In Limbo

Rain coming in off the Gulf

It’s been one month since I last posted. Unfortunately, not a lot has changed since then.

We’re still spending much of our time just hanging around the Suite Pea. Some of that has been due to the amount of rain we’ve been getting, and some has been spent with Don still trying to get his mother’s home and bills squared away. Dealing with state appointed guardians and lawyers who won’t return phone calls has been an absolute headache. To make matters worse, he is also having to deal with a squatter at his mom’s who is taking her things and selling them without permission. The local police say there is nothing they can do, that it is a family matter. Needless to say, Don is frustrated beyond belief.

Don & I, Dennis & Janet
Carol & Pat, at LuLu’s

On a lighter note, we did manage to get together twice with other full timing friends. Carol and Pat were in Gulf Shores for a brief couple of days and contacted us for a meet up. Knowing that Janet and Dennis who were still in the area and are friends of theirs too, we invited them to tag along. LuLu’s on the intercoastal was the restaurant of choice for the evening.

The Flora Bama

               

Interior of main bar. Those are bras & bikini tops hanging above.

               

The best part of Flora Bama is the view

Our second outing was with Janet and Dennis before they pulled up stakes to move on to New Orleans. We met first at the rv resort where they were parked. They really liked the place and wanted to give us a tour of the facilities. I have to admit we were impressed and we can definitely see ourselves camping there in the future. Afterwards we ventured over to the Flora Bama to check it out. Flora Bama is a famous and very popular dive bar, but honestly, not a one of us could figure out what all the hype was about. Since the purple flags were out, Janet suggested we drive down to the Gulf State Park pier to see if we could spot any marine life near the beach. A great idea. We were rewarded with not one, not two, but three sharks swimming in the waters below. I’m afraid I didn’t have the best camera with me to capture photos of the sharks with but you can still get an idea of our sightings from the few bad photos I’ve posted. We also spotted a few large crabs, jellyfish, and two schools of rays.

Gulf State Park pier

  Sharks in the water  

Soon it was time to say goodbye. We exchanged the usual hugs and promises to see each again somewhere down the road.

               

We took one day to find the perfect spot to do our Christmas 2015 photo for our Christmas cards. We found it at the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Perdido Key. I’ll save our family Christmas photo to post at a later date but I will tease you with a few of my favorite photography muse.

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Our Tucker

One sunshiny afternoon, on a whim, we decided to take a drive along Mobile Bay’s eastern shore from Fort Morgan north to the quaint little town of Daphne gawking at all of the picturesque bayside estates along the way. Stopping at one of the many boat ramps to eat the lunch I’d packed, one bush caught my eye. It was filled with Monarch butterflies. When a breeze would blow, they’d lift off their leafy perch only to resettle again on another stem nearby. It was fascinating to watch. I have no idea what attracted so many of them to congregate here, perhaps it was the type of bush itself.

A Butterfly Bush?

               

As I was taking photos of the Monarchs, a movement below caught my eye. I stood quietly observing this Great Blue Heron as he patiently fished for his meal.

As sunset drew nigh we stopped at the little city park near the Fairhope pier to watch Old Sol make his descent in the western sky. It was the perfect ending to lovely day.

Don’s month of physical therapy didn’t do much to improve his shoulder problem. The doctor ordered a contrast MRI done and we learned the results yesterday at Don’s follow up appointment. Dr. Carter suspects that the discomfort is being caused by the old hardware Don received in a previous operation. So next Wednesday, Don will be having out patient surgery. Our hope is that it will be a minor fix and his pain will soon be gone.

More thunderstorms continuing to move through today with high winds expected. We’ve been under a tornado watch off and on since 2 am this morning making for a restless night and a long day. Our “To Go” bag is near the door if we need to make a hasty exit. Until next time….

here’s lookin’ at you kid.

Shrimp boat on the Intercoastal waterway.