The Tiny House Travelers

Somehow, whenever we plan to return to Ohio something goes wrong and we end up scrambling to find accommodations and coming back early. This time was absolutely no exception. Thanks to the already heavy rainfall and the additional accumulations predicted over the following week, we evacuated out of Cincinnati and made the drive up to Plain City, Ohio about 5 days ahead of schedule. The trip wasn’t very long but it was stressful- thanks to our early departure, we didn’t have time to have the brakes looked at so we ended up having to drive the entire trip with the trailer brakes disengaged which also meant no brake lights or taillights or turn signals. This is one of those times that driving separately really comes in handy – we were able to stay on the phone the entire trip and when John needed to change lanes he told me and I got over first and then let him over. After what felt like eternity (but was actually less than 2 hours), we pulled into Pastimes Park where we have stayed each time we have come “home”.

On our first evening in town, we drove into my parents’ house for what has become known as “Transient Christmas”. Because we don’t usually have a way to receive mail while we are travelling, we order a lot of things to be sent to our family and we just pick everything up when we swing through town. These could be special clothing items like the “Johnny Hockey” shirts that Homage did in memory of Blue Jackets player Johnny Gaudreau who was tragically killed last year. Or special edition Funko Pops that we want to collect. Or leatherbound copies of our favorite books. Or pottery made by my cousin Austin in Florida. Or any number of other things. It’s always fun because, by the time we get to pick the things up, we have forgotten most of what we ordered but since we are the ones who did the ordering it’s guaranteed to be something we like. It’s like give surprise gifts to ourselves and the event is celebrated whenever we pass through Ohio on our journeys- hence the name “Transient Christmas”. I knew we had had a lot of things sent there but I wasn’t quite prepared for the MASSIVE PILE of things my Dad carried out to us.

We got back to the tiny house that evening and were keeping an eye on the weather. We were supposed to get some pretty bad storms through the area and we had learned a few days before in Cincinnati how hard it is to grab all of the animals in a hurry when the sirens start going off so we preemptively gathered everyone we could (Pallas still managed to escape) and spent several hours sheltering in the shower house.

It worked out well because we assembled all of the carriers and used them that night but bad weather was still in the forecast for the rest of the week. We usually break down all of the carriers and nest them inside each other for easier storage and travel but, since the site we were on didn’t have full hookup we weren’t using our shower so we just left everything assembled and stacked them in there. Normally, most of the cats are terrified of the carriers and scream the entire time they are in one. But Boots decided that the stack of crates made a great clubhouse and spent a lot of time just hanging out there.

We also wasted no time getting together with friends. We drove in for a game night with our friends Chris and Amanda one evening and got to love on their adorable dogs and eat pizza. We played a board game and then some Mario Party. John and I did okay at the board game but I came in dead last for Mario Party. No surprises there though! I am terrible at all video games.

I visited my Aunt Penny’s house and got to love on her cats (she has two sphinx cats and they were so wrinkly and perfect!). Their names are Dobby and Winkie and I really wanted to steal them- especially Winkie! She just wanted to curl up on my chest and sleep and that was absolutely fine by me.

After visiting my Aunt and getting all blissed out on kitty snuggles, I met my friend Donna for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. I hadn’t eaten there in ages but it was just as good as I remembered and it was so much fun catching up with a friend IN PERSON!

I love seeing all of my friends and family but I think my favorite part of the week was going to one of my “niece” Joey’s track meets. She started doing shot put this year and I was so happy to get the chance to see her throw. I don’t really know much about track events but I was impressed with how well she did even if she was a little hard on herself for not doing as well as she had hoped she would.

Because we had a crazy week between moving unexpectedly then not having full hookup, I was really behind on my laundry by the end of the week so we went out for dinner at one of our favorite Columbus restaurants- CM Chicken – and then hit the laundromat and grocery store. While I did the grocery shopping, I dropped John off at the laundromat and he washed and dried our clothes. The laundromat was also right next door to an international grocery and he found a delicious Pepsi that was amazing! We aren’t entirely sure but we think it is bamboo and yuzu. Whatever it was, we really liked it.

