gulf State Park. I know more about freshwater fishing than saltwater, so I thought we'd start there and then find someone to teach us about ocean fishing. Or who knows - maybe we'll go crabbing or shrimpin' instead!
Sally
One of the best things about having grandkids is the way you feel about the school schedule. When the kids were little, I remember being relieved when school started up in the fall or after New Year's. Now I look forward to the holidays all year long! Our daughter-in-law is a teacher, so school breaks are really the only time they can travel - we're lucky to have that big long summer vacation every year.
We met up with Mike and Norah and the grandbabies in Mobile (you wouldn't believe how much Callie had grown, just since Christmas). Norah needed to pick up a few things, so she and I took baby Alex to the Bel Air Mall while Steve went with Mike and Callie to look for a fishing trip. On the way back we stopped to look at the antiques at the gigantic Flea Market Mobile, probably the biggest yard sale/market I've ever seen.
The next day we all went to the Bellingrath Gardens and Home where the spring flowers were just exploding with color. We got there just in time for Callie to join in the big Easter Egg hunt, poking around through the Easter lilies with her little basket. Then she and all the other kids got to color the sidewalk with chalk in an enormous mural. We toured through the home itself, a 15-room southern mansion that was built in 1935. It was filled with this exquisite Boehm porcelain - beautiful!
Steve wanted to take a history trip to the Museum of Mobile, so Norah and I took Callie to look at the Conde-Charlotte Museum House, built in 1860, right during the build-up to the Civil War. We saw amazing etched glass and the prettiest curving stairway youíve ever seen. I could just picture the ladies in their hoop skirts, sweeping down those steps to meet their visitors.
After a few days in Mobile, we headed south about 50 miles to Gulf Shores on the barrier islands, one of the loveliest towns Iíve ever seen. Itís a great place for kids to play, what with all the white-sand beaches. And the water is so warm! We spend days watching Callie race along the beach, digging up sand to put in her little bucket.
We also took the kids to the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo to see the tigers and kangaroos. Alex, little as he is, was just ga-ga over - the monkeys - they had him hooting and jumping around for hours. Callie loved the petting zoo, where she got to make friends with a nanny goat. Next we're planning a big trip to the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. Everyone has told us that this is the perfect place to go on a nature hike with the grandkids. And of course, I can get in a little more bird watching. Callie keeps asking if we'll see alligators there, but I just tell her that we'll have to wait and see!
|
South Florida - Flamingos, Manatees and Golf! Sally
What a way to start off a life list! Here we are in Florida, and I have to tell you that it's just as beautiful as people always say - except that it's even more spectacular when you see it for yourself. Because it isn't just the seeing, its the feeling of being so deliciously warm, and the smells and sounds of ocean waves on the beach. I'm actually getting used to seeing palm trees wherever we go! And do you know that the water here is actually warm enough to swim in, even in March?!
We spend a good deal of last week in the Fort Myers area. Fort Myers was an easy pick for me because itís near Manatee Park, where we went the very first day so I could see a manatee. I canít even describe how sweet those creatures are ñ so gentle and serene-seeming. They reminded me of underwater elephants.
We keep a big calendar in the RV, so we can keep track of what we want to do each day. After twenty years of marriage, we've found that this is especially important in a place like this where there's so much to do, so Steve can x-out his golfing days and I know when I'll have him handy to help me carry groceries or for a big expedition. It wasn't long, of course, before Steve marked the calendar up with golfing days and headed out gleefully for a day on the links. This is fine for me, too, since I get to spend that time seeing spots he wouldn't enjoy, like the fancy Burroughs Home and the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. I just love old houses!
A few days later, when Steve had gotten his golfing fix, we took a day trip to Sanibel and Captiva, a pair of islands off the Fort Myers coast. Because we wanted to take our terriers, Fritz and Sheba, with us, we drove along the causeway that carries you right over the ocean to Sanibel. Amazing! We all walked for miles along what must have been the longest beach in the world, and I picked up some of the most gorgeous seashells I've ever seen.
Now that we're in Florida, I've found so many more things that I want to do and see - more than could ever fit on my life list! I've been telling the dogs that we may need to stay here for a bit. Not that they mind! They canít really get enough of running on the beach. But for the moment, my plans include: 1) trying a mojito in Miami (doesn't that sound exotic?), 2) seeing Earnest Hemingwayís house in Key West, and 3) spotting a wild orchid in the Everglades. And, of course, taking pictures of all these incredible, colorful wild birds!
Steve
Have you ever noticed how people from cold-weather places get when they land somewhere warm, especially in a month like March, when our hometown in Minnesota is still digging out from under heaps of grimy snow? They just can't stop saying ridiculous things like, "Ah! It's so warm!" and "Can you believe the weather?" Ever since we entered Florida, Sally's been talking a blue streak about the temperature. Which, believe it or not, is more than she ever talked about the weather at home, beyond asking if I remember to put the snow tires on the car. But now it's all "look at the flowers! Ooh, feel the warm air!" everywhere we go.
Now I'll be perfectly frank - to me, all flowers pretty much look the same. So while Sally's busy oohing and aahing over her lemon trees and bromeliads, or whatever they're called, I've been charting golf courses. Turns out, just as I'd hoped, that Southern Florida is filled with great courses everywhere you look. I played at two in Fort Myers, one on Sanibel Island, one in Naples, and I already have my tee time set for when we get to Miami (turns out that you can book it online). I even had a pro look at my putting stroke, and now Iím playing the best short game of my life!
