We left Mobile about 9:30am on Wednesday, November 26, to go to Laurel, Ms to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends there. Our first stop in Laurel was to see Bill Wallace at work. He runs a family owned drug store which has been in his family since 1898. We visited briefly with Bill and he told us that some friends we had wanted to see while in Laurel were headed to the beach for Thanksgiving so we went directly to their house and caught Gene Mulloy just getting ready to leave. His wife Libby was already gone. Gene said their place at the beach is very near where we will pass probably on the first day out of Mobile so we said we would call when we were in that area. Gene called later to suggest we might get together on Saturday for lunch if we are still in Fair Hope, this is where we are in the Marina.
We went from there to Bill and Ginger’s house and met Ginger. We had only just met her about 15 years ago when Bill and she were dating and Bill’s daughter, Amy, got married. This might seem odd to go to the house of someone we had met so briefly and so long ago but Ginger is such a nice person we instantly felt as though we had known her for ever. We enjoyed visiting with her and immediately felt comfortable is her house. Bill is so lucky to have found such a great person for his wife. Soon after Bill got home from work Ginger left to run some errands and Bill and I lit a fire in the fireplace and he and Muriel and I sat down to visit. After a while I became aware that it was becoming quite smoky in the house. The fire was obviously drawing well so we were uncertain why so much smoke was coming out of the fireplace into the house. The fire was so hot that it was difficult to get close enough to see that the damper was only slightly open. After we found this it the next question was how to get it open with the intense heat. I finally just jabbed at the damper itself and knocked it open.
Ginger prepared a great meal for Wednesday evening. The main dish was a pork loin roast with a crawfish sauce over it, a delightful treat. On Thursday morning Bill and I left the house about 7:30 to go check on his car wash and a man he had doing some cleaning. We did not get home until just a little before time for Thanksgiving Dinner. Muriel would have been furious, Ginger seemed to accept that Bill is just like that. The dinner was great, turkey, ham, dressing and gravy, sweet potato casserole, baked apples, corn pudding casserole, deviled eggs, you get the idea! Then pecan pie for dessert. Both of Bill’s brothers and one cousin were there. After dinner we took a tour of Laurel to see some of the new developments in the area. We thought the residential areas of town looked great, the houses were just a pretty as we remembered from 30 years ago. The downtown is hurting but the town has grown remarkably in the outlaying areas.
On Friday morning we headed back to Fairhope via the Mississippi gulf coast. We wanted to see some of the change since Katrina. US highway 90 runs along the coast and used to be lined with big homes. There was not a single home left for most of the way through Gulfport and very little has been built back. It is sickening to see how little has been done in the years since Katrina. We got back to the boat just before heavy rains arrived. We ran to the drug store for Muriel’s meds and a little grocery shopping
On Saturday morning we messed around about the boat and I attempted to help Guy with some work on his motor. I had to leave to meet Gene and Libby Mulloy, some old friends from Laurel. They are in the area because they now have a beach house near here. It was great to get to spend some time visiting with people with whom we shared many good times over 30 years ago. We have not seen them to visit with them in over 30 years. By the time we got back Larenzo and Guy and Bill from Blue Max had accomplished the repair. I only helped Guy with the last details. Muriel and Peggy from Southern Comfort had decided to prepare another Thanksgiving dinner from leftovers to share with Blue Max since we were not all together for Thanksgiving. It is pouring rain again so they decided to delay until tomorrow. The weather forecast is for continued rain until tomorrow afternoon. We will probably stay put until Monday and then head down Mobile Bay for the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway and the Florida panhandle.
Well, Monday was as windy as Sunday so we used the courtesy car and went to the USS Alabama Battleship and toured the ship. It was very interesting, largely because Bill Maxwell from Blue Max had spent time on navy ships and could explain much of what we were looking at. We spent nearly three hours aboard the ship and then stopped and Felix’s for a seafood dinner. We all had oysters on the half shell which were delightful.
Tuesday dawned sunny and calm but cold. We got away from the marina in Fairhope about 8:00 and had a beautiful cruise down Mobile Bay in smooth waters and sunny skies. Soon after we turned east and entered the GIWW, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, we began to see dolphins playing in out wake. We came to Lulu’s, Jimmy Buffet’s sister’s restaurant on the waterway so we stopped to buy fuel and get some lunch. The restaurant is open seven days per week except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Employee Appreciation Day, today was Employee Appreciation Day. But the marina was open so we bought the least expensive fuel of the trip yet, $2.66. Just a few miles further down the waterway we came to Ingram Bayou which is the last good anchorage until you get nearly to Pensacola. We could not have made Pensacola by dark so we chose the anchorage. This gave us time to get the dingy down and explore the shore line and get Carlie ashore for a couple of walks.
