Day 5 Last Day in Paridise

I sit here tonight on the couch with the doors open that lead out to the balcony listening the wind.  The wind is pushing the ocean up onto the beach making a low crashing noise.  I am so going to miss the sounds of the ocean and the view from the 7th floor. I have loved visiting with my friends Leonard and Carol while staying here in Alabama.   I am going to miss them and the fun we have had while visiting them. Tomorrow starts the journey back to reality. The fun and adventure we have had on this vacation has been pronominal; I will never forget this vacation.
Today's adventure started out with getting up early and getting ready to go to the Museum of Naval Aviation.  Leonard and Carol have said they were taking us there before we left for Ohio. I am excited to see this place which is in ready....... drum roll.......... Pensacola Florida. I did not know we are only 15 minutes away from Florida.   WOW this is just  so cool :-) I am still in awe at how close I am to Florida.  Wish I had one more day to enjoy the beach and the warmth.
After getting ready we packed up my computer and  camera and headed down to the coffee house which brews Starbucks.  Marlon and I walked there and IT IS RAINING.  YES RAINING, that's ok the museum is inside. :-)  Walked into the coffee house which is located at the back of the condo on the 1st floor.  I ordered a  hot latte and a banana nut muffin.  Got my computer set up and Marlon brought me my drink and muffin.  We are set up and  looking out at the ocean splashing up on shore and the rain pound against the windows.

I sat there playing on my computer and looking out at the ocean and the rain.  I am sad that it is raining, I would rather there be sunshine but since its not I will deal with it. I drank my delicious latte and ate my banana nut muffin.  I played on the computer till time to go.

 We are in the car and headed to Gulf Shores town in the rain.  In the parking lot and waiting on Leonard and Carol which they were there within minutes. :-)
We are traveling to Pensacola Florida with Leonard and Carol.  25 minutes later we are pulling in to a place called McGuire's Irish Pub for Lunch.  As we pull in there is a bus sitting in the parking lot with the name of the pub on it.

I am excited as we park and get out.  Never been to this Irish pub before and can't wait too see what the inside looks like. 

 Walking towards the restaurant I saw a phone booth that held an ATM machine. How cool is this ?

We walked in and my mouth fell to the floor as I saw the walls and ceilings were covered with $1 dollar bills.

I watched a fellow making beer inside the brewery.

thanks Leonard and Carol for taking us here what an awesome place to be.

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I looked through the menu and decided I would split a Reuben with Marlon.

We placed our orders and the girl who waited on us took our pictures for us. :-)

When our food arrived and I took my first taste I can say it was absolutely delicious.  I could barely eat 1/2 of that huge sandwich.

Marlon could hardly get his mouth around the sandwich to eat it so you know I had the same trouble. LOL

If you ever make it to Pensacola Florida please go to McGuire's your won't be sorry.

Back in the car and headed for the Naval Base to go to see all the planes at the museum.
We were stopped upon entrance and Leonard was asked for his driver's license.  Once we were approved to go inside Leonard stopped at a cemetery but we couldn't go in.  There was a funeral in progress.

On to the Museum......

We pulled in and parked.  The first airplane I see is the Tom Hawk which is the same type of plane Tom Cruise flew in his last film Top Gun. :-)

Day 4 Sunshiny Day in Alabama

Morning Mr. Sunshine I can see you trying to peak out from the fog!!

 

This morning BP Crews were out cleaning the beach area.  There are still tar balls on the beach but not much. The equipment and crew were very busy getting the last of the tar that has come on shore.

 As we walked back to the condo the crew was done with cleaning this section of the beach. The beach is so quiet love how I feel like we own the beach. :-) We seen a bird who I think stood still so we could take his picture.

After the walk on the beach its time for breakfast.  Marlon made us a great breakfast. Fried potatoes and omelets........he just makes the best breakfast.

After breakfast we got ready and decided to take a ride towards Fort Morgan.  As we drove it wasn't long before we had arrived at Fort Morgan.

 We got out drove through and parked at a lot that over looked the Mobile Bay Ferry Landing.

Out in the bay we could see a drilling oil rig in full operation. Amazing how close to shore the rig was.

Marlon and I read a sign about the history of Fort Morgan which along time ago made torpedoes. The pictures of torpedoes made from barrels was totally amazing.



Took a few pictures of some of the places the army would be at in time of war shooting canons and guns to protect Fort Morgan.

The drive back to the condo we enjoyed the scenery.  I love the way the homes along the beach are so colorful.

