We left Michigan in November & headed to Fancy Gap,VA to visit friends Gladys & Mary Ann! They are just a hoot & life full of adventures!!!
We didn't really have a schedule until Dec.1st, so we stopped along the way to just visit old friends!
Here are some states we went through on our way to Gulf Shores area
SEAFOOD?????
You need to go to Joe Patti's seafood in Pensacola,FL!!! In the early 30's Joe Patti started selling fish from their front porch. In the 60's he started a retail operations but has expanded into a gourmet delicatessen, sushi bar, wine shop, bread shop,much more!!
WARNING..it does smell like fish inside the store!!
You can see the comparison between Dan's hand & Lobster claw! Huge!!
Unbelievable on the vast variety of fish,shrimp,oysters, frog legs,octopus.and so much more!!
MARDI GRAS 2016
HISTORY:Dates are day 47 days before Easter to the day before Ash Wednesday which is called Fat Tuesday
Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday". Mardi Gras arrived in North America as a French Catholic tradition with the Le Moyne Brothers in the late 17th century. King Louis XIV sent the brothers to defend France's claim on the territory of Louisiane, which included what are now the U.S. states of AL,MS,LA, & part of TX. One of the brothers went on to found the settlement of Mobil, AL in 1702 as the first capital of French Louisiana. In 1703 French settlers Mobil established the first organized Mardi Gras celebration tradition in what was to become the United States. The first informal mystic society or crew was formed in Mobil in 1711, the Boeuf Gras Society. In 1723, the capital of Louisiana was moved to New Orleans, founded in 1718.The first Mardi Gras parade held in New Orleans is recorded to have taken place in 1837.
Our first parade was Fairhope, AL & it was AWESOME! You become a kid again jumping in the air for moon pies, beads, stuff animals, anything they throw in the crowds! The floats were magnificent...what an energy & high it gives you!!
NEW ORLEANS MARDI GRAS
Masks are an integral part of Mardi Gras culture. During early Mardi Gras celebration hundreds of years ago, masks were a way for their wearers to escape class constraints & social demands!
THE THROWING OF BEADS
The tradition of bead throwing starts with their original colors. The color of the beads was determined by the king of the first daytime Carnival in 1872. He wanted the colors to be royal colors- purple for justice, gold for power, & green for faith. The idea was to toss the color to the person who exhibited the color's meaning.
I won't tell you how I got the big RED lips beads!!!
Sorry I didn't get more pictures of the celebration....BUT its hard to take pictures & get the beads!!
New Orleans Appetizers
Such great food!!!
NATIONAL NAVAL AVIATION MUSEUM
PENSACOLA, FL
One of the world's largest aviation with more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft.
Home of the Blue Angels
Just having fun behind the controls
MOBIL, AL
USS ALABAMA BATTLESHIP TOUR
USS DRUM SUBMARINE
Built at Portsmouth,NH Navy Yard & commissioned on Nov.1,1941. After training & equipment checks, she arrived at Pearl Harbor on
April 1,1942 to begin a series of 13 war patrols.
The USS Drum sank 15 ships for cumulative displacement of 80,580 tons, ranking eighth among American Submarines,earning 12 Battle Stars for her WW11 service.
She was decommissioned Feb.16,1946.Reactivated March 18,1947 to serve as a training ship for Naval Reservists around Washington,DC, where she remained throughout most of the 1960's. She was park on July 4,1969.opened for public display at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial
Torpedo Room
Living Quarters
Doorways in the submarine
USS ALABAMA BATTLESHIP
Launched Feb.16,1942 & Commissioned Aug.16,1942
Actual weight when fully loaded:42,500 tons
Length:680 ft(half as long as the Empire State Building is tall)
Armed with 9 ,16 inch guns in 3 turrets & 20, 5 inch, 38 caliber guns in 10 twin mounts, her main batteries could fire shells, as heavies a small car, accurately for a distance of more than 20 miles
Speed: 28 knots(one knot is approximately 1.15 mph)
She saw 37 months of active duty during WW11 earning nine Battle Stars. She became known as the "Mighty A", safely carried her crew throughout the Atlantic & Pacific Ocean campaigns, & never suffered any casualties or significant damage to enemy fire.
When the war ended, the cost of maintaining became too much of a burden. In May 1962, the Navy announced that the USS ALABAMA would soon be scrapped.
In 1964, a campaign was launched to bring the "Mighty A" home to Alabama, as a memorial to the state's sons & daughters who served in the armed forces. Alabama school children raised almost $100,000 in mostly nickels,dimes, & quarters to help bring her home to her final resting place. A corporate fundraising campaign raised the balance of the $1 million needed for the Navy to donate the ship. On Jan.9,1965 it was opened to the public. Since then, more than 14 million visitors have trod her decks!
Dan & I went throughout the ship & climbed to the very top. The stairs step were very small,straight up, & VERY NARROW!!!! Can you see us, we're waving!!
Inside the Ship
Mail regulations on the ship
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MINI VACATION TO FLORIDA
We took a break from our lifetime vacation to take a mini vacation to visit friends in FL. On our way we saw this in the sky! UFO'S????
Pretty cool!!
We stayed in Haines City with long time friends Jan & Dorn. Jan was one of my first employees at Osseo Post Office (1984) along with Wendell. I haven't seen Wendell since 2000 & it felt so good to see & hug him. I just to call him my weather beaten man, he just had that rugged look! Great man!
WOW!! Where have the years gone?
Wendell lives in Lake Placid, FL which is known for their murals.
In 1992, the Lake Placid Mural Society formed to beautify the town & tell its history.There are over 40 beautiful larger than life murals plus 17 unique one of a kind trash containers.
Fascinating point: If you're looking from one end of the mural & walk to the other end...the eyes in the painting follow you,the animals follow you..its like the murals become real. I can't explain but cool & SCARY!!
The BEST part of our vacation is seeing my favorite daughter AprilRae! I've haven't seen her since 2011
It felt like it was just yesterday when I was going to all her ballgames(great player) & now a traffic controller in Fort Lauderdale. VERY PROUD of her!!
Our last day in FL was taking time to enjoy the pool!
Back TO ALABAMA
We found this hole in the wall restaurant call Roadkill Cafe. Way back when Dan had a real job...Roadkill was his handle!
Great food!!
BAMAHENGE
Mark Cline designed Bamahenge to be 21 feet tall & 104 feet across, essentially identical in size to the original Stonehenges in England . it's correctly aligned with the summer solstice. There are actually only four different stone shapes, but with clever flipping & repositioning, all of them look different.Mark engineered Bamahenge to be stormproof, anchoring the megaliths with interior concrete & half buried telephone poles.
He also created this Alligator by the Marina. My grandkids are going to be amazed to see Granny wrestle an alligator!!!
Memories of Old Friends
And New
Our new Motto
Where to next???
A few days in Nashville & back to Michigan for a month to see family & friends.....AND then to Nova Scotia for the summer
