Leaving Fairhope, AL Behind

As much as we loved the town of Fairhope, we were not sorry to leave it in our wake, primarily because of the marina where we were staying. It was a challenge to get on and off the boat, especially at night, because of no lighting and the tiny, narrow finger pier AND the piling right in the middle of the pier we had to maneuver around to exit or enter.

After traveling south on Mobile Bay in heavy fog for more than two hours, we finally run out of the fog in time to pick up the first two channel markers indicating our reentry back into the Intracoastal waterway. We left the Intracoastal waterway at the end of April in Norfolk, VA and now some 4000 miles later we return to it in the southern part of Mobile Bay.

It is a welcome site to see the familiar red.....

...,,,and green channel markers marking our way along the Gulf Coast.

Out of the haze on the ICW comes one of the many shrimp/fishing boats operating all along the Gulf Coast.

This is a true trawler.

Shortly after pulling into the Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, AL (adjacent to Gulf Shores, AL), the mega yacht FREEDOM, pulled in behind us. Owned by the owners of Books-a-Million, this yacht is over 100' long and a real beauty. We first saw her in Chattanooga when she was on her way to Knoxville to take her owners to an Alamba football game. Nice life!!

Compare this shot of our Marina in Fairhope with our present marina at the Wharf. These are beautiful, floating docks.

Looper Fun! Our first night in Orange Beach we met up with four other Looper boats and went out to dinner with them at Toby Keith's restaurant, "I Love This Bar & Grill". Of course the evening is not complete without EIGHT rounds of bingo, led by the bartender. A good time was had by all!

Pensacola, FL and Foley, AL side trip.

Because we decided to stay at the Eastern Shore Marina in Fairhope, AL a few days to spend time in Fairhope and also wait on our new remote for our Auto Pilot to show up, we decided to drive over to Pensacola, FL and visit the National Museum of Naval Aviation. Since I spent more than a year in Pensacola as a student going through flight training, then three years as a flight instructor in the Advanced Helicopter Training Squadron, it was like coming back home. Even though the Pensacola I knew was barely recognizable after 37 years of being away!

The museum is a world class aviation facility that tells just the story of Navy and Marine aviation from its infancy to the present.

This is the primary helicopter trainer that I first learned to fly helicopters on. The TH-57 (also known as the Bell Jet Ranger).

Below is the advanced fixed wing trainer that was used for formation flights, instrument training and carrier qualification, the T-28B/C. It was a lot of aircraft because it was basically a WWII fighter aircraft converted to a trainer. Unlike the Army and the Air Force, the Navy and the Marine Corps train their pilots to fly fixed wing aircraft first then transition them into jets or helicopters.

This is the mighty Sea Knight, the CH-46. This was the workhorse of the Marine Corps in Vietnam and the aircraft I flew while in Vietnam. Capable of carrying 25 Combat Loaded Marines, with a crew of four and sporting two .50 caliber machine guns, it could lift 23,000 lbs.

The CH-46 is still flying in the Marine Corps but is rapidly being replaced by the new Tilt-Rotor MV-22 Osprey.

The AH-1J Attack Helicopter is the gunship we relied on to protect us as we landed or picked up Marines out of the rice paddies or mountains of Vietnam. I later flew this aircraft while stationed in Hawaii, after leaving Vietnam.

It is still amazing to me that all of the aircraft I flew in the Marine Corps, either while in flight school or in the fleet, are now hanging from a ceiling in a museum!

Maybe someone is trying to tell me something!!??

A real WWII Fighter, the F-4U Corsair. The Japanese called her "Whistling Death" because of the high pitched whistling sound she made in a dive. One of the two propeller driven aircraft I wished I could have flown.

The other prop driven aircraft, the A-1 Skyraider, that I would have loved to have flown. She could carry TONS of ordnance and stay on station as long as twelve hours without refueling.

Also on exhibit at the museum was an older version of the White Top VH-3 used to transport the Presidents. This version is the VH-3A, used to transport President Nixon. The version I flew for President Carter and President Reagan was the VH-3D, and is still in use today. 

In this display they have folded the blades back along the fuselage. This was only done when the aircraft was being prepared to be shipped overseas.

The bronze statues of pilots debriefing a mission. Pilots have a tendency to talk with their hands.

On the way back from Pensacola, we stopped off in Foley, AL to eat at Lambert's Cafe. They have been in existence since the 1940's and are famous for their "down home cooking and 'thrown rolls'".

The "thrown rolls" are just that. Every few minutes one of the servers will roll out a cart with huge, fresh, hot dinner rolls on it and walk among the customers. All you have to do is raise your hand and he throws you the roll, regardless of whether you are right next to him or across the restaurant from him. It made for some great catches and fun!

Incoming roll!

Another successful catch!

Our last evening and sunset at the marina in Fairhope.