While we were out on Sanibel and Captiva, I went out on a fishing charter while Sally hit the Sanibel Outlet stores. And man, did we ever catch some fish on that trip! We went about thirty miles off-shore, to where the water was maybe seventy feet deep. I caught two monster red grouper, while another fellow on the charter brought home - no joke - a barracuda. Meanest looking fish I've ever seen.
Now that we're in Naples, Sally's gotten her second wind for animal viewing. These pretty birds really have her going, and she's determined now to see all (or most of) the big splashy birds like flamingos, spoonbills, pelicans, and ibises. And golfing on Sanibel gave me such a taste for this island golfing, that now I want to try out some of those courses on the Florida Keys. Sally's game, so I drew up a loop-route that'll take us east on I-75 to Miami, then south to the keys, and around to Everglades National Park. That way we can see alligators, Sally can spot her birds, and I can look at the sunken galleons at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Iím also hoping to go on one of those boats you see in movies, the super-fast ones that whip through the water. So keep your eyes pealed and let me know if you find a way to get a ride on one of those things!
Dream of the Open Road - The Adventure Begins
Sally
Have you ever heard of people doing crazy things like trying to eat pancakes at every Dennyís in all 50 states? Well, my husband Jack woke up one day with a bee in his bonnet, suddenly determined that he had to play golf in Florida. And right away, too.
'Why Florida?' I wanted to know, 'Why not someplace closer, like Iowa?'
'Because,' he said, 'Florida is famous for golf Iowa isn't. Its just something I want to do before I die, you know?'
In fact, I did know. Just a week or so before, I'd come across a diary of mine from my teenage years. It made for pretty good reading, let me tell you, all full of whining and moping and worries about boys, that sort of thing. But what really got me about it was the list I'd made on the very first page, a list I'd naively titled, 'Things I'm Going To Do.' Naive, I say, because of course I haven't done a third of them! I've never sung on TV, never kissed a quarterback, and never swum in the ocean. I've never even been to California (except once to change planes, and that doesn't really count), and that's the number one thing on the list!
So when Jack said his piece about wanting to golf in Florida before he took the last turn in the road, so to speak, it got me thinking. There were a lot of things I wanted to accomplish. They werenít all the same things Iíd been determined to do when I was sixteen, but there were plenty.
When Jack came back in, I brought us each a cup of coffee and got settled. 'Honey,' I said, 'I've been thinking about what you said, about playing golf in Florida. And pass me the creamer, won't you? Thanks. What I've been thinking is that I have some things I want to do before I die, too, like see the Grand Canyon and swim in the ocean. And I really want to see a manatee.'
'A what?' Jack has no patience for nature shows.
'A manatee, one of those animals they have in Florida. Theyíre like big, peaceful, sea cows. I want to see one.'
'And swim in the ocean? And see the Grand Canyon?'
'Yup.'
'Well hold on there partner - if you get three things, then I should get three things too, don't you think?'
That was how it started, on an icy day in Southern Minnesota, when two people had dreams of sunshine and warm weather. Now we have our life lists all written out, and Jack's come up with a route that's going to carry us all across the country. I'm so excited, I can hardly wait! Florida, HERE WE COME!
Steve
Once Sally made up her mind about the manatees and her 'life list,' as she liked to call it, I knew the road was clear. We'd be in Florida before we knew it!
I got started right off with testing and restocking all the 'moving parts' we carry with us in the RV - the propane grill, the electrical cords and adapters, the holding tank chemicals, and everything we need for the computer. Sally insists on bringing the laptop so we can email the kids; I like watching movies on it and not much else.
Then I loaded up all of our home inventions - the hooks Sal uses to keep picnic tablecloths from flying away, our elastic clothes-drying line, the box of maps, my cup of coins for tolls, and my special BBQing spice kit (don't forget the brown sugar!). After that, our packing is pretty ordinary. We divide it into sections: things for the RV (spare parts, the manual, and our tool kit), clothes, toiletry items, food and cooking gear, then fun things like fishing poles and games. Sal always packs her fun things first and then works her way to the kitchen equipment. I like to tackle the RV gear first and save the entertaining stuff for last. And of course, Sally always has to have her flower-guide and bird-watching binoculars. After twenty years, I finally know better than to leave those behind!
Once we're on the road, things settle into a nice routine. I like a hot breakfast, so we usually get a leisurely start - plus this helps us avoid any morning rush hour traffic. Then we drive. Sally works the map, pointing out fun things like mountain ranges, rivers that we're about to cross, and historical markers. She'll give us fun facts about the state we're going through and maybe even a little history to boot. While I drive, she likes to knit or watch the scenery. When she drives, we put on our latest book on tape and try to learn a thing or two.
After years of RVing, I've finally learned that the secret is to take it slow. If you're in too much of a hurry, you fly past all the things that are the most fun. What's the point in driving across South Dakota if you aren't going to stop at the Corn Palace? That's the lesson we've learned. If something tickles your funny bone, then you've got to stop. That's all there is to it.
|
|
|
