Gulf Shores - Orange Beach - Houston - Pensacola

December 1

What an incredible DEI compliant approach to designating bathrooms.  Even if you want to argue with it, you can't because you can't stop laughing.

Gulf Shores / Orange Beach

Time has passed since my last post simply because days and nights have been filled with activities and delights.  The rivers were long and constant.  There was not a lot of variation or excitement to them.  Arriving in Mobile Bay changed all that.  The world exploded with color, people and fun.  Our adventure changed from a singular path to a multiverse of options and decisions and we were up for the challenges.  

After having the Shorebilly serviced we headed to Gulf Shores Al, home of the incredible and amazing Jerry and Rosemary Reichstetter.  Anyone who has spent time around me has heard me quote him many times.

He might hate this picture, but there is nothing more classic than a pic of Jerry handing out a Yuengling.  The Reichstetters and us have been friends since 1998, at which time Jerry was threatening to sue the association I was president of.  Turns out sitting down to a beer is a great way to settle issues.  We wined and dined with them to great pleasure.

No, Jerry doesn't smile....

Several times throughout this blog I have said "If you want a great vacation spot...".  Well, Gulf Shores / Orange Beach are definitely to be considered.  This area is home of NCAA Beach Volley Ball Champoinship and there is a reason why.  The beaches are white silicon sand over 100 yards wide and stretch for miles and miles.  Stunning.

And OH the sunsets ....

But I wound't be doing the area justice to simply talk about the beauty and fun we had.  The locals proved to be warm and welcoming to us transiting through their community.  Let me explain.

We had a major failure of boating etiquette by actually having a schedule.  This also breaks several rules of retirement, but I digress.  Terri had to leave the boat to attend the baby shower of our youngest son's wife, Emily (yea Emily).  Additionally, we targeted grabbing a rental and driving to Houston Tx to spend Thanksgiving with our son Aubrey.  We needed a place to tie the boat for an extended period of time.

The way slip rentals go is per foot per day.  I have a 35 foot boat so at $2.50/foot I would be $87.50 / day.   Some marinas charge $3.50 per foot and up.  The rate varies location to location but you can see that two+ weeks can get very expensive.  I quickly discovered that a monthly rate is on a very different scale with a typically  month cost ~= 7 days.   Therefore, a marina charging $2.50 /foot/day might be $16/foot/month or $560 for the Shorebilly.

Now, back to the locals and their kindness and generosity.  Through another Looper buddy I was introduced to a gent named Scott Wallet.  Scott wears many hats and does many things, but his passion is helping others.  One way he does this for loopers is connecting his neighbors with dock space with those of us that need it.  This lead me to Joe and Kathie Fierro, a delightful and gracious couple.

Joe is a retired FBI agent turned Orange County chief of police (now retired again).  He had a beautiful home with a slip perfect for the Shorebilly.  That AND he offered it to me for a month for ~1/2 the price of marinas.  It was a perfect space and no doubt the boat would be safe.

Point of pride here;  My running joke is that the slip fit like OJ's glove.  The bumpers literally touched on both sides.  I got it into the slip solo without banging anything.  

Lastly, Joe and his bride extended to me, and then Terri and I when she got back, the hospitality of nightly cocktails in their house.  WHAT A BLAST.  Joe had so many interesting stories of his career and his taste in bourbon was outstanding.  Unfortunately,  I did not get a pic of the two of them (too much bourbon I guess) but we really did enjoy their company.

Thanksgiving - Houston Tx

If you are going to grab a rental in the south, nothing screams Shorebillies more than a cherry red Dodge Charger.  You can see Daisy Duke and I leaning against the car ....  YeeHaaaa!!!!

Surprisingly, this thing without the Hemi was still a beast and yet delivered 32ish MPG on the highway.  It was actually quite comfortable.

Aubrey welcomed us with open arms letting us stay at his place.  He is really building a wonderful world for himself.  He teaches Military Science to ROTC at the University of Houston while also getting his masters.  He is dating a lovely accomplished lady who, along with her daughter,  embraced us as dear friends.  AND, OH the food.  Aubs cooked most everything himself.  WOW, what a spread.

Pensacola

We were welcomed back to Alabama with many loopers insisting we meet them for Docktails at Lulus.  So we did... several nights in a row.  Sigh, I can resist anything except temptation.

  

But, the Shorebilly is NOT a marina queen (unlike Never Home ... Hope you guys are reading this) so it was time to get underway.  One of the recommended anchorages was Ft. McRee.  WOW.  Totally cool spot.  GIANT white sand dunes (much bigger than simple beaches) and white sand islands.

These two pictures belong side by side because the area was to big for one shot.

                     How to make trash look great!

But what could be cooler about an anchorage than having the Blue Angles practice right over your head.  TOTALLY COOL!!!!

Shalimar

Today's forecast is for rain so we slipped over to the Air Force Armament Museum.  Our country has developed scary machines.  Go USA....

   (I wonder what this button on this NUKE does ....)

Well folks, that's all for now.  I promise the next will not be so long in between.

Happy Holidays with love,

Aubrey and Terri