We also took advantage of arriving in town early to hit a Blue Jackets hockey game. John is a HUGE Jackets fan and we were excited to be able to make it to one of the last home games of the season. We grabbed dinner from the North Market (a food hall with a ton of great vendors located just a few blocks from the arena). John got dumplings from Momo Ghar and I got a cheesesteak from Marlow’s then we headed back to the arena to find our seats.

We had originally purchased tickets way up in the nosebleed section (cheap!) and were seated in the second to last row of the entire arena. Then some friends texted us and invited us down to sit with them in some empty seats in their section – in the very front row! I cannot thank James, Theresa, Liz, and Joe enough for hooking us up! We happily moved down to join them and enjoyed our first game on the glass. And the Jackets put on a good show, too!

On Saturday, My best friend Liz and I had appointments for “bestie” tattoos. But because we are both weird and have bonded over our shared weirdnesses- we did things a little differently. Did we get little hearts? No. Friendship bracelets? No. We did what every normal pair of 40 something year old best friends do….we got tattoos of each other’s favorite dinosaurs of course! Liz is a stegosaurus fan and I love a good t-rex so that’s what we got. And I couldn’t be happier.

The next day I did an adult Easter Egg hunt with my Mother-in-Law, Vicki, and my Sister-in-Law, Cassie. The hunt was at a winery in Wooster, OH and it was awesome! They had everyone start inside and had a few eggs on the tables to get us started. Then they took us all outside where they had hidden hundreds of plastic eggs. Most of the eggs had candy inside but some had special prizes including a free wine glass, free bottle of wine, free wine flight, free snack and more. They even had one special golden egg with a Grand Prize basket but none of us found that one. I came home with two wine glasses, two coupons for wine flights (one of which we did there together and the other that I am saving for a future visit), and some cheese and bagel chips.

We also went out for a nice lunch afterwards at a local restaurant- but I can’t remember the name of it now! I did get to try a new food, though, so that made my day even better. I ordered a salad with French dressing with my meal and the waitress asked me if I wanted red or white French? I have had red and orange but I had never heard of white French dressing and I told her so. She said, “well, you have to try it!” so I did. It was so good. I can’t really describe the taste but it was so good that I immediately hopped online to find out where I could get some. Apparently, it’s a local food from Akron, Ohio and is only made by one or two manufacturers. I managed to find a recipe though and will definitely be giving that a try.

On Monday, Harley had surgery for a tumor on her leg that needed removed. While she was under, they checked a few of her other little “lumpy bumpies” and found a mast cell tumor on her side. I gave the okay to have it removed as well. I was so shocked when I picked her up because it looked like she had been sawed in half and stitched back together! The vet, our friend Dr. Thompson, said that she felt good that she got it all and that the other lumps she looked at were all likely fatty tumors. Hopefully this is poor Harley girl’s last surgery for a while. It was really hard keeping her calm so she could heal but I think she enjoyed the extra attention and treats that we spoiled her with.

Because of Harley’s incisions, we spent most of our second week in Ohio at home at the campground. She HATES wearing a cone and will practically kill herself trying to get it off so we decided to just stay home and watch her to make sure she healed properly. We did take her to my Grandma’s house for a visit during the week and she enjoyed some time getting spoiled there, too.

The following weekend was Easter and John’s Aunt Michelle and Uncle William came up to camp with us. We went out to dinner the first night then sat around the fire that evening. On Saturday, John’s mom and his cousin Logan joined us at the campground for dinner and more fireside sitting and on Sunday we drove into Newark to have dinner with my parents and we got to see my sister and meet her boyfriend for the first time. And my Grandma came through- I had requested one of her bunny cakes and she made me one in all of its lopsided glory! I know it sounds bad but I love how she tries to make the cake cute and perfect and it always comes out looking hilarious in the best ways. The various bunny cakes over the years are some of my favorite memories!