One never grows tired of this view!

Charming Town of Fairhope, Alabama

After staying at Turner Marina for a few days to have some routine maintenance done on ITHAKA, we decided to travel the 12 miles across Mobile Bay to the east side of the bay and visit the charming little community of Fairhope. We were not disappointed. One of the two remaining "single tax colonies" in the U.S., this community takes all of its tax revenue and turns it back into the community. It shows in its community pride, it's parks, schools, churches and thriving downtown, and just general appearance of the whole town. One of the locals referred to it as "Mayberry on steroids".

Eating out is always such fun. Wintzell's has become one of our favorite restaurants for fresh oysters and seafood. Carolyn House, on POURHOUSE, first introduced us to this place in Mobile. We found another one right on the bay in Fairhope!

Can't get enough of the beautiful Live Oak trees throughout the South! 

Several of the branches of the Live Oak are covered in Resurrection Ferns, as you can see on this limb. It's called that because in times of dry weather, the fern will appear to wither, dry up and turn brown. Once the rains return, it magically turns lush and green again, until the next dry spell.

The public park on the edge of the bay in Fairhope. We were about 15 minutes too late to see the sun go down.

Downtown Fairhope in the evening, all dressed up in her Christmas decorations.

Even the smallest stores get dressed up.

Every tree in the downtown area is wrapped in Christmas lights. The pictures really do not do it justice. Just beautiful!

Seeing the Sites in Mobile, AL

One of the military sites around Mobile is the USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park. In addition to the Battleship, there are numerous other displays of various aircraft and military hardware.

The USS ALABAMA is one of only two remaining WWII battleships that served throughout both the Atlantic and Pacific campaigns. Launched in August of 1942, she shot down 22 enemy aircraft without ever receiving any damage herself. Carrying a crew of 2500 officers and men she was capable of speeds in excess of 32mph.

Having an overall length of 680 ft (that's more than 16 ITHAKAs in a row!) and a beam of 108 ft, she weighs in at 45,000 tons.

Standing on the bow looking aft at her 16" guns.

Besides her main guns she carries twenty 5" guns, forty-eight 40 mm cannons and fifty-two 20 mm guns.

The nine 16" guns are capable of firing a twenty five hundred pound explosive projectile accurately out to a distance of 21 miles from the ship.

On the aviation side of the park is one of the work horses of the Cold War and of Vietnam, the B52 strategic bomber. Coming into service in 1952, these aircraft are still in service today. The only eight engine bombers in the U.S. inventory.

This particular bomber, participated in 81 bombing missions over North and South Vietnam.

If you would ask most Mobilelians the question, "if you could only see one thing during a visit to Mobile, what would it be"? The answer would most definitely be the BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME! Bellingrath was the home of Walter and Bessie Bellingrath. He earned his fortune by becoming the first franchise owner of Coca-Cola bottling company for a 100 mile area around Mobile in 1903. He and Bessie purchased an abandoned fishing camp on the Fowl River in 1917, and by 1927 had started developing the gardens that are in existence today.

In most cases, the grand home is built first and then at a later time, the gardens are developed around the home. Bellingrath is just the opposite. Bessie was a Master Gardner and the 65 acre gardens were her main focus. Only after the gardens were in place did they build their house.

All of the gardens are laid out with wide walking paths and many fountains. There are no seasons where some type of flowers will not be in bloom, but the fall and spring are said to be the most beautiful times to visit.

Numerous live oak trees dot all of the paths.

All of the mums are grown on the property each season.

The east entrance to the Bellingrath home. Note the blanket of mums draped over the balcony. The mums are planted in the greenhouse in early January and are trained as they grow to drape over balconies and ledges throughout the home and property.

Besides gardening and antique collecting, Bessie's other passion was collecting porcelain figurines from all over the world. Eventually her collection grew so large they built a separate building to house and display it.

One of the many reflecting ponds in the gardens.

The interior court yard of the main house.

Getting ready for Christmas season, there are thousands of these "flowers" placed throughout the gardens that will be lighted and the gardens will be open after dark between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

One of the gardens with the Nativity scene already in place.

No visit to Mobile would be complete without visiting some of the historic homes in and around the old part of the city.

The Oakleigh House is one of the oldest homes in the Historic District. Built in 1833 by a wealthy cotton planter, it now serves as Mobile's Official Period House Museum.

Each historic home has a Crest attached to it as shown in this picture. The Crest will signify under which "flag" the house was built (French, Spanish, English, Confederate, US), the date it was built and the name of the house.

A more modest Creole style house.

Note the same Crest mounted next to the window.

This is the Richards DAR House Museum with its lavish iron lace decorating the facade. Many of the historic homes in Mobile remind one of the homes in the French Quarter in New Orleans.

One of the beautiful, old live oak trees next to the Richards DAR House.