Thursday, November 12, 2015

We visited another science museum, this one in Mobile, AL. Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center was kid-centric and there were a couple class field trips, but it stayed pretty quiet. We spent a lot of time looking over the biology displays and I got to perform open heart surgery on a large screen computer simulation. Hopefully, my skills will never be needed in the operating room.

One of the most entertaining exhibits had a lot of steel shavings dancing to the music inside a sealed case.  When Flight of the Bumblebee played the shavings were just a blur.

The most interesting exhibits seem to always involve magnets!  This gem did not disappoint.

The little nubs danced to the music creating a mesmerizing effect.

Oh, to be a kid again with access to this giant foam Tinkertoy set.

I was having a big time playing with magnets and nano-ferrofluid. Pretty cool stuff!

What if a box of chocolates were really this size?  At least the exhibit gave me a different perspective on eating chocolate: chocolate grows in a tree, trees are plants, plants make a salad and everyone knows salads are healthy.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Through Facebook, I realized an old friend from high school, Larry, lived close to our current RV park.  After talking on the phone, I found he was less than 6 miles away!  Larry kindly invited us over and we spent a pleasant afternoon catching up a little on the last 45 years (Wow!  That revelation made me feel old!).

Larry and his wife, Linda (who was, unfortunately, at work), had just moved into their new house along the Fish River.  They worked with a builder who was able to nestle the house in amid the existing trees with only very minor trimming.  The custom built house was one of the nicest we have ever seen.

Just a few steps away from the large screened porch was the outdoor hub of life along the river. The boat dock included everything you could need whether you're fishing, watching a game or just waving at the passing boats.  You could even sit and wait for the mail to be delivered by boat right to the dock!  We were told this is the only remaining water delivery of mail in the Postal system.

Larry took us on a boat ride down the river to Mobile Bay.  It's been a long time since I was out on a boat and the ride took me back to my days as a teenager when I could not get enough skiing.  He said sometimes dolphins swim up the river, so we kept our eyes peeled, but I was distracted by houses and docks along the shoreline.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Some mornings you get up and the best breakfast decision is eating out.  How could you say "no" to a made from scratch Hardee's Biscuit?  It also gave us the opportunity to get our first look at Fairhope, AL.  After our biscuits, we parked along Fairhope Ave and walked the small downtown area.

We will have to return some evening to see all the lights we saw going up.

We are looking forward to Fairhope's tree lighting on November 19th.

Fairhope had a Charleston, SC kind of feel (although on a much smaller scale).  It was very walkable with lots of interesting architecture, nice homes and parks from the main street all the way to the water's edge (Mobile Bay).

We used to marvel at the sprawling mansions, but now the tiny cottages catch our eye.

This little gem already had our monogram on the door and a lending library out front.

The Live Oaks are so impressive in their grandeur.  They practically envelop the little cottages.

A short walk from the center of town takes you to the bay.

It was easy to see why Fairhope is a popular town for retired folks.

Monday, November 2, 2015

I cannot say we were unhappy to leave the Styx River "Resort".  We had decided to visit all of the Escapee parks (I think there are 18) and Rainbow Plantation, in Summerdale, AL, was a mere 24.7 miles away (75,623.8 miles total).

The park was located midway between Foley and Fairhope and only 30 miles from Mobile, so we knew there would be plenty to explore in the area.  It looked pretty nice on Google maps, so Joani had made a reservation for a week.  When we arrived we made a quick decision to extend our stay to a month.  Some confusion at the office made it a month and two days, but then we didn't have any place we had to be.

Behind the campground was a neighborhood of Escapee members who have built residences to accommodate their RVs.  I will have to see just what I can learn that might apply to our someday/somewhere home base.   

Sunday, November 1, 2015

It was another gloomy one, so a short road trip to Pensacola was the order of the day.  At the visitor center, we found directions to one of the only places where dogs were allowed on the beach.

Sam really wasn't much of a fan of the sand between his toes or he didn't like the look of those clouds so it was a short walk.  It was not a hard sell to get us back to the car since the clouds were spitting a little rain.

A visit to the Naval Air Museum required entry onto the base. It was lucky Joani had her ID (she doesn't always carry one) or we would have been turned away. From the parking area, the museum appeared small, but that was some kind of optical illusion because it was really quite large inside.

Below was the NC-4, the first Navy aircraft to cross the Atlantic. It was designed during WWI to search for submarines but never saw service before the end of the war. "The mammoth wooden hull . . . supported wings that stretched to 126 feet. Four Liberty V-12 engines fed from tanks containing 1,891 gallons of gasoline provided 1,600 horsepower, enabling a top speed of 85 miles per hour when the aircraft was at its fully loaded weight of 28,000 lb." With no mufflers, it had to make a lot of noise, but even more surprising to me was that our motorhome weighed two tons more than this airplane fully loaded!.

I cannot imagine just how terrifying it would have been to operate an antiaircraft gun while incoming planes were strafing your ship during World War II.

The PBY Catalina Flying Boat display was extremely well done. Below the suspended aircraft, a cutaway of the fuselage allowed you to see all of the aircraft workstations. There were even sleeping cots for the large crew.

A TBM Avenger, like the one below, was piloted by our first president Bush during WWII. By contrast to the NC-4 above, the single engine on this plane produced 1,900 hp and achieved a maximum speed of 276 mph.

The old Plymouth, below, was just a staff car during WWII but you have to love the lines and that style!

With the overcast skies it wasn't too warm outside for Sam, but since he was patiently waiting for us we decided to save the large hanger filled with newer aircraft for another day.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

It was time to pay for our free campsite this morning.  The cost - three hours of our lives wasted on a high-pressure sales pitch.  Poor Dave thought he had us sold and just could not understand how we could say "no" to such a great deal.

Afterward, we headed out for some lunch and then went to investigate Reunion Pointe, an RV based neighborhood.  We were able to talk for quite a while with the developer, Richard.  The development was small -  just 45 lots - with an RV port built into each home.  The concept and the collection of floor plans were great.  The plans were ideal for people wanting to downsize (900 to 1200 sqft, 1 to 3 bedrooms).  The 100-year-old oak trees gave the lots a great feel and Richard was going to do his best to make sure they all stayed.  We have no doubt in a few years this will be a highly desirable neighborhood, but it was a little more than we need. 

We will definitely have to return in a few years to see how this place develops.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Our stay at Gunter Hill was too soon over and it was time to move again.  But first, a few more early morning pictures.  

Our next stop - Styx River Resort, in Robertsdale, AL.  It was not a long drive at just 164.5 miles (75,599.1 total) and most of it was newly paved Interstate. We were offered three free nights if we would attend a sales pitch for the resort. The park was a little rough. It was originally a KOA that had been neglected. The new owners have been making improvements, but they have a long way to go. The roads were gravel and the small (full hook-up) sites were just sand/mud.