The RV Sabbatical Journal

Saturday, April 04, 2009
Summerdale, AL

Our time here at the Escapee’s Rainbow Plantation RV Park is growing short. With that in mind we thought we’d venture out and try to find lunch at a restaurant on Mobile Bay, that big body of water just 8 miles west of us. We didn’t have anything particular in mind, just to wander, explore, and hope we happen upon the right place.

And we did… at the Fairhope, AL. municipal pier, a gathering place for locals and tourists since the 1920’s. About half way out this historic and storied public pier is the Yardarm Restaurant, a somewhat “pricey” place but with the clear advantage to us of being right on the water. We choose to dine alfresco and thoroughly enjoyed the views of birds and boats while we ate and soaked in the day. The bay waters were particularly brown, even muddy, the apparent result of all the rain we’ve had recently. But the skies were mostly clear and we could see the buildings of downtown Mobile about 15 miles across the bay.

After lunch we drove south along the beach road, past Point Clear, and down to Weeks Bay on Hwy Alt98. At Weeks Bay we stopped at the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Administered by NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it’s goal is to establish and manage a national system of reserves representing the different coastal regions and estuarine types that exist in the USA. Now that sounds like big government at work, doesn’t it?

An estuary is a semi-enclosed body of water where fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from oceans. It’s in these places that vigorous interactions among land, sea, fresh water, and air take place. They’re among the most productive environments on earth and great places to study life and the effects of mankind on our ecosystems. There are a bunch of exhibits in the main visitor center to see and numerous self-guided nature trails to take. One of the highlights of the visit is seeing Pitcher Plant Bog. It’s one of the last surviving bogs that are home to an unusual plant called the Pitcher Plant. The Pitcher Plant has tubular leaves that are death traps to insects and other small creatures. Inside these hollow tubes are stiff hairs which point downward. These hairs, called cilia, make it easy for insects to crawl down into the tube, but difficult to crawl back up and out again. Insects eventually die and fall into a pool of liquid at the bottom of the tubes which contains enzymes that digest the insects and allow the plant to absorb minerals and nutrients from their decomposed prey. These plants eat meat!

After that shocking discovery we headed home to a light dinner and to work on the website and photo collection.

T

Friday, April 03, 2009
Summerdale, AL

No excuses! Both of us are feeling fine. The sun is out, temperatures are mild, winds moderate. It’s time to go exploring!

So we loaded up the toad and took off for Gulf Shores. Gulf Shores, AL. that is. This is the town that sits in the middle of one of the premier beaches along the northern Gulf Coast. Over 20 linear miles of wide white sand and usually warm water…  when someone mentions “idylic white-sand beach” this is the mental picture that springs to mind.

The good news is the beach is still there. The bad news is that much of it near Gulf Shores is hidden behind private condominiums and beach houses. Apparently, this is just another version of pay-per-view. We drove mile after mile along Hwy 182, the closest road to the beach and only occasionally caught a glimpse of the white sand and water. It seems developers have gone wild and local politicians have let them sell off the beach, lot by lot. Right or wrong, it’s my opinion that the beach, the shoreline, and clear access to it should belong to the public. In contrast to what we saw here, the beach in the Gulfport — Biloxi Mississippi area, about 80 miles west of here, is wide open for 20 miles or more, with almost no structures between the beach road and the shoreline, with public access and large public parking areas at regular intervals. Other forward thinking cities in the USA do this too… Fort Lauderdale, FL comes to mind. What happened to Gulf Shores? And who’s going to bail out these beach dwellers when the next Cat 5 hurricane come blowing ashore? Huh? I’ll bet we all know the answer to that one.

