2023 Sep 15-18, Trip to Gulf Shores, Fairhope, Daphne, AL. and Pensacola, FL. (4 days)

Day 1:

I had planned a trip to Canton, MS, the day before. The next morning, I asked my Hubby if he wanted to spend a few days in Gulf Shores, Alabama, after we left Canton. He said yes.

He had been discussing going all summer, so we packed our bags for three days and decided to go alone. 

After spending all morning visiting museums and walking around the town, we began our journey to Gulf Shores. 

Shady Acres Village 

We stopped at Shady Acres Village Restaurant, Seminary, MS, for a late lunch. I had a shrimp basket with fries, and Hubby had a 49'er Hamburger with onion rings. 

We also bought several items at their general store. 

It was a four-and-a-half-hour drive to Gulf Shores. 

The sun was setting as we drove through Mobile. We checked into the Staybridge Hotel, and it was dark when we were settled in.

Sunset in Mobile, AL 

We both were too tired for further adventures, so we went to bed. 

Day 2:

The following day, we rushed to the beach to watch the sunrise, but it was cloudy, and a storm was brewing, so we didn't see the sunrise. 

We returned to the hotel for breakfast, and then our adventures began.

Cloudy Sunrise 

We rode to the Outlet Mall to shop. I bought a top and pants at Columbia, spices at TJ Maxx, and a set of Halloween hand towels at TJ Maxx.

Our next stop was OWA Park in Foley. They were having a car show throughout the park, and it was very hot by this time. After I finished taking pictures of most of the cars, we left. 

This was my favorite Car!

We headed down the coastline towards Pensacola, Florida. 

When we arrived downtown, the Arts and Crafts Sales were winding down. 

We had enough time to walk through to see their wear. 

We ate lunch at The Fish House Restaurant on Barracks St., where we enjoyed fried Cod served with creamed potatoes, collard greens, and a salad. 

Fried Cod with Collard Greens, Creamed Potatoes 

It was getting late, so we began our journey back to the hotel. 

Day 3:

Once again, we were up early and heading to the beach for an early morning sunrise, but it was cloudy. Sunrise was at 6:35 A.M.

 Came back to the hotel for breakfast, which included scrambled eggs, sausage, fruit, a bagel, and juice.

We began our journey up the coast in the opposite direction to Fairhope. 

We stopped at the Municipal Park, where they had an Arts and Crafts Tent Sale.  

We stopped to talk to a couple selling spices. (I bought one for my son.)

They saw the camera I was carrying, and we talked about cameras and taking pictures.

The woman was telling me about the brown pelicans at the beach.

Brown Pelicans 

We walked down the long pier, and several Brown Pelicans and various Gulls were present. I took several pictures. 

We rode to Daphne, stopping to eat lunch at Longhorn Steakhouse.

We enjoyed steak with grilled shrimp, creamed potatoes, and Caesar salad. 

We stopped at the Halloween Store in Daphne, where I bought a dress for Halloween. 

We returned to the hotel but stopped at the Story Walk in Loxley. 

Another long day.

Day 4: 

We headed to the beach (6:35 A.M.) to see the sunrise. Today it was beautiful, so I got several pictures.

Sunrise 

Rode back to the hotel, ate breakfast, packed our bags, and began our journey home.

The sun shone on my face, so I napped the first part of the trip home. 

Hubby wanted to stop at Peach Park in Clanton, Alabama, and when I woke up, he said, "I think I have passed Peach Park," and we had.

We did not turn around. We just kept going. 

We eat lunch at Oh Bryan's in Hartselle, AL (his favorite place)

He always orders a steak or baked potato and gets their salad bar.

I ordered grilled chicken and a sweet potato.

We were home way before sunset. 

Another great trip is in the books. 

👣👣👣👣 2017 April 1 & 8, Walking Tours in Athens, Alabama

April Walking Tours 

On April 1y, April 1, I drove to the Visitor Center in Athens to join them on a Walking Tour.

There were sign-up sheets for the following tours. 

1. Athens University Historic Tour WITH ANNA GIBBS

2. Robert Beaty Historic Street Tour BILLY WARD

3. George S. Houston Historic Street Tour REBEKAH DAVIS

4. Athens Veterans Museum

5. Athens Cemetery JIMMY HILL OR WM PEPPER

6. Historic Downtown Athens BUZZ ESTES 

At 10:00 A.M., everyone gathered in front of the Visitor Center for a group picture, then we dispersed into groups and began our tour. 

