November Marches On

From Gulf State Park Campground, Gulf Shores, Alabama        Pam, Ernie, Charlie, Wayne and I played golf a few times at the state park course during late November. The five of us went to a golf clinic one afternoon and we got in some practice another day.  Looking back, I wish I'd taken greater advantage of the driving range and putting green at Gulf State Park's Refuge Course. I could sure use the practice. It was only about three miles from the campground. Such good hindsight.

Left - Wayne and Ernie discussing the shot.
Right - Wayne in full swing! 

Over the first weekend in November, friends San and Teresa drove up from Orlando to meet our group and discuss the trip to Alaska next summer. Sam and Teresa are considering going along and I think they would be a good fit. Teresa is scheduled to retire from her long working career as an CRNA at the end of January. It had been four years since we'd met them in Bradenton, Florida and our visit was good, but short. Unfortunately, I failed to take a single picture of them.

Mike 

I bumped into a school mate in the campground during November. As often happens, strangers pass pleasantries and after a bit of conversation, surprise themselves when they learn of a common connection. Turns out Mike and I attended high school together. He was two grades behind me and I don't really remember him, (nor he me) but we had lots of common school friends, recollections of high school, it's people and events. This is a small world.

Pam and Ernie introduced us to McGuire's Irish Restaurant and Pub in Pensacola in November too. This is the place that advertises a famous Senate Bean Soup for 18c a bowl and yes, that is the price shown on the menu. It is said there are millions of dollars stapled and taped to the inside of McGuires and I believe there could be well over a couple million dusty, moldy, nasty, old $1 bills. The restaurant is a museum of a place with dark stairwells and corridors. It is a treasure to visit.

Inside the small bar area of McGuires Irish Pub in Pensacola.

McGuire's is recognizable by the old double decker buses on the corner near the restaurant. It is filled with animated manequins. Wayne and I had seen the busses and the building over the years when we were in the area, but had not had occasion to stop at McGuires until today.

Sandy and me (top left) outside McGuires.
Sandy and Dave in the McGuires Restaurant Gift Shop (left) and McGuires 18c bowl of Senate Bean Soup. 

When we needed a good half-way lunch place to meet up with our friends Sandy and Dave, we naturally chose McGuires. Sandy and Dave are considering a travel rendevouz with us for some spring travel but aren't interested in the Alaska trip this year.

The eight of us visited over our lunch and then drove to Joe Patti's World Famous Seafood Market for a few pounds of shrimp and fresh fish.  Dave and Sandy are staying at Emerald Coast RV Resort in Panama City, Florida and say they like the campground so we'll add it to our list of Gulf Coast campgrounds to consider in the future.


Joyce, Charlie, Wayne and I strolled the streets and scoured the shops of The Wharf at Orange Beach shopping area on another afternoon.

Most of the shops are overpriced and competing for the tourist dollar but we did find a few treasures, including a piece of sea glass for Joyce.

Wayne found something he liked too, but he didn't buy it.>>>>>

We stumbled upon a pretty good Mexican Restaurant for lunch and later noticed newly decorated Christmas trees in the roundabout where two Wharf area streets intersect.

In addition to a steel mast rigging and the Christmas trees, a big metal fish just called for us to take a few pictures. Of course, we did.

Joyce, Charlie and the Wayner 

The wharf at The Wharf!
Nice, clear, blue water provided a great reflective photo op! 

On our way back to the campground that afternoon, the four of us stopped in for cocktails at Pleasure Island Tiki Hut on the waterway.

November is winding down. There are a few more "tourist" things we want to do.

That's fodder for another post. 

Early November In Gulf Shores

From Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores, Alabama          November weather along the Gulf coast can bring anything from hot, humid and sunny days to to cold rain and/or freezing temperatures. Our time here was nice overall, although we did have one strong storm that lasted most of two days. It brought plenty rain and winds that almost took our slide covers off.