I can’t even imagine how crowded and congested this place is in the summer when all those condo owners and their families bring everyone they know to the beach. Even though it wasn’t busy at all when we were there (early April), it has a “tourist trap” feel to it. One can almost visualize the traffic gridlock and throngs of people in line to buy beer, visors, and sun screen… to rent scooters, wave runners, and beach umbrellas. The other thing we both noted was the number of “For Rent” signs that are lined up in front of literally every building and house. I don’t know what the current economic crisis has to do with it but the shear number of “For Rent” signs telegraphed a sense of desperation… on someone’s part. I mean it’s well into April and literally every place had a “For Rent” sign in front of it? What does that mean?

After our tour of Gulf Shores we headed west on Hwy 180 along the Fort Morgan Peninsula — out to where it ends at the mouth to Mobile Bay. At the very end — and I mean at the point where I could throw a stone into the main channel of the bay — is Historic Fort Morgan. Built in the 1830’s as a means of protecting and securing the entrance to Mobile Bay, it was active, on and off again, for over 100 years. The most notable action that took place there was during the Civil War when Confederate Forces had control of the fort and the Union undertook action to regain control of the Bay. In August of 1864, Union Admiral D. G. Farragut and the forces under his control were successful in breaking through the South’s defenses and sailed into Mobile Bay. It was during this action that some accounts have Farragut saying that famous line: “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.”

The fort has been described by some as one of the finest examples of military architecture in the New World. The basic structure is a 5 sided pointed star that provides the ability to self protect itself from siege and land assault. But within just a few years of it’s construction advances in weaponry and high-explosives made brick fortresses like this obsolete. During the 175 years since it was completed it was actually manned by the U.S. Military for less than 50 of those years… primarily during crises like the Civil War (by the South), the Spanish-American War, WWI (as a training base), and again, briefly, during WWII. In 1946 it was completely decommissioned and turned over to the State of Alabama. Our visit here was educational and enjoyable.

We eventually found a piece of beach where we could relax for a while, near the Fort about 18 miles west of Gulf Shores… where we could take a walk at the waterline, and enjoy the unspoiled surroundings around us. The Northern Gulf can be a wonderful place to kick back and enjoy nature. But you might have to search for it.

T

Thursday, April 02, 2009
Summerdale, AL

Well, it’s been a wet week here in “L.A.” — “Lower Alabama” as the locals call it with a smirk on their face. March is normally a wet month for this part of the country and this year we just happened to be here for one of the really exceptional ones. The weather service has the past week’s rainfall total for this area in the 10 to 15 inch range, a good portion of which fell just last Friday night. Average precipitation for the entire month of March is usually about 7 inches.

We’re in a pattern of one nice day followed by a couple three rainy ones. It’s easy to complain but I’ve found myself learning to live with it. Other than head on down the road to somewhere else which may not be any better, there’s not much I can do about it anyway. So if I can’t be outside exploring or soaking up sunshine I’ll find a comfortable place, a warm drink, and a good book to keep me occupied. It’s a state of mind.

All the down time has given me an opportunity to get our taxes done and filed, as well as some other nagging bookwork chores that I’ve been seriously procrastinating about. By the time we leave here I should be pretty much caught up on that sort of thing. Of course, Dar still has a bunch of photo albums to arrange and upload. Let’s cut her a break considering what she’s been through the past couple weeks.

Speaking of Dar, she’s almost back to 100%. But now my allergies are giving me fits again. It seems if my day starts out with sniffles and sneezes, it get’s progressively worse during the day and, often, by mid-afternoon, I can be a basket-case and the poster-boy for Zyrtec ads. On the other hand, if I can freely breathe and have no symptoms when I awake I’ll be fine all day. One day one extreme, the next day the other. Go figure.

Yesterday we had lunch with Kay & Doug Brue, friends off ours from our stay at Sandollar a year ago during the Christmas Holidays. They are really intrepid explorers having live for 6 years on a sailboat and some years since then in RV’s. They’re full of stories and have a wealth of knowledge about the wandering lifestyle. We thoroughly enjoy the time we spend with them.

In the next day or two, if the weather cooperates, we’re going to explore the Gulf Shores area and the peninsula west of there, out to Fort Morgan. There are some wonderful beaches out that way and it’d be great to get a little sun and fun, not to mention maybe a picnic?, at the beach.