All in all it was a pretty great couple of weeks.

We did do one other thing during this time but we will save that for another post. Until next time!

On March 30th, we left Cave City Kentucky bound for Winton Woods Campground in Cincinnati, Ohio. We were planning to spend about a week here before moving up to the Columbus area and were looking forward to enjoying several area attractions. We had tickets for a baseball game and planned to visit the Cincinnati Zoo and several nearby parks that had been on my list for a while. As our trips through Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana often do, it DID NOT go according to plan. But more on that later.

Just on the Kentucky side of I-71, I called John because I smelled something hot. I had been smelling it off and on for a while and we were in heavy traffic so it was hard to tell for sure but I was really afraid it was coming from the tiny house or the truck.

John got off the highway at the next exit and we found a gas station to pull into and check things out. One of the axles (the same one that almost got us killed the last time we visited Kentucky, actually) was burning hot. John was able to jack up the house and get the tire off and discovered that the brakes were locking up. We were only about 20 minutes from our destination so the plan was for him to disconnect the trailer brakes and rely only on the truck brakes to make the rest of the drive then reassess the situation when we got to the campground. Solid plan.

For some reason, he got the tire off fine but then couldn’t get it back on and the jack was as high as it would go so he had to leave Harley and I with the tiny house and the truck in the gas station parking lot while he took the car and went in search of another jack. It took a while (and two or three different stores) but he finally got what he needed, came back and got the tire back on the house, and we drove to our campground.

After the stress of the day and the threat of severe storms overnight still ahead of us, I demanded to be taken to my favorite restaurant, Pappadeaux’s Seafood Kitchen, which was conveniently just about 15 minutes away from the campground. Thankfully, it was just what I needed and my mood was soon improved. I ate until I thought I would die-stuffing myself with Fondeaux (delicious cheese dip with shrimp, crawfish, onion and mushroom). We had plans for the next night (Monday) but then on Tuesday after John got off work we would figure out the brakes on the house. Perfect.

Sunday evening we were sitting in the house when the tornado sirens started going off. We managed to round up Harley and 5 of the 6 cats and head to the restrooms for shelter. We tried to catch Pallas but she is still practically feral and will not allow us to touch her. She ran under the couch and got up inside of it via the hole she has made in the lining. She was as safe as she could be and we had to think of everyone else so we left her behind. By the time John got the cat carriers loaded into the car there was no room or him or Harley so he sent me ahead with the cats to drive to the bathroom and he and Harley ran to the shelter through the pouring rain. We all arrived and got the cats unloaded into a large stall. We spent about two hours in the restroom that night with John returning to the house once to try again for Pallas but still no luck. Thankfully, we all came through just fine and got back to the tiny house around 1am and passed out. Well, most of us slept. Poe cowered under the blankets between my legs for most of the rest of the night. He doesn’t like move days or storms or being in his carrier so it had been a REALLY bad day for him.

On Monday we were exhausted but also excited because we had purchased tickets for the Red’s game that night. I hadn’t been to a Cincinnati game since I was a teenager and I don’t think John had ever gone before. It was cold and there was a chance of rain so we splurged on parking and parked in the garage right under the ball park. It worked out perfectly because the staircase closest to our car brought us up right outside the gate closest to our seats. We enjoyed hotdogs, and nachos, and Skyline Chili and watched the Reds absolutely dominate. We left in the 7th inning because we were freezing cold (it was around 40 degrees) and went home to rest.

On Tuesday, we decided to head to one of our favorite Cincinnati shops- Jungle Jim’s. This store has two locations in the Cincinnati area although we have only been to the same location each time. It’s a giant international grocery store with pretty much anything you could ever imagine inside. John and I tend to be pretty adventurous eaters and some of the spices and ingredients are hard to come by on the road so we like to stock up at Jungle Jim’s when we can. We had dinner at one of the restaurants in the food court area and then shopped for a few hours picking up several things on our list and a few requests from our nieces before heading home.