I chose the Robert Beaty Historic District Street Walking tour, led by Billy Ward. Mr. Ward was dressed like a southern gentleman, wearing a top hat, a tailored suit, and carrying a cane.

We saw many Azaleas, dogwood trees, and other blooming bushes as we walked along the sidewalk, stopping to listen to Mr. Ward tell us interesting stories about the many historic homes. 

Historic Home 

Historic Home in the Beauty District 

The Robert Beaty Historic District is located in Athens, Alabama. Beaty was one of the original founders of Athens. Beaty was an Irish immigrant who first settled in Virginia.

Beaty purchased about 160 acres around a spring. Beaty's Federal-style home was completed in the District, which contains several homes in the Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Eastlake, Victorian, and Spanish Colonial Revival styles. The District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Our last stop was the historic home of Billy Ward.
Billy invited everyone into his historic home, and we walked through the ground-level rooms. 

I walked back to the Visitor Center, stopping at the Creek at Big Spring Park to take pictures of the goldfish and ducks. 

Ducks at Big Spring Park, Athens

Ate a side salad from Zaxby's for lunch before driving home

On Saturday, April 8, I drove to the Visitor Center in Athens to join them on a Walking Tour.

There were sign-up sheets for the following tours. 

1. Athens University Historic Tour WITH ANNA GIBBS

2. Robert Beaty Historic Street Tour BILLY WARD

3. George S. Houston Historic Street Tour REBEKAH DAVIS

4. Athens Veterans Museum

5. Athens Cemetery JIMMY HILL OR WM PEPPER

6. Historic Downtown Athens BUZZ ESTES 

First Christian Church, where we parked

Visitor Center Group that toured different sites

At 10:00 A.M., everyone gathered in front of the Visitor Center for a group picture, then we dispersed into groups and began our tour. 

This time I chose the George S. Houston Historic Street Tour led by Rebekah Dav, and my husband came with me.

This time, we had to take the car and park in the parking lot across the street from the First Christian Church.

Luke Pryor Historic Home 

 Historic Home

George S. Houston Memorial Public Library & Limestone County Museum Historical Society. 

Inside the Houston Library, we saw a 1944 Certificate of Restoration and appraisal pump organ and melodions, six quilts, a wooden round table, five velvet seat-covered chairs, a green sofa, a fireplace with a white mantle around it, a spinning wheel, several wooden chairs, and rockers, a picture of Robert E Lee, a Goth bust pano with music book Constancy Romance for Piano by Wm Fink with Mary E Mason dated November 21, 1898, written on the top of the book, boxes on top of boxes of book, walls badly in need of repairs and two sets of staircases. 
The house/library was a white two-story home with four large wooden columns, green shutters, and a triangular roof that covered the balcony and porch. 
Azaleas and shrubs lined the sidewalk leading up to the front door.
The yard was full of blooming dogwood trees and magnolia trees 

The George S. Houston Historic District lies to the West and north of the public square, where some of Athens's most prominent people lived.

Some of the historic homes that we saw were Hendricks, Bailey Hamilton Home 1919, Luke Pryer Home, Gibes, Powers, Christopher Home 1920, Hayden, Boston Home, Caughran, McCormick, Patton 1935, Stanford, Lauderdale 1969, Tilman Jeffery ca 1913, Martin Malone Johnson #13 1821 home, & Hendrix, Alexander 1937

Only five homes remain from the antebellum period, between 1908 and 1939, including the American Four Squares, bungalows, cottages, some Tudor Revival, and some Colonial Revival styles. The Neoclassical style First Methodist Church was built in 1925, and a hospital was constructed, which later became a district. 

This District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Governor George S Houston's Home Marker 

Governor George S Houston's Home Marker 

George S. Houston/Home/The Houston Memorial Library

This house was purchased by George S. Houston in 1845 and was his home until his death here on December 3,1, 1879. Houston served the people of Alabama in public office for thirty-six years. His long and distinguished political career began in 1832. It included one term in the Alabama State Legislature, three terms as circuit solicitor, nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, two terms as Governor of Alabama, and two terms in the U.S. Senate. Due to his conservative fiscal policies while in Congress, he was known as "The Watchdog of the Treasury".

