Home Again

I'm all for taking the road less traveled, but Friday I got more than I bargained for. Jilda and I have been to Gulf Shores many times.

We actually lived in Mobile for almost a year in 1980 after Hurricane Fredrick ravaged the coast. I worked for MaBell then and volunteered for hurricane cleanup duty. It involved climbing poles, and stringing wire.

I went down the first week in April and Jilda came down the following week. There are soooo many stories to tell but they'll have to wait for another time.

So it's a mystery why I flipped on the GPS on my iPhone when we headed down Friday. We could have driven there blindfolded.

But about 50 miles south of Montgomery, the GPS with the sweet Australian voice said to turn here.

Hmmm, I thought. A bit early, but maybe she knows a better way. So off I went. The trip normally takes five hours, but almost seven hours later, we rolled into the hotel at Orange Beach. We'd missed sunset. We were both hungry and cranky.

I think if Jilda could have pried the iPhone out of my hand, it would have ended up in the Gulf of Mexico.

But after we unpacked at the hotel and got a bite to eat, our cheery moods returned. Yesterday was remarkable.

We did, as nature intended when you're at the beach, ate seafood at every meal, except breakfast, and we walked for hours in the sand. Last night we sat on our balcony on the forth floor and listened to the surf. 

The beach in Alabama in winter still gets a little cool on some days, but most days are filled with sunshine and it's comfortable to stroll in the sand wearing a light sweater.

We've known this for a long time, but in winter, the state's beaches are overrun with folks from up north. Canadians, Michigans, and other "ans" from other states up north. Apparently it's cheaper to rent a place by the water during winter than it is to buy heating fuel to keep the pipes from bursting when those northern winds howl.

They're called snowbirds and we've never met any of these folks we didn't like. They are fun to talk with and they seem happy to be where they can walk on the beach in January without wearing long-johns.

On our parting walk on the beach this morning we met lots of snowbirds, and we all seemed to feel blessed to be in such a lovely place.

Below are a few parting photos I took today. Tomorrow, it's back to the grind stone. I'm going to be writing, so don't try to stop me.....I mean it. I'm writing.

Seagulls

Sunrise on 1/20/13

Sea Oats