Martin houses show the storm strength 

In near, but certainly not precise, chronological order, here's some of what made early November 2015 memorable. A total of five more couples joined us in the campground at one time or another. At least one other couple was camped nearby, at Silver Sands RV Resort.  My friend who lives in Panama City visited for a few hours too. We also have old work related friends living nearby though we didn't get to see much of them.  All in all, we made lots of good memories.

Learning To Use The Selfie Stick...

The selfie stick I bought last summer hasn't been used much but I'll want to operate it with confidence at some point, so I've begun to practice taking "selfies". I've been reading tips on how to take flattering shots. The photo below is not one of them.

Pam and me, learning to use the selfie stick. 
Holding the camera high is recommended for more flattering shots. 
 I'm concentrated on the mechanics of selfie taking and forget to smile. Happens a lot. 

More selfie practice (Pam (age 12), me and Joyce (age 13) Trying to learn to keep the stick out of the picture.
At this point in time, I haven't figured out how to reverse the photo so things aren't a mirrored image.
 Notice my NRUBUA (Auburn spelled backward) shirt.

Travel Planning... 

Pam, Ernie, Wayne and I have what we think is a good winter travel plan. It takes us west to southern California for winter then north in spring and into Alaska next summer. In the photo below, Pam and Charlie review the routes. 

Ernie, Charlie (with the map) and Pam

Visiting With Friends... Old and New

My good friend, D.J. stopped by for an afternoon visit on her way east from Dallas where she's just celebrated her granddaughter's birthday. None of us had any way of knowing DJ would come down with flu the next day. She planned to return the for the Dolphin Cruise with our group. Of course, that plan was thwarted. Sore throat and high fever kept her down for several day.

DJ and me. More selfie practice. I'm remembering to smile, at least.

We planned a picnic for the day DJ stopped in. At this point, Pam and Ernie, Charlie and Joyce, Linda and Dale and Fran and Mary all were here -- Ned and Rachel are on the way.

DJ (sunglasses) in the center of the picture with Pam, Linda and Joyce on the bench beside her. Mary is on the other side. Counter clockwise, Wayne, Charlie, Fran and Ernie. Lexie and Ozzie in their pen to the right. 

The same afternoon DJ stopped in, we had another couple drop by for a visit. Janet and Dennis are at Sugar Sands RV Resort here in Gulf Shores for a few weeks. They are also friends we made at Seminole Campground in North Fort Myers. Looking back, it's plain to see that Seminole was a very friendly place.

Wayne and Dennis

Dolphin Cruise

Dilated eyes mandate fashion eyewear.

The group took the afternoon Dolphin Cruise the day after our picnic. Wayne's eye appointment was scheduled that day and I'd need to drive while his eyes were dilated. I'm told they had a good time on the cruise and saw some dolphins. 

At the dolphin cruise location.
Left to right, Ernie, Pam, Linda, Dale, Joyce, Charlie, Fran, Mary, Janet and Dennis

. 

After the cruise, we joined Pam, Ernie, Joyce and Charlie for dinner at a restaurant recommended by the ship's mate on the Dolphin Cruise. Shipps Harbor Grill turned out to be a delightful place and we agreed we'd return

Kayaking

Another day a few of us went kayaking. Naturally, eating would be part of that activity too. We stopped in for poboys at The Flying Harpoon in Gulf Shores before renting kayaks for our backwater adventure. 

Just another seafood dive, the Flying Harpoon boasts a kinship to New Orleans with their poboys.
Left to right: Fran, Mary, Wayne, me, Joyce and Charlie

Fran and Mary bought themselves a kayak over the summer and they were anxious to get the maiden voyage underway. Wayne and I doubled as did Joyce and Charlie. The weather was surprisingly nice and we had a good afternoon. 

Fran and Mary launching their new inflatable kayak. 

Joyce and Charlie sneaking through the tall grasses. 

Charlie and Joyce ahead of Wayne and me in the brackish water.
This canal will take us out into a lake where we'll take another canal. 