We went from there to Bill and Ginger’s house and met Ginger. We had only just met her about 15 years ago when Bill and she were dating and Bill’s daughter, Amy, got married. This might seem odd to go to the house of someone we had met so briefly and so long ago but Ginger is such a nice person we instantly felt as though we had known her for ever. We enjoyed visiting with her and immediately felt comfortable is her house. Bill is so lucky to have found such a great person for his wife. Soon after Bill got home from work Ginger left to run some errands and Bill and I lit a fire in the fireplace and he and Muriel and I sat down to visit. After a while I became aware that it was becoming quite smoky in the house. The fire was obviously drawing well so we were uncertain why so much smoke was coming out of the fireplace into the house. The fire was so hot that it was difficult to get close enough to see that the damper was only slightly open. After we found this it the next question was how to get it open with the intense heat. I finally just jabbed at the damper itself and knocked it open.
Ginger prepared a great meal for Wednesday evening. The main dish was a pork loin roast with a crawfish sauce over it, a delightful treat. On Thursday morning Bill and I left the house about 7:30 to go check on his car wash and a man he had doing some cleaning. We did not get home until just a little before time for Thanksgiving Dinner. Muriel would have been furious, Ginger seemed to accept that Bill is just like that. The dinner was great, turkey, ham, dressing and gravy, sweet potato casserole, baked apples, corn pudding casserole, deviled eggs, you get the idea! Then pecan pie for dessert. Both of Bill’s brothers and one cousin were there. After dinner we took a tour of Laurel to see some of the new developments in the area. We thought the residential areas of town looked great, the houses were just a pretty as we remembered from 30 years ago. The downtown is hurting but the town has grown remarkably in the outlaying areas.
On Friday morning we headed back to Fairhope via the Mississippi gulf coast. We wanted to see some of the change since Katrina. US highway 90 runs along the coast and used to be lined with big homes. There was not a single home left for most of the way through Gulfport and very little has been built back. It is sickening to see how little has been done in the years since Katrina. We got back to the boat just before heavy rains arrived. We ran to the drug store for Muriel’s meds and a little grocery shopping
On Saturday morning we messed around about the boat and I attempted to help Guy with some work on his motor. I had to leave to meet Gene and Libby Mulloy, some old friends from Laurel. They are in the area because they now have a beach house near here. It was great to get to spend some time visiting with people with whom we shared many good times over 30 years ago. We have not seen them to visit with them in over 30 years. By the time we got back Larenzo and Guy and Bill from Blue Max had accomplished the repair. I only helped Guy with the last details. Muriel and Peggy from Southern Comfort had decided to prepare another Thanksgiving dinner from leftovers to share with Blue Max since we were not all together for Thanksgiving. It is pouring rain again so they decided to delay until tomorrow. The weather forecast is for continued rain until tomorrow afternoon. We will probably stay put until Monday and then head down Mobile Bay for the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway and the Florida panhandle.
Well, Monday was as windy as Sunday so we used the courtesy car and went to the USS Alabama Battleship and toured the ship. It was very interesting, largely because Bill Maxwell from Blue Max had spent time on navy ships and could explain much of what we were looking at. We spent nearly three hours aboard the ship and then stopped and Felix’s for a seafood dinner. We all had oysters on the half shell which were delightful.
Tuesday dawned sunny and calm but cold. We got away from the marina in Fairhope about 8:00 and had a beautiful cruise down Mobile Bay in smooth waters and sunny skies. Soon after we turned east and entered the GIWW, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, we began to see dolphins playing in out wake. We came to Lulu’s, Jimmy Buffet’s sister’s restaurant on the waterway so we stopped to buy fuel and get some lunch. The restaurant is open seven days per week except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Employee Appreciation Day, today was Employee Appreciation Day. But the marina was open so we bought the least expensive fuel of the trip yet, $2.66. Just a few miles further down the waterway we came to Ingram Bayou which is the last good anchorage until you get nearly to Pensacola. We could not have made Pensacola by dark so we chose the anchorage. This gave us time to get the dingy down and explore the shore line and get Carlie ashore for a couple of walks.
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