Wrapping Up March

     Our last couple of weeks in March have been spent touring the surrounding countryside and attending some events that have sprung up. 

     We jumped over to the community of Fairhope for the annual Arts & Crafts festival. This thing was massive!! Vendors in booths lined both sides of Main street and branched off for a couple blocks each side street. The variety was amazing. Fairhope itself is a quaint little town sporting several "Artsy" or eclectic coffee shops and restaurants. It is full of Southern charm and class. 

     This was looking down just one side of one of the many side streets. Vendor booths as far as you could see. Spent a good part of a morning and afternoon just walking past all of them. Surprisingly, we didn't buy anything but a big ol' Lemonade. 

     Had to include this photo. This guy makes the most unique birdhouse I've ever seen!

     As you might already know, or remember from previous blog entries, Pensacola is the home of the Navy's Blue Angels precision flying team. Starting the end of March, the "Angels" have a practice session every Tuesday and Wednesday morning. It is free and open to the public. It is 45 minutes of the heart stopping aerial acrobatics and precision flying that the Blue Angels are know for. On this day about 4,100 folks liked the viewing area and watched the show. I can remember waiting 1 or 2 years to get a chance to see these guys perform and now I can see them twice a week! We had a great time. 

     Hard to see in the photo, but as they taxied by to start the practice session, the pilots waved to the crowd. 

     Unbelievable! One up, one inverted, and both with the tail hooks and landing gear extended! Add to that flying within a foot or so of the other guy. 

     Something trivial I just discovered.  Back last year when we accepted the position here at Bella Terra, I went on Google Earth to see what the place looked like and how it related to the surrounding area. (I do this with many of the place we plan to stop at.) Well, imagine my surprise when Google earth showed me a dirt road, cultivated farm fields, and a small forest of trees where Bella Terra should have been!! Seems that the imagery was kind of out of date. As of January 13th this year, that has been rectified. Now, if you go to coordinates: N 30 deg. 20.879 mins, W 87 deg. 39.687 mins; you will see our coach with the jeep out front! Oh yeah, you can see the resort as it was January 13th. 

Spring Break with the Fam

     After the aforementioned wedding, Shawn followed us down to Bella Terra and spent his Spring Break  with us. He started off the visit by being the "Guest Mix-ologist" at a social on Sunday. He reached back into his Bartender roots and served up drinks along with a couple of his "signature" drinks to the residents and guests. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon and Shawn even got some spending money in tips.

     Monday dawned with clouds and a steady rain. We had to adjust our "Clipboard Of Fun" and decided to run over to the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola. I have blogged about the Museum before but it was fun taking Shawn around and showing him the artifacts and aircraft. He has developed an appreciation for museums and he enjoyed himself.

     The next day still threatened rain but we had scheduled a Dolphin watching cruise for the Resort, so we brought Shawn along. It started with a fine lunch at a restaurant called Flippers. Then we met the boat for our cruise. (The photo above is Shawn's self-titled "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay".)

    The cruise goes out into the bay area and looks for dolphins to surface. The dolphins look for the boat to come out. When found, the boat captain kicks the engine in and creates a good sized wake behind us. The dolphins then get in the wake and "body surf" through the waves. They jump out of the water and ride the waves, having a ball! I was told that the wake of the boat creates a type of draft such that it makes it easier for the dolphins to gather speed and swim (kind of like driving your car and following behind a truck on the interstate). Everyone on board had a great time and got some fantastic views of the dolphins having fun. 

     Another place of interest, to Shawn especially, was the Holmes Medical Museum in downtown Foley. The Holmes family provided several generations of doctors to the Baldwin county area during the 20th century. The medical museum is located in what was once the first Hospital in Baldwin County. It is a self-guided walking tour through rooms left much the way they were when the hospital closed in the 1960's. Since Shawn is studying to be a Chiropractic Doctor, he was fascinated with the instruments and textbooks on display. 

     Shawn practices his skill in reading X-rays. 

     Here I get an anatomy lesson on the spinal column and surrounding bones.

     Just a sampling of some of the instruments that were commonplace in the 1940-1960's.