Fran and Mary on the left. Joyce and Charlie on the right.  The Flying Harpoon (where we'd just had lunch) is in the aqua colored building. Sadly, we brought no cash so the pina colada I hoped to enjoy did not materialize. 

Bike Rides...

Gulf State Park is a biker's delight with miles of trails over mostly level to rolling terrain. Unfortunately, I didn't get in as many bike rides as I would have liked, but one pleasant afternoon, I loaded Lexie and Ozzie into their carrier and we had a good outing.

My bicycle with the carrier attached. We stopped for a little leg stretching, pee-pee break. 

Lexie and Ozzie. Moments after this picture was taken, Lexie fell off the bench but was not hurt. 

Blue Angels...

Linda isn't feeling well enough to spend a hot afternoon sitting on an asphalt parking lot, so she and Dale didn't go with us to the Pensacola Naval Air Station to see the Blue Angels practice.  Ned and Rachel will arrive this afternoon. Linda and Dale will welcome them and have dinner.

More selfie stick practice. This time with Joyce, Pam, me and Mary at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.

I have learned how to reverse the mirrored image. 

Selfie without the selfie stick. Forgot to smile again.

The 2015 Naval Air Station Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show is scheduled for November 6 and 7. Our practice date was the Wednesday before the show.  The Blue Angels practice was modified the day we were there because clouds rolled in. High maneuvers were replaced with low, fast ones. It was great and we had a blast... eating lunch at the museum just before the practice began. Joyce, Charlie, Pam, Ernie, Wayne and I sat in lawn chairs on the asphalt tarmac. Fran and Mary sat on their bleacher seats and probably had a bit better views.  It was super warm and muggy humid.

  

This plane is called "Fat Albert" and it's part of the Blue Angels team. It carries a bunch of payload.

Oyster Cook-Off...

A local Gulf Shores bar known as "The Hangout" hosts an annual Oyster Cook Off. Joyce, Charlie, Pam, Ernie, Wayne and I attended this year. Over 60 craft beers were served along with oysters on the half shell cooked every way imaginable. 

Joyce and Wayne share a vegetable, cheese and meat filled Bloody Mary. 

The Hangout's Oyster Cook-Off attracted chefs and "chef wanna be's" from all over, some of whom, were, I suppose, celebrities. The woman in the center in this picture is well known, I'm told. I don't remember her name, but Joyce says she hosts a program on one of the cooking networks.  All I know is that her socks didn't match.

Pam and Joyce rubbing elbows with celebrity. 

The cost for this little afternoon oyster nibble totaled almost $100 for Wayne and me. $10 each to get in and a book of 15 tickets was $25. We nearly starved eating a single oyster at a time in exchange for the precious tickets. we finally found our way into the restaurant for an assortment of drinks and appetizers shared between us. That tab came to nearly $50.  Go on... do the math.

One of the most interesting parts of "The Hangout" is this DJ booth.
It's covered in PEZ dispensers.  

After a half dozen oysters and almost that many cocktails.

Oh the characters we run into 

This guy gave $5 Shrimp Basket gift cards to each of us. 

Dairy Queen...

Our group can't get together without at least one trip to the local Dairy Queen. We stopped in after dinner at least twice in Gulf Shores.  The night this photo was taken, five couples were together for our farewell pizza night at Rotolo's. Fran and Mary had already departed and I think this was the night just before Rachel, Ned, Linda and Dale would be leaving.

Veterans Day...

By the time Veterans Day rolled around, our group was reduced to three couples. Several restaurants were offering complimentary dinners to veterans. All our husbands served in the military so we took advantage of the freebies, eating at Applebee's in Gulf Shores. Later we stopped in at the American Legion in Foley where we suffered through thick cigarette smoke long enough for a drink and a few laughs.

Veterans Day American Legion in Foley ... cough, cough. 
Joyce, Charlie, Pam and Wayne. Ernie was at the bar making friends. 
Barely visible is the wall phone that became a good conversation piece for us. 