This area had lots of sand that was blown up onto the roads.  We were going down through here to look for a place to maybe take the grandkids and their parents for a vacation. This is not the area we would chose I like the location the  condo is in we are staying here at. :-) Wrote down a few names and phone numbers for rental information.
We then drove into Gulf Shores town and drove along the waterway.  I wanted to see the tug boats pushing cargo down the river.

Marlon found something but I don't know what it is?

He showed me a pine cone, wow its big.

On the way back to the condo we found a Walmart where we went in and I shopped.  It's time to get back to the condo and rest before it's time to get ready for dinner at Leonard and Carol's house. :-)

Once we arrived at their house we had brought a bottle of champagne.  Marlon opened it and poured us all a glass and we toasted our friendship.

Had a wonderful dinner and a great banana split cheesecake. Thanks for inviting us over we had a wonderful time.  See ya tomorrow at 10:30am.

Day 3 Beach & LuLu's

Got up at 4am to wait for the sun to come up.  Marlon and I got a cup of coffee and enjoyed our morning together.  The sun came up around 8am.

After watching the sun come up Marlon made us a fabulous breakfast. YUMMY Later we went over and sat in the steam room which  I really liked. :-)  I also enjoyed the hot tub so relaxing.  The day was becoming pretty warm and so we went for a nice walk on the beach.  Boy the weather is just perfect! I enjoyed walking on the boardwalk out to the beach so nice. 

 I saw many different types of birds.  I didn't know the names but my hubby does. :-)  Some day when he retires I will learn my birds by sight.  I know allot of Ohio birds but not birds that hang by the ocean. The minute we got off the board walk Marlon pointed out 4 different birds that were hanging out on the beach.

 We also seen bird feet prints in the sand and then saw the bird that was making them.

Blue Heron

Marlon saw some of the tar balls from the BP Oil spill and showed them to me.  Now the beach is not covered with them but they are still being washed up on shore. :-(

The walk on the beach has been so relaxing...... I'm loving my stay here in Alabama.  I can't believe that walking on the beach has so much to see besides ocean and sand. 

 The sand dunes around here are very protected.  Lots of signs telling you not to walk on the dunes. 

It was so funny there was this little bird that I was trying to get a picture of but boy could it move fast.  I could not snap a picture fast enough he was like a roadrunner. LOL Got a lot of sand shots but no bird.....

It's time to get back to the condo; Carol just called and we are going to meet them at their house.  They are going to show us around and then we are going to LuLu's.  LuLu's is a restaurant with a live band and great food.  Oh I must not forget to mention that Jimmy Buffet's sister LuLu owns this place. 

 We are at Leonard and Carols and in the car headed for a tour of the area. We went to a wharf that sold any fish that swims called Billie's.  Very quiet area and a few boats that have been sitting there for awhile. 

While touring around I saw a homemade Christmas tree. Thought I would share it.

Leonard took us to some friends of theirs 2nd home. The Camila flowers were just starting to bloom wow so pretty.

Out back of their place was a Alabama view of the canal. Can't remember what the waterways are called sorry. Help Leonard!!!

The tour of Bon Secour Bay was a beautiful ocean view. We could see our condo from the location we were at. I am still amazed at how many oil rigs are out in the ocean of Alabama.

condo in background

oil rigs all over the Gulf of Mexico

guess 2 secs set on the camera was to quick for Marlon to get in the picture LOL Let's try this again with 10 sec.s

We are back in the car and headed to Magnolia Springs.  Talk about a beautiful place, lots of HUGE oak trees and moss hanging from them.  Absolutely beautiful homes and a great location to live if you can afford it. Drove out to Weeks Bay from Magnolia Springs to a park.

Walked out on the boardwalk to Weeks Bay and looked around at all the boat docks and places to sit and relax.  Of course we seen another water bird standing on one leg in the water.

nice place to sit and relax and enjoy the beauty surrounding you.

 Great view from Weeks Bay

the sun is very, very bright today but I'm not complaining by no means.

We are back at Carol and Leonard's where Carol and I shared some wine.  We have some time to kill before heading to LuLu's.  

We followed them to the restaurant and met their friends Karen and Thurman.  They are very nice people and fun to hang out with.  Ordered our dinner and listened to Brent Burns who sings  Trop Rock. I did buy a CD and Karen did too. 

While sitting out the intracoastal waterway eating our dinner I saw a very, very, long tugger pushing a cargo of chemicals.  I was amazed at how close they were to the restaurant. 

  Good Night Alabama time to go back to condo.