At lunch, we stopped at Peach Park in Clanton,n Alabama, where we enjoyed a delicious fried peach pie topped with a scoop of peach ice cream. Hubby also ordered a large order of onion rings and a barbecue sandwich.
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| fried peach pie topped with a scoop of peach ice Cream |
I took pictures of a green birdhouse, several wooden bridges, a pond, the playground area, a large red barn where children could play, a swing, a gazebo, a lighthouse, a red caboose (that is rented as an RV), a rose bush, a tractor, and my husband sitting at a picnic table.
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| A large red barn where children could play |
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| The Rat Pack (Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra |
Inside the deanship, I noticed paintings of several famous people hanging on the wall.
I asked the owner if I could take a picture of the paintings, and he said he would sell you all of them for $100 each if you took them all.
They were paintings of Sammy Davis Jr (notice the ring on his right hand), Frank Sinatra (big smile), and Dean Martin (The three members of the Rat Pack).
Lewis Armstrong (with his trumpet), Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Jimmy Dean, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lewis, Glen Miller, and Madison Bourbon Jazz.
In the painting of Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, and Jimmy Dean, they all appeared with a cigarette.
I told him that someone had done a great job, but I did not want to buy them.
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| Clock Belltower |
After we checked into the Staybridge Hotel, we rode back to Foley's Heritage Park.
In the park was a Christmas village, a clock chime, angels, and a flowing fountain.
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| Gulf Shores Beach |
I ordered some chicken nuggets and a Peppermint milkshake, and my husband ordered a strawberry milkshake and a grilled chicken sandwich.
Before we went back to the hotel, we went to Gulf Shores beach, but it was too dark to take pictures.
It had been a long day, so after we both had a hot shower, we climbed into bed for a long winter's sleep.
Saturday morning, we were both up before the rooster crowed.
We dressed and headed to the beach to watch the sunrise, which was at 6:27 A.M.
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| Sunrise |
There was a hint of pink, blue, white, and yellow as the sun poked its head through the clouds.
Slowly, this ball of fire raised its head higher and higher, changing from yellow to a bright orange, then back to a bright yellow, with clouds floating all around it, until you could no longer look directly into its face.
A couple was sitting on a blanket that they had spread out on the sandy beach to watch the sunrise. It was still chilly, so they were wearing light jackets.
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| Watching the sunrise |
We rode back to the hotel, where we enjoyed a nice breakfast of link sausage and an omelet. We had cranberry juice to drink.
We stopped to take a picture of the Bell Tower in Foley's Heritage Park.
The 52-foot Bell Tower has four clock faces facing north, south, east, and west, each with 32 brass bells. The Bell Tower and Plaza were built to celebrate Foley's Centennial on January 8, 2015.
Across the street is the Hotel Magnolia, one of Foley's oldest buildings, which is now for sale.
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| Bell Tower We took I-10 from Foley to Mobile, driving through the George Wallace Tunnel across Mobile Bay. |
We stopped at the Antebellum Welcome Center in Jackson County, Moss Point, Mississippi.
The Welcome Center was built to resemble an antebellum home with its spiral staircase, arched doorways, and chandeliers. It is filled with antique furniture and sculptures by Marlin Miller.
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| Sculptor Marlin Miller is working on a large oak near Hard Rock Casino Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi. It is named "Marlin's Marlin". This is just one of his many pieces. |
As we topped the I-10 in Biloxi, we could see several casinos, and as we exited the interstate, we could see the Gulf, the beautiful white-sand beaches, and the Biloxi Lighthouse. We rode past the casinos to Veterans Memorial Park, where we stopped to take pictures.
We rode back to the welcome center to find out where we could buy trolley tickets.
We were told we had to hurry to catch the trolley because it was leaving in a few minutes.
We walked down the hill, across four lanes of traffic, to catch the trolley that was leaving the station.
I caught up with the driver, Carla Beaugez Taconi, who said to climb aboard, that she had not collected for the ride.
So we climbed aboard the back of the open-air trolley, so I could take pictures.
We introduced ourselves as the newcomers to the ride, and then off we went, hair blowing in the wind.
When Carla wasn't telling stories about Biloxi, she was playing upbeat music from the area.
As we rode down the street, many residents waved to us, and we waved back. Carla knew many by their first names, and they knew her name.
Carla showed us what authentic southern hospitality is all about, the way she greeted everyone she met.
Carla made you feel like you were a part of her family and her neighbor.
We rode past many vacant store buildings and empty lots that Katrina had destroyed with her violent winds and waters.
We saw old mansions and homes that had survived the storms of time.
We stopped at the 12-foot-high Hurricane Katrina Memorial, where we saw a glass case containing various items found after the storm and a black marble wall listing the names of those who died or were lost during the hurricane.
We stopped at the Magnolia Hotel Museum, built in 1847 as a lodging establishment and now a Mardi Gras Museum.
In it, we saw memorabilia from carnival celebrations with a variety of colorful Mardi Gras costumes.
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| Trying on the colorful Mardi Gras costumes |
After Katrina destroyed most of the trees along Beach Blvd, a chainsaw artist carved six oak trees into marine sculptures, now displayed along the median.
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| Katrina Sculptured Garden |
We walked along the beach to the pier, where I took a few pictures.
We had to cross four lanes of traffic back to the Visitor Center.
The Visitor Center is a museum in itself; it has a wealth of information, a gift shop, multimedia exhibits, Biloxi Memorabilia, and, on the second floor, a 67-seat movie theater. The Visitor Center has a striking resemblance to the Dantizier House that once stood on this site, with two-story porches, a grand staircase, and floor-to-ceiling windows.
We started our journey home, stopping at Taco Bell for a snack.
We arrived just in time to see the sunset in Gulf Shores. The sunset was at 4:50 P.M.
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| Sun Setting |
We ordered the Seafood Sampler with iced tea.
It had been a long day, and we were both too tired to do anything else.
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| Seafood Sampler at Lulu's |
We rode to Pensacola, Florida.
We rode through the historic area of Pensacola, toured the Historic Village, and took many pictures.
The village consists of 20 properties in the Historic District, including the Museum of Commerce and Industry, Julee Panton Cottage, Manuel Barrios Cottage, the McMillen House, Lavalle House, Lear-Rocheblave House, Dorr House, and the Old Christ Church. All were closed on Sunday.
We also walked through the park, stopping to take pictures of the T.T. Wentworth Florida State Museum and many other historic state buildings in the historic town.
We went inside the Atlas and Fish House, which is along the riverfront, to use the restrooms.
Some of the famous people who have eaten here are American Pickers, Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan (Astronauts), Elton John, Steve Martin, and Mariah Carey, just to name a few.
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| Historic Village in Pensacola, FL |
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| Old Christ Church 1832 |
We stopped for gas in Cantonment, Florida, near the Paper Mill, which was emitting an awful cloud of steam.
We ate lunch at Burger King.
On the way home, we stopped in Flomation, Alabama, to take pictures of the marker, L & N train car, and Train Depot, now a visitor center.
The closer we got to Montgomery, the heavier the traffic got; it was bumper-to-bumper because of the Thanksgiving Holiday.
We took a detour along Highway 31, coming out at Calera, where we stopped to eat at Cracker Barrel.
We headed back to I-65, hoping the traffic had moved on, but no, it was worse.
We saw wreck after wreck and traffic backed up for miles, but this time it was headed south.
It took several hours longer than we expected to get home. With my intestines in knots, we finally made it home. I think the break on my side of the card did not work too well.