Houston's most notable service to Alabama was during his two terms as governor. For almost a decade after the Civil War, the people of Alabama suffered under the rule of Radical Reconstructionists.

(Back):
In 1874, the white citizens of Alabama united behind Houston in his bid for the governor's office. His election as a Democrat returned self-rule to Alabama. During his two terms, the state's massive debt was reduced, property owners were protected from excessive taxation, and many other reforms were enacted, bringing stability to the state.

After Houston's death, his home was occupied only occasionally until 1937, when it was deeded to the City of Athens with some stipulations. One of these stipulations was that it should house a library and meeting place for literary and patriotic societies and be known as "The Houston Memorial Library".

Our next stop is CE Pools. Every year, the first weekend in April, they have a grand opening where they grill hamburgers, chicken, and hot dogs, and Sue cooks her famous banana pudding and Butterfinger cake for their customers.

We stopped for a hamburger, Coke, and pie.

Our next stop was the 7th Annual Car, Truck, Tractor, and Cycle Show at TM Rogers High School. 

Car Show TM Rogers

Our last stop was to attend the funeral of my brother-in-law. I cannot say enough good things about him. He was known and loved by many, and he gave of his time and money. He will be greatly missed. 

We picked up dinner at Taco Bell (my husband) and Captain D's (shrimp for me).

It had been a long day, and we both just wanted to relax. 

I plan to add three more April tours to this blog. 

2016 October 1, Saturday Banana Puddin' Festival, Car Show and Quilt Show Centerville, TN

I could not sleep and was up at 3AM watching TV and writing in my journal.
Ate a banana and two pieces of sausage for breakfast.
We were on the road by 7:30AM taking our time as we rode to Centerville.
The sun was just coming over the horizon and there was a cloud of mist that covered the ground.

We travel north on hwy 43 turning left on hwy 50 near Columbia.
Vendors were still sitting up at their booths when we arrived.
We walked around the square downtown, stopping and looking inside the old courthouse which housed several vendors.
Outside we stopped in front of the chicken wire MINI Pearl to take a couple of pictures.

Minnie Pearl 

We followed the signs to the open field where the Banana Pudding  Festival was being held.
Inside the gate, we were asked if we were first-timers and were given a banana sticker with first-timers written across the banana. There were several people placing pins on a large map to show where people were from.

Monkey Head

Smokey the Bear

Entering the Pudding Festival 

The woman said we have thousands of people from all over the world that come to our festival. We have a couple that come from Australia every year.

The Cook-off
The cook-off consisted of ten contests, we watched the first five.
Each contest made two of the same puddings, one for the judges to sample, along with samples passed out to the audience to judge.
The first pudding was to be auctioned off.

The first 5 contestants in the Cook-off

One of the contestant's Banana Puddin dishes

At 10AM we were at the Puddin' Path for 10 samples of different banana puddings.

The Puddin' Path Samples 

#1 Moon Pie Banana 

Baked by the Puddin'

Baked By: Bon Aqua United Methodist Church 

#2 The Chisel (Chocolate)

Baked by: Fairfield Church of Christ Youth

#3 White Chocolate & Caramel Banana Pudding

Baked by the Relay for Life: Friends of Hope Team

#4Bell’s Best Banana Pudding

Baked by: Shady Grove United Methodist Church 

 #5Pickadeli at the Hicadeli

Baked by Thomas Hickman Hospital

#6 Pudding & Pearls Banana Pudding

Baked by: Centerville Woman’s Club

7#Caramel Cheese Cake Banana Pudding

Baked by: East Hickman Baptist Youth

8#Party-lIne Banana Pudding

Baked by: Nunnelly United Methodist Church 

9#Classic Southern Banana Pudding

Baked by: Mt Zion AME Church 

#10Cinnamon Roll Banana Pudding

Baked by CrossRoads Cowboy Church

The puddings consist of bananas inside a variety of puddings, from various organizations.
Each organization had baked the pudding to raise money for their cause.
The Pudding path cost was $5 per person.
Once you tasted each pudding you could vote for your favorite with a donation.

We could not eat all the samples, some were very good, some not so good.
My favorite was the cheesecake banana pudding.

We stayed to listen to a couple songs sung and played by a group of three young people from the same family.