     We found a Groupon that got us a good deal on a one hour horseback ride, so we all trooped out to nearby Fairhope to Oak Hollow Farm.  Here we mounted up and had a great little trail ride through the Oaks and pastures on the property. They have a neat barn venue set up for parties and group get togethers complete with a stage for entertaining and a kitchen for cooking. Here Shawn is waiting outside the barn for our ride to the stables. 

     We hopped aboard a tractor-pulled hay wagon and rode out to the stables. 

     We saddle up and had an easy ride around the property. 

     On his last full day here, we went out to Ft. Morgan. This Fort, one of two at the mouth of Mobile Bay, is where Admiral Farragut purportedly uttered those famous words "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" during the Civil War. Unfortunately, the fog was pretty heavy and visibility of the Bay drastically reduced for our visit, but we had a good time nonetheless. The Fort was originally built in the 1830's and is built in the star shape common to many shore forts that we have visited in the US. 

     Believe it or not, there is the Gulf of Mexico just beyond the walls. You just can't see it due to the fog. 

     Even though the fog was dense just 20 miles down the beach, we stopped at one of the beaches at Gulf Shores State Park and it was bright and beautiful. Here many families and "Spring Breakers" were enjoying the 80 degree temps and warm sunshine. We spent the afternoon relaxing on the sugar fine white sand beach.

     Unfortunately, time flew by way too fast, and this morning Shawn had to pack up and head back to Kansas City. We wished him safe travels and sent him on his way with plenty of snacks and good memories.

Wedding of our Nephew

     We made a quick trip to Jackson, Mississippi last week to attend the wedding of our nephew, Thomas, and his lovely bride, LeeLee (Lauretha). Thomas is the son of our traveling buddies, Brenda and Geoff, and we have watched him grow into a fine young man. He is currently a lawyer working in a practice in Jackson, MS.  LeeLee is a teacher, and they knew each other as far back as high school.  Tori was in the wedding as a flower girl, Shawn was one of the Groomsmen, and we came up to be a part of everything. The wedding party was huge, with friends of the Bride and Groom, and the wedding was planned with the precision that would make any Military commander proud. We had a rehearsal dinner on Friday night, the wedding on Saturday afternoon, and the reception stretched into Saturday night. All involved had a great time of fun and fellowship. Sunday morning, Thomas and LeeLee took off for their honeymoon in Hawaii! Good Luck Thomas and LeeLee! We wish you all the best in your new life together. 

     Tori and the other Flower Girl, Kayle, bonded from the first minute. They were inseparable the entire time and they had a great time. 

     Mom and her new Daughter-in-Law!

     Not to be outdone by her big sister, Belle charmed all the guys on the dance floor and was never without a dance partner. 

     Shawn was a hit on the dance floor too!

     Shawn and Tori share a dance together. 

     We had a limo to take members of the wedding party from the hotel to the Church. Here it looks like a Shriner's Clown car as we crammed about 15 of us into it! This is just the back half of the limo, there's more of us behind the photographer!!

     Tori and Belle posing for a quick photo op. 

A Southern Tradition

     Haven't had much to relate lately. Just been enjoying the warm weather and relaxing.

     We have had some fun times at Bella Terra lately. Last week, we had the first annual Talent show. This is where guests and staff showcased their hidden talents. There were those who sang, played instruments, recited poetry and much more. I spared everyone there serious pain and suffering by NOT doing anything but sitting in the audience.

     We had a special treat last Friday. William Florian stopped by to perform for the guests. William was the lead singer for the New Christy Minstrels in the mid 1970's. He sang and played guitar to a number of their hits and sang several ballads popular in the 1960's and 70's. I had the opportunity to take him to the Pensacola airport and enjoyed talking to him and sharing stories.

     Today, a group of the residents put together a Southern Boil. They went down to the docks and bought a bunch of shrimp, crawfish, and oysters fresh from the boat. They then brought all of that seafood to the Resort and boiled it up with fresh potatoes, corn, mushrooms, garlic and a variety of spices. The shrimp and crawfish were whole and unpeeled. You had to peel and eat your way through dinner. By time I got finished, my hands were dripping and the juices were running down my arms. It was a great dinner and a good time with our new friends.

     Sadly, our time here is nearing an end. In a little over a month, we will be packing up and moving on to our next adventure. A side trip to Tampa for a little work on the coach and then on to Kansas for our summer workamping job.