The Polar Vortex!

Yup, it's here too!  We have spent this past week along the gulf coast - but the weather hasn't been conducive to spending a lot of time splashing in the ocean.  But we have certainly enjoyed driving along the scenic byways and highways!

Zombie at the air show

We started the week by going to the Pensacola Naval Air Station for the Blue Angels homecoming.  The day was perfect - clear blue skies, a little breeze, and a great show.  We were able to take a few photos, although it sometimes quite challenging.  As we went through the many pictures, we came across a number of them - perfect blue skies - but nothing more.  Hmmm - wonder what was meant to be in that one!

Dolphins by the ferry

Rigs in Gulf of Mexico

Lunch time in the park - Dauphin Island

Looking for renters??

Hitching a ride - on the ferry!

Longleaf Pine needles - used for basket making

Monday - another wonderful day - warm temps, blue skies, but today there is no wind.  We took a drive south of Mobile, AL to Dauphin Island which is a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico.  It is accessible by bridge or ferry - we came on one and left on the other.  Apparently, on the west side of the island, every house was destroyed by Katrina.  New building codes say that they must all be on stilts (as are most buildings in the area) because of the flood plain. Off the shore you can see numerous rigs out in the Gulf.  Apparently these are rigs either being built, or already in service, extracting natural gas.  On the ferry ride over, nearer the shore on either side, we saw several dolphins.  While they didn't jump in the air as in the shows, they did come out of the water as they swam around - what a sight!

jellyfish washed up on shore

Since we had been going, going, going - it was time for the everyready bunny to take a rest.  It was another great day so we just hung around camp and did some visiting.   Here, there were a lot of long pine needles (as you can see in the photo) and a lady made some lovely baskets from them (one which I bought), She offered to teach me but I decided that I likely didn't really need to find another craft.

Friendship tree - oak 500 yrs old

Then it was time to move - we now call home a campground near Pass Christian, MS.  Again we are near the beaches.  The difference here is that all the beaches are very accessible - lots of parking and beach access.  In Alabama, it seemed many large hotels, condo projects, and/or homes were built right on the beach, so access was very limited.  Any homes, hotels (but mostly homes) are across the road from the beach.  Pretty well all the homes nere are either built on stilts or have been converted to stilts.  These stilts may be wooden poles, concrete blocks, or concrete poles, and they are of varying heights.

A heron - not afraid of people

While in this area, we took a drive in both directions along the beach.  We went east to Biloxi, where we stopped at the Hard Rock Casino (all we won were a couple of XL t-shirts for signing up).  Then we went west across to Bay St. Louis and stopped at the Silver Saddle Casino (this time we paid for parking - the car - no t-shirts this time).

carved dolphins

carved herons

carved pelican

Fishing pier after Hurricane Katrina

 This area took the direct blow from Hurricane Katrina being at the eye of the storm.  While there is little evidence of it now other than there are many places where you can see where a building had been because of concrete pads or a parking lot, or sometimes only the stilts.

Entrance to campground

As we drive along the beach, there are a number of sculptures that have been carved from what looks like broken off trees.  They are either on the beach side of the road, or in the median - very attractive.  There is a great wood sculpture near the entrance to our campground - the talent of the carver is quite evident. 

While here, we have gone for lunch a couple of times - as we sample some seafood fare.  We will be going out a few more times yet before we totally leave the area.

Pine cones from above

Our site the past few days

I have been asked about the pictures, and how they are sometimes difficult to see.  If you double-click on them, you should be able to see a larger picture with some detail.  And I would love to hear your comments - constructive criticism is always welcome (although maybe not always appreciated) but it would great to hear from you.

November 2014 - Week 1

A lovely old house

This past week was one of great driving and interesting sites.  We left Royal Front, Virginia and went further south through North and South Carolina.  We spent the night at Augusta, Georgia.  While there we took a tour of a canal along the Savannah River which was built to power mills and factories and a means of transporting goods.  It was interesting, and fun.  We then walked along the river walk which was along the shore of the Savannah River.

On the banks of the Savannah River

From there we spent a few nights at Unadilla, Georgia which is a couple of hours south of Atlanta.  We took this opportunity to travel backroads and do some exploring.  Here we discovered that there were roads everywhere and in every direction.  It was a good thing that the gps knew where to go or we would still be looking for the motorhome.  There was a horse and tack auction just down the road from us.  It went for three days and they had three auctioneers going simultaneously.

Ahh - the price of diesel

As we drove down the highway, we would often take the secondary roads in favour of the interstates.  We are amazed at the countryside.  The landscape is mostly rolling and quite hilly and forested.  Much of the forest is a pine (longleaf pine we believe), and it is aptly named as the needles are a foot or more long.  We met a lady today who makes baskets out of them so I hope to be able to see them.  There is also a lot of logging the entire way - something that had surprised us as we had no idea this industry was in this part of the country.

Reminiscent of northern Saskatchewan

We saw many, many antique stores and churches - mostly Baptist churches.  Many  churches were in fairly close proximity to each other, they were all quite large, some had big parking lots, some didn't, but they were all very nicely kept and looked like they were recently painted.  Until we got to central Georgia, it seemed that we went from town to town to town.


We were able to see several crops up close and even saw the harvest of some.  One of the crops is peanuts - many roadside stands were selling boiled peanuts.  Of course we had to try them and it wasn't something that we rushed out to buy.  You eat them warm, they are mushy and very salty as they are boiled in salty water.  Most fields, of any crop, were quite small - some were irrigated but mostly that was further south.

  The harvest of cotton and how much of it is packed to send to a mill.






 
We came across this fruit.  As it turns out, they are scuppernongs which are a type of grape.  It is used for wine and jams.  They grow on a tree about 20 feet high rather than on vines.






A field of peanuts and a close-up of them after harvest.  Once dug, they are left to dry for several days before picking them up.

Pecan groves are very popular in Georgia.  The campground we stayed in had a number of trees.  As a result of a big wind several days before we arrived made for some easy picking.  However, for commercial ventures, they do shake the trees (I have no idea how as they are very big), they then rake them into rows and then picked up as shown in this photo.

We are now at a spot in Alabama about a half hour east of Mobile, Alabama. We went for a drive, shopped at a factory outlet mall, and had a late lunch at Lamberts - definitely a unique cafe.  At two in the afternoon we had to wait in line.  As the mural on the building says, "Home of Throwed Rolls" and that is exactly what happens.  They have warm, fresh-made, delicious buns.  Whenever you want one, you put up your hand and they throw them at you.  If you miss, they will throw another.  They also go around with fried okra as an appetizer, and during the meal, they have pass-arounds.  They go around with various foods and you can have as much as your want.  Some of the items were boiled cabbage, black-eyed peas, fried potatoes, sauerkraut, etc.  

We then drove along the gulf shores.  The sand is like white sugar all along the beach.  Too bad it was a cool day as the sand was pretty cold for bare feet although the water was not too bad.  It was interesting to see most of the buildings along the shore on stilts.  Even the hotels and condos had parking on the main level but it was all open.  I guess it has to do with some of the weather conditions they can experience such as hurricanes.

It has been a busy week, we had fun, but until next week, bundle up as I hear there is a cold snap coming!