Before we leave here Monday or Tuesday, I’d like to also visit the National Naval Aviation Museum at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. [http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/Home.aspx] Being a real aviation buff I find it hard to pass by collections of old airplanes, especially one as good as this.

T

Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Summerdale, AL

As difficult as it was to get Dar out of Pensacola and safely into Madison last Tuesday and Wednesday, when I looked at the forecast yesterday morning it appeared that we’d have more of the same problems getting her home. There was rain expected in Wisconsin and there were, once again, predictions of heavy thunderstorms for Pensacola and she had a tight connection in Dallas. But all you can do is go with the flow. When the plane leaves you’ll leave. When it shows up, you’ll show up too. Relax. Chill.

This has been quite a weather spell here in Lower Alabama with rain and storms most days. In Texas, the entire time we were there this year, there were daily concerns about wildfires. It was so dry and usually so windy that if a fire got going it wouldn’t stop until it got to Louisiana. But here, lately, I’m not at all concerned about wildfires.

Dar’s flight was due into Pensacola at 4:40pm. I confirmed she was in the air before heading to the airport and, by a little after 5pm, she was in the car and we were on our way back to the Bus-House. The air transportation system in the USA, and worldwide, is an amazing thing we often take for granted and criticize harshly. But it moves a tremendous number of people from here to there in safety and general reliability. A real modern marvel.

It’s good to have my exploring partner back again… and in much better shape than she left.

T

Sunday, March 29, 2009
Summerdale, AL

First, let me do an update on Dar. After flying back to Wisconsin she saw her doctor on Friday morning. He did the usual poke, prod, and listening things, then ordered some tests. By late afternoon the tests came back and it was determined that she had walking pneumonia. Treatment is easy… the right antibiotic usually knocks it out in a couple weeks. So she’s on the mend, feeling much better, and taking it easy at her Mom & Dad’s house for a few days. We booked a return flight back to Pensacola for her next Tuesday. Once again, thanks to all of you who expressed concern about her.

Meanwhile, it’s been pretty quiet around the bus-house. After finally getting Dar launched from Pensacola on Thursday it rained on and off again most of the day, as it had every day since Tuesday. By evening I was ready for a good nights sleep. But that wasn’t to be.

A few months back we purchased a NOAA weather alert radio. It’s one of those things that seemed to make a lot of sense especially because we live in a house that isn’t anchored to the ground with a substantial foundation. We all know how tornadoes will actually seek out mobile home and RV parks before causing any real damage.

When storms occur during the day we’re pretty darn good at watching the sky. Among her many other capabilities Dar is also a trained weather observer. But at night when dangerous weather is expected and when the sky isn’t real visible it seems sensible to have a device that can make you aware of natural dangers ahead of time.

If a severe thunderstorm or tornado or other dangerous situation is heading your way, a NOAA weather alert radio will make you aware of it by sounding a siren… a loud siren… that’s capable of waking deep sleepers and people in medically induced comas. It will tell you to go immediately to your basement. If you don’t have a basement it will suggest you should go outside, find a ditch or ravine, jump in and lay face down while covering your head with your arms. I’m not sure about this advice as most low spots are usually filled with water during heavy rains and they never say anything about taking a snorkel along. Hmmm.

For a long while after we got our NOAA weather alert radio it didn’t make so much as a peep. It just sat there for weeks. I became concerned it wasn’t working at all until one day I saw it had, in fact, received a test signal which confirmed it was, indeed, working just fine.

But this past week it’s been getting a real workout. And Thursday night, when we had storms lined up and aimed right at this little corner of L.A. (Lower Alabama), it kept me up almost all night. Having this little radio is probably still a good idea but I hope I’ll never have to look for a water-filled ditch or ravine to jump into.

For the record we received almost 7 inches of rain on Thursday night alone according to local amateur weathermen. For the three day period it was close to 12 inches.

Thom