There are a few elements that make for such a striking contrast. First, and foremost, I believe is the fact that you have to cross a large body of water, Mobile Bay, which, at least for those traveling on the GICW, seems to separate the two states. Large bodies of water have historically resulted in gigantic distinctions between cultures on either side. Here it is no different. Another big distinction in what we have experienced is that we "entered" Alabama approximately 2.5 miles inland from the Gulf. So, as a first impression, we have not witnessed storm damage.
Before starting this voyage, it was not clear to me that travelling from state to state would reveal such stark differences in texture, geography, topography, demographics, etc. At least in the deep south, the distinctions are uncanny. It's like a slide show. When you move from Texas to Louisiana, it looks completely different. When you traverse from Louisiana to Mississippi, it's like turning the page. Probably the most striking transition, however, was crossing from Mississippi into Alabama.
When we rolled through the Bon Secur pass back into the ditch, there were pine trees and palm trees, all standing proud and looking quite healthy. I have seen neither a pine nor a palm in months.
I think the Cyprus Trees of Louisiana are a thing of the past, as are the vast grass lands of the Texas Gulf Coast. That being said, once we got into town a little, there were even more differences.
Gulfshores, Alabama is a great little town. Everything for the cruiser is here and within walking distance from Homeport Marina. In fact, you can get tobacco, drunk, tatooed, hot, sweet & sticky, an MRI, a massage, and a chiropractic adjustment all in one block.
Then you can cross the street to any one of a number of churches and make it all good again. No, seriously, there are good markets, restaurants, various retail repair shops, marine stores, surf shops, clothing outlets, an outlet mall, and, as always, the WalMart Super Center, where you can buy everything from nose rings to outboard engines, including groceries at great prices.
Gulfshores would also appear to be a resort destination. The beach is white and powdery and there is no shortage of cool restaurants and bars with their own sand patios and volleyball courts. Branching off in either direction from the main road (Highway 59) as you get down to the beach are high rise condos. You see, a lot of folks want to have a place they can come to spend time by the coast and not worry about yard work and maintenance. So, these condos offer the perfect solution. Again, every service you could possibly want is nearby. This is a perfect vacation or retirement destination. It's also obvious that it attracts a large "spring break" contingent from colleges all over the south.
Down the main road, and as you get closer to the beach, there are these great big "surf shops" with thousands of t-shirts, bathing suits, boogie boards, shot glasses, sandals, etc. all for the college aged person coming down here to party. The store even sells ready made Beer-Bongs. Right now things are pretty slow as it is the dead of winter, but I can imagine that in the spring time, things start hopping right along. Good thing there is a pretty big hospital near by as well. I can only imagine that the medical professionals who work there are proficient in the art of healing afflictions of both young and old alike. It's kind of like Palm Springs, but it's on the Gulf, and its not nearly as pricey. |
| This is what I truly envisioned Gulf Coast beaches to look like. IT DOES. IT DOES. |
No discussion of Gulfshores, Alabama would be complete without mention of Lulu's. Lucy Buffet has done an incredible job of developing a perfect, and I mean perfect, waterfront bar and grill. First, it's impecably clean. It's very colorful, there is a wonderful ambiance. The menu is simple, but the food is first class. They push the rum drinks and the music of her famous brother, Jimmy Buffet. There is entertainment every day and every night. The main restaurant itself is surrounded by sand boxes with volley ball courts, outside bars, Aderondac (sp?) chairs, and a boardwalk along the GICW which runs in front. There is a 120 foot long dock so boaters can stop in for lunch or dinner. There is a fuel dock and small marine store. There is a souvenier shop. It is a complete place for fun, great food, great music, and an overall good time. We had dinner there last night with some new friends we met.
John and Sue are from Connecticut. They are bringing their new trawler, "Debrief", home from Texas where they bought it. They are really fun folks. We had wine and munchies on their boat the other night and we spent a lot of time laughing about all kinds of things. They have a very bright and competent son, Colby, who is studying international affairs at James Madison University in Virginia. We may have very well met the guy who negotiates the next peace treaty between the middle east and everywhere else.
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| John and Sue |
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| "Debrief" |
Nelson and Elizabeth are two of the nicest folks you could ever want to meet. They are on a Californian 48 that they are bringing from their homeport near Columbus, Ohio down to their new home in Sarasota, Florida. When we pulled in the other night, I was walking back to the boat and I heard someone call my name. It was Nelson. He was us come in and noticed the AGLCA burgee on the front of the boat. So, he looked up our boat, found my name, and my phone number and called to let me know he and Elizabeth had a rental car and would be glad to take us wherever we wanted or needed to go. This is a really nice man. Well, yesterday, we took him up on his offer and he also took Sue and Colby. So we all piled into the rental car and made numerous stops for provisions of all kinds. It was a really fun day.
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| Nelson and Elizabeth |
It has been very cold here. Last night, once again, temperatures dipped into the high 20's. Today, at least, it is sunny and clear. Tomorrow and for the next couple days, temperatures are expected to rise. Of course, as you should know if you have been following this blog, this is partly because of the fact that the north wind is backing off and a southerly wind is making its way here. As a result, it will get warmer for a few days, before the next northerly blow happens. Until then, we'll at least have a chance to thaw out. It's nice that we have finally learned to use coal in our fireplace. It does a nice job taking the edge off the cold. Fortunately, we have been in a marina where we are plugged in and can use the floor heater.
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| The town set up this Christmas Tree right in the middle of the square at the entrance to the public beach. |
Notwithstanding the cold, we will be leaving this fine marina tomorrow and continuing east. Eventhough we are less than 30 miles from the Florida line, I am not ready to leave Alabama just yet. We will poke around in some nearby bayous and other anchorages for the next several days just relaxing and enjoying nature. We have been in marinas a lot lately it seems. Well, you have no choice in New Orleans. We did anchor out at Rabbit Island. But then, in north wind conditions, you have no choice but to anchor out through most of the Mississippi Sound. While there are places to anchor in Mobile Bay, they looked too shallow for our comfort level, so we just came right across the bay and into another marina. Well, Lulu's is the reason we came here. As it turned out, it was also a great place to do some larger scale reprovisioning. So, we'll be off and cruising for the next few days.
Talk to you later.
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| Runway and Poki. Poki is a pet Ed and Annette gave us several years ago. He has become a permanent fixture aboard Abreojos. |
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| Brenda thought she saw a ghost in the parking lot. Well, if it was a ghost, it apparently didn't mind posing for a photo. |
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