On Wednesday, we woke up ready to tackle the problem with the brakes…until we found out that our campground was being evacuated due to heavy rain. We had already had several bad storms and a lot of rainfall and were expecting more over the next week. Our park is located near a Corps of Engineers dam and they planned to open the dam to prevent flooding the surrounding neighborhoods. That was a swell idea except that opening the dam meant flooding the park where our house now stood. The park officials said that no definite decision had been made but it would likely happen that evening or the next morning. Having been through a rapid evacuation amid rising floodwaters already (thanks, Mississippi) we decided to go ahead and prepare to leave immediately and avoid the chaos later.

Luckily, we were able to book a spot for the next few days at our next campground in Plain City so we didn’t really have to go out of the way at all- we were just moving about 5 days early. And we still hadn’t fixed the brake issue.

The only thing to do was to make the drive, once again, without the aid of the trailer brakes and to rely on the truck to stop the house if needed. Disconnecting the brakes also meant that John didn’t have any turn signals or brake lights on the house so we ended up staying on the phone together the entire trip with me following behind. If John needed to change lanes, he told me so I could put on my blinker, get over, then let him get over in front of me. We just prayed that nothing would happen that would cause him to have to slam on the brakes because then our house was in danger of jack-knifing. But the trip went smoothly (good luck for once!).

While it wasn’t under the ideal circumstances or in any way according to our plans, it was nice to be back in the Columbus area and “at home”. And speaking of home, Poe was so traumatized that upon arriving in Ohio he promptly took up residence INSIDE of my shirt for comfort. I think he would have crawled inside my skin if he had been able. At least we would be sitting still for a little while for him to recover.

After the long, boring trip from Mobile to Cullman, I was dreading moving again. Especially so soon. But thankfully, the drive from Cullman, Alabama to Cave City, Kentucky actually went really smoothly. I had requested an audiobook from the library (I still use the library from our hometown for my audiobooks and ebooks) and it came in so I had something to listen to on the drive (Spare by Prince Harry) and, aside from just a few minor slowdowns in northern Alabama and again around Nashville, it was pretty smooth sailing. We took a short break just north of Nashville for gas and bathrooms but were back on the road pretty quickly.

We arrived in Cave City, Kentucky and the nicest man came out to greet us at Rock Cabin Camping. The “campground” is really just his back yard but it is level and clean, the sites are comfortably sized and have full hookups, and it’s right down the road from Mammoth Cave National Park- the whole reason for our visit. He gave us our pick of campsites, loved on Harley and told us all about the local stray cats that he feeds. We are only here for 10 days but we immediately felt at home.

We set up the house- and again got to leave the truck hooked up which saved a ton of time- and then went off in search of dinner. We found a Mexican restaurant nearby that was rated decently well and stuffed ourselves until we couldn’t move. Then we came home and relaxed all evening.

The next morning, I was all ready and eager for adventure. Until I fell off of the front steps to the house. I had my phone in my hand and must have just been distracted. My right foot slipped off the side of the landing and I came down on my butt on the metal “porch” before flipping over like a pancake and dropping about 3 feet to land on my stomach in the gravel. I was able to get my knee under me so I didn’t do too much damage to my stomach, chest, or face but I did land on my phone and shattered the screen protector. I was pretty sore for a few days and had a bruised bum and a scraped leg but no lasting damage. I spent the rest of the day Friday on the couch on the heating pad.

John was kind enough to go out to grab dinner for us and we pigged out on BBQ from Bucky Bee’s BBQ. we got the sampler platter so we got to try a little bit of everything plus a half order of Fried Green Tomatoes. Nothing was really life changing but it was decent and filling and affordable.

We had been scheduled for a cave tour at Mammoth Cave National Park on Saturday but we didn’t feel like I would be able to keep up with the pain I was still having in my neck and back so we opted to check out the nearby towns, starting with breakfast at Betty’s Diner in Park City. We also visited a thrift shop and just cruised around a little. Our cave tour was rescheduled for the following Saturday, our last day in town.

