The Gulf Coast - - - Orange Beach Alabama
November 9The drive from Atlanta to Alabama is a great one day run south to the Gulf of Mexico. There was frost on the truck when we left Atlanta early Sunday, but by 5.00 PM it was shorts and tee-shirt weather, [75 F.]
We found a KOA campground and settled in after a walk to the waterfront on a Lake that opens into the Gulf of Mexico.
By 9.30 next morning we were at Jack and Sue's home at Orange Beach, about 25 miles west of The Pensacola Navy/Marine base, which by the way is the home of The Blue Angels. If I have to explain who the Blue Angels are, forget it.
First an explanation of who Jack and Sue are: Jack is Fellette's cousin. Jack was born in Vancouver, served in the Canadian Navy in the 50's. He worked for McDonalds in Vancouver very early on and worked his way up the executive rungs. He ended up as the Regional Vice president of New Orleans Region. He and his wife Sue, [who was also in the McDonalds corporate structure] owned five stores after they left the corporate side of the company. In 1999 they sold the last of the stores and are now retired.
We visited them before in 1999, when, at that time, the home we stayed in was a vacant lot. The home is on an island connected by a bridge to the mainland. It is an absolutely gorgeous home, very tastefully decorated by themselves. The back overlooks the lake, [Perdido Bay], the front overlooks the strip of land that separates them from the Gulf of Mexico.
Last year Hurricane Katrina was in the area, but slightly west. They survived that with superficial landscape and minor roof damage. The last hurricane, for them, was Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Hurricane Ivan was brutal to Jack and Sue, they were without power for a week and stuck on the island, not knowing what the situation was outside. The subsequent days after the hurricane there were very traumatic for the residents. The last few days as we have been squired around, Jack has been pointing out the sometimes-not-too-obvious destruction of Ivan; the vacant lots where homes and businesses once were, and lack of trees any bigger than large shrubs in some areas.
Massive reconstruction and new construction buoys the economy here, that is somewhat seasonal with snowbirds, spring breakers and summer timers. The hurricane situation the last few years are hopefully a blip in the frequency, and locals don't seem to be discouraged by the hurricanes any more than people in Vancouver are concerned about the earthquake situation out there.
Jack, who is the same age as me, is an active man and has acquired a job to take care of any idle time. He is a volunteer at the Pensacola Museum of Aviation. He helps restore vintage and historic aeroplanes. I was in heaven as he proudly showed us through the restoring facilities, then the museum, and then the Imax Theatre.
He spends three days a week there. His latest project was restoring the Rotary Engine in the picture. The facilities are very impressive, the hanger is about 75,000 square feet, full of neat stuff. Like the Jap Zero, a Coronado that was Admiral Halsey's personal craft. It is a converted B-25. Tucked beneath it's massive wings was a Lougheed Electra like Amalia Eherhart tried to circumnavigate the world just before WW ll. The Coronado, that is estimated to take 15 years to restore, was the one that flew the Admiral into Tokyo Bay to accept the Japanese surrender in 1945.
Jack and Sue live in the heart of some of the best fresh seafood in the world. We have been subjected to some absolutely wonderful meals in our short time here. Last night it was soft-shelled crabs, the night before Creole Shrimp. Tonight, scallops. I am in heaven. Sorry Andy.
The pictures are a smattering of the last few days adventures.
The photos may be a bit disjointed but they are almost self explanatory. The picture of Fellette, Sue and jack is a not too good picture of his latest restoration, a rotary vintage engine, [nice job]. We had lunch in a Philippino Cafe, decorated with memorabilia from the Officers Bar when the US left the Philippines some very few years ago.
posted by Doug and Fellette @ 7:05 PM
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