Gulf Shores' American Legion is a non-smoking facility so we stopped in there too, for a drink and a few more laughs. I found myself enjoying White Russians and just about everything else. Pam and I sang along with the very bad karaoke that night and planning a return the following Tuesday for dinner and line dancing lessons. The flyer indicated the lessons were for beginners to intermediate line dancers. I never mastered aerobics and was skeptical about line dancing, but agreed to give it a try. 

Line Dancing... Sort of...

Tuesday night rolled around and we arrived early enough to eat dinner. Shortly after, we began watching small groups of ladies and some men arrive for line dancing. When the lesson started, I realized it was not a lesson at all... just a little review of the dance steps and then the music started and the dancing began. These people all knew one another and were having a great time. Of our group, only Pam could line dance. We all, including our husbands, went to the dance floor, but we quickly returned to our seats, leaving just Pam to dance.  Later, Patricia, Art, another Pam and Jim, friends of Pam and Ernie, stopped in. No surprise... those ladies could line dance too.

Our dancing queen... Pam and her friend, also named Pam.
I hate them because they dance. I cannot.

Crashing Local Bars...

When we left the line dancing lesson, we stopped in at Tacky Jacks. It was just 8 p.m. after all. To our amazement, there were almost no customers. The lack of tourists has been very noticeable this visit. I know that many northern and Canadian visitors come here for winter but I guess it's too early yet for them.

Charlie and Joyce. 

We took our seats at one of the patio tables at Tacky Jacks, ordered appetizers and drinks and enjoyed the nice evening. Colored duck tape pieces with personalized captions adorn almost every square inch of this building and we spent a fair amount of time reading those around us. The weather is breezy but comfortable. One last silly photo to be taken at the display sailfish in Tacky Jack's parking lot.

Joyce and I are being Tacky at Tacky Jacks 

The Gatherings of Fall Friends

On Saturday, October 24, Pam and Ernie quietly checked into the campground and surprised us. Wayne looked up from his dinner and remarked, "there goes a coach just like Pam and Ernie's" -- then he saw the red Jeep and exclaimed "that is Pam and Ernie!" as we ran out to greet them. It was last April when we said our goodbyes right here in this campground. That's when my brother died and Pam and Ernie left for Red Bay, Alabama and then on to Maryland. 

Five days later, on Thursday, October 29, Linda and Dale pulled in. Although they had reservations well in advance, there was no campsite available for them when they arrived. After much frustration and negotiation, followed by a reduction in their rate, they were assigned campsite #161 at the end of the street. We all were angry over the reservation mix up since Linda was not feeling well. They will be here two weeks before moving on to Seminole Campground in North Fort Myers for winter.

Two days after Linda and Dale arrived, Joyce and Charlie pulled into #175. That was Saturday, October 31. They will be with us all through November and into December when we travel on to Louisiana and then Texas. 

It was no surprise that we would go out to eat in celebration of being together even though there were still more of us to come.  

First group dinner. We were at King Neptune Seafood in Gulf Shores.
Starting at the bottom, going clockwise, ladies first: Linda, Pam, Joyce, me. Then Wayne, Charlie, Ernie and Dale.

Next came Fran and Mary on November 1st. They would be with us less than a week. Like Linda and Dale, Fran and Mary are headed to South Florida where they will spend time with family on the east coast and then move over to Seminole Campground in North Fort Myers. 

Of course, more eating events were required....

Pizza night at Rotolo's on Orange Beach.
Left to right, me, Wayne, Dale, Linda, Mary, Fran, Charlie, Joyce, Pam and Ernie

Here, we all are in Pam and Ernie's coach. Pam is learning to use the selfie stick. That's her in front with Ernie to the left. Joyce, Linda and Mary on the couch. Charlie and Fran in captain's chairs, Wayne on the floor and me in the chair.

Finally, on Wednesday, November 4, Rachel and Ned joined the group for their short week long stay. We hope to learn some more about Alaska from their trip there last summer. 

And with that, we were all together; even if it was for just a little while.