On the way to the campground on Thursday, we had noticed a TON of rock shops and roadside attractions. I absolutely LOVE rocks so we spent the afternoon checking these out. I usually prefer to find my own rocks but I did end up buying a few really cool pieces while we were out.

We came back to the house and rested for a bit then drove into Bowling Green for dinner and to explore. We ate at Gerard’s Tavern and walked around the area. It was like an old-timey downtown with a grassy square and we really enjoyed the picturesque setting. We finally left and visited a comic shop (I bought some Funko Pops) and the Half Price Books Outlet (we bought some Cookbooks and four seasons of The Office on DVD for just $3 each!) then called it a day.

I still wasn’t feeling super active on Sunday we just did our grocery shopping and then lounged around the house all day. I was really disappointed at first but it worked out for the best. We had originally wanted to do several of the Mammoth Cave tours but, due to staffing shortages, there weren’t very many available so that allowed plenty of time to rest and recover from my fall. There are tons of other caverns and caves in the area that are open for tours and the Corvette Museum is in Bowling Green but we decided it was best to take it easy and just save our money for other adventures later on this year.

On Tuesday evening, we drove over to Mammoth Cave National Park to do a little hiking. We chose a short trail in the area of the rental cabins (as both myself and Harley were still a little sore from previous injuries) but we still had a great time. We got to see some pretty trees and the view overlooking the Green River was really pretty.

Finally, on Saturday the 29th we had our Cave Tour at Mammoth Cave National Park! We started out in the Visitor’s Center where they have a small museum. The museum features information about the history of the park and its many uses over the years. The caverns have been in use for hundreds of years! Near the entrance, there had been evidence of native peoples using the cave for shelter and there had even been some drawings on the walls. Minerals found in the cave had been used to make gunpowder for the war of 1812 and the Civil War.

The museum also featured artwork inspired by the caves and their stories- especially that of Floyd Collins who, in 1925, became trapped in Sand Cave while exploring and eventually died while awaiting rescue. His death, while tragic, did create international interest in the park attracting new visitors and leading to the creation of Mammoth Cave National Park in 1926 (although it was not fully established until 1941).

When it was time for the tour to begin, we met our guides at the designated spot outside the Visitor’s Center. We walked down a steep incline to the bottom of the hill then descended a long set of stairs into the cave itself. When you approach the cave entrance from the bottom of the hill you can feel the cold air blowing up out of the mouth of the cave and it seriously feels like opening a refrigerator door!

The first several sections off cave are in large, open rooms and several displays have been established there as monuments and memorials and to provide information about the former operations mining saltpeter.

During an early portion of the tour while you are still in the larger rooms, the guide will tell you a little more about the history of the caves. To show what it was like before all of the electric lights were installed, our guide turned off the lights and lit a single, small lantern. In the early days of the park, guests would be given a lantern to carry and that was their only light source. The cave is so dark and the light so small that it was impossible to see more than a few feet around you by the light of that lantern which meant that seeing upcoming obstacles was quite difficult and the tours were very dangerous- especially in the sections with large drop-offs or holes in the ground!

After turning on the lights and venturing further into the caverns, guests encounter several narrow, steep passages descending even deeper into the earth. Then you come to Fat Man’s Misery which is a very narrow, twisty passage where you often have to walk sideways while ducking down! I am only 5’3″ and still had to crouch and crabwalk through a lot of it- it was especially hard for John who measures up at 6′.

The tour was really fun but my only complaint is that you really spend most of the time walking. There isn’t a lot of time to stop and take photos or hear about individual formations or features but we still had a good time…until the very end when you have to climb 155 stairs to get back to the start of the cave and then go back up the stairs you first descended at the entrance AND THEN walk back UP the SUPER STEEP hill to get to the parking lot. We were thoroughly exhausted by the time we finished but still had a blast.