We strolled through the park, stopping to examine what each vendor had to offer.
We stopped at the car show and took several pictures.
We saw a replica of Mini Peal riding in a jeep.
From the car show, we walked a few blocks to The First Baptist Church on 123 Church Street to look at the Hickman County Quilt Guild.
The show featured, "Something old, Something new"!
Their mission is to promote an interest in the art of quilting.

Something Old, something new 

Two of the sweet ladies that we met at the Quilt show

My quilt pick!

We rode to Grinders Switch Grinder's Switch
Grinders Switch was the fictional hometown of the comic character Minnie Pearl, created and portrayed at the Grand Ole Opry by comedian Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, who grew up in the nearby Colleyville neighborhood of Centerville.

Watertower at Grinders Switch 

Grinders Switch 1940

Minnie Pearl said, People always ask me, "Where is Grinder's Switch?"

As I grow older, the place is no longer a little, abandoned landing switch on a railroad in Hickman County. Grinder's Switch is a state of mind -- a place where there is no illness, no war, no unhappiness, no political unrest, and no tears. It's a place where there's only happiness --where all you worry about is what you are going to wear to the church social, and if your feller is going to kiss you in the moonlight on the way home. 

I wish all of you a Grinder's Switch

On our way home we stopped at Ponderosa in Lawrence to eat an early dinner and late lunch.
We both ordered a steak and salad.

We still had a couple of hours to visit the Oktoberfest in St Florine.
The tractor was loaded with passengers as we approached.
We loaded into the wagon and rode around the festival.

Riding in the Wagon 

Oktoberfest

The Senior Center building was full of history about the German families that had settled in St Florine.
We walked inside but I stopped at the first display and began talking to one of the family members that lived in the area.
By the time I stopped talking the festival was about over.

Maybe I can return tomorrow

2016 July 23, Saturday, W.C. Handy Festival Actives

Started the morning by going to the car show at Wilson Park 
Lots of different car styles, year models, and a wide variety of colors
I saw people I had not seen in years. 
By the time I had seen most of the cars, I was dripping wet and could not wait to get inside the Library.

Ford

1960 Volkswagen Beetle

1970 Hemicuda Plymouth 

Inside the Library, I joined several of my friends and we all enjoyed listening to Andreas interview Peanut Montgomery, Donnie Fritts, Scott Boyer, and Mickey Buckins.
Peanut was very funny he could talk for hours
Andreas said he should interview Peanut alone because he had so much he wanted to tell 
And it would take more than an hour for him to tell his stories. The interview ended with a Q&A at 12:30PM.
These songwriters started out as young men with a dream and over many years wrote a variety of songs. 

Donnie Fritts, Scott Boyer, and Mickey Buckins.

I had adequate time for lunch and to fill up with gas. 
I stopped at Jack's where I ordered a Kid's meal of chicken fingers and green beans.

Jack's Kids Chicken finger meal. 

Immediately I rode to Kangaroos in Sheffield to fill up.
I arrived just in time for the introduction and to pay for the trolley ride. 
A historical experience about black historical sites in downtown Florence called, Up from Slavery.
We rode past the St Paul AME Church 1878-1965, & the St Marks MB Church 1901.

WC Handy Cabin 

We rode into the parking lot and turned around at WC Handy's home and museum. We rode past the Burrell Normal School 1903-1960. We listened to the history of WC Handy's grandfather, and the story of Bessie Rapier Foster. We rode past the Dred Scott marker on Pine Street.

Dred Scott in Florence

If it had not been so hot the trip would have been enjoyable. 
The trolley was supposed to be air-conditioned but it was a long hot hour ride. The lady sitting across from me looked like she was going to pass out. 
My clothes were wet by the time the trolley arrived at the visitor center.

The Visitor Center was very inviting with cold air blowing from its vents so I found a good place to sit where I could see & listen to Mark Narmore, Mitch Mann, and Andreas entertain me for a couple of hours. 
I listened to, "That's What I Love About Sunday", "A Song About Neal Young on the Prayer List", "Moon over Georgia," "More Than I Could Ever Show", "Saint Louis Blues" and many others. 
The group started at 2:30 and ended at 4:40 p.m. 
The entertainment room was small and every seat was filled, and people were standing up. 

Mark Narmore and Andreas Werner jamming 

Texted hubby and said I would be late, to stop at Taco Bell and pick up supper. 
It has been an entertaining day.