After all of the walking, we went home for a break and to walk Harley then treated ourselves to dinner in Bowling Green at Gerard’s Tavern again one last time before moving on to Cincinnati the next day.

And bonus- my friend Stephanie lives in Louisville and drove down to meet me for brunch one day! It was so great catching up with her in person!

We had originally been planning to leave Mobile on Saturday March 15th but had delayed an extra day due to the storms. While this was definitely the safest option for us, it meant cutting our already short stay in Cullman, Alabama by an additional day. We thought that we would be arriving on Saturday evening and would have all day Sunday to explore in addition to the weeknights on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after John finished work. We were scheduled to leave on Thursday. Losing that extra day really messed with our plans.

As I said in our last post, the 4.5 hour drive ended up being closer to 6 hours due to traffic. Once we arrived, we got the house settled and ran out for a quick dinner at Gold Corral (because we were starving and a lot of local places aren’t open on Sunday nights) then came back to the house and pretty much passed out for the night.

On Monday afternoon, we took a few minutes to walk around the campground. The Palomino RV Resort was a little on the smaller side but all of the sites were paved and very level. In fact, we were actually able to leave the house hooked up to the truck which saved us so much time setting up and tearing down- which was really nice since our stay was so short. There was a really nice rec room behind the office with arcade games, ping pong tables, and televisions. They also had a little laundromat and some of the nicest bathrooms I have ever seen.

Behind the campsites, there were two small lakes- one for fishing and one with a swimming beach. It looked like it would be a really nice retreat in the warmer months but it was cold and windy during our stay.

We spent Monday and Wednesday evenings doing our grocery shopping and just hanging out around the house. It was a really nice little break for us to just be able to relax.

We really only had time (and energy) for one adventure and we chose Rickwood Caverns State Park in nearby Warrior, Alabama. John got off work a little early on Tuesday afternoon and we made the 20 minute drive over. We arrived a little early and spent some time exploring above ground.

Because pre-gaming a strenuous walk through the caves with another strenuous walk above the caves didn’t sound like a great idea to me, I chose a nice spot along one of the trails and just sat on a rock in the sunshine, indulging my inner lizard. John chose to wander off and get lost for a while. Thankfully, they were doing some construction work at the park and he was able to navigate back to the Visitor’s Center by following the noise. If you aren’t sure of the terrain and have a tour booked at a scheduled time- don’t wander off.

Thankfully we made it in time for the tour and I’m so glad we did. The guide was really knowledgeable and friendly and we had a great time. The tour started with a walk up the hill and into a stone building that protects the cave entrance and then we descended a flight of stairs into the caverns themselves. A little background: no one really knows when the caves were first discovered as there isn’t really a lot of documentation about them. They simply were just always there and people knew about them but didn’t really care.

In the 1950’s, a Boy Scout Leader named Eddie Rickles and troop started exploring and mapping the caverns. It occurred to Mr. Rickles that this could be a cool commercial enterprise and he set out to make the cave a paid attraction. He partnered with Sonny Arwood for financial backing and enlisted the boy scouts to help widen and deepen the passageways, carve stairs, create the stone building that surrounds the cave entrance, and clear rubble from the pathways. In some of the passages, you can see where they used dynamite to blast their way through. Yes, this man had TEENAGE BOYS using DYNAMITE inside of UNDERGROUND CAVERNS. When I was in Girl Scouts, our troop leader (my mom) led us on some questionable adventures but never did we get to play with explosives. It is kind of impressive to see graffiti left behind by the scouts dating back to the 1950’s.

The caverns opened for public tours under the name “Rickwood Caverns” (a combination of the names Rickles and Arwood) in 1954 and ran until 1974 when the business folded due to lack of profits. The land was then purchased by the state of Alabama and reopened as Rickwood Caverns State Park.

We followed winding passages and would occasionally find ourselves in large open rooms. We have toured several caves on our travels but this one was a little different in that most of it is no longer a “living” cave. In a “living cave”, guests are prohibited from touching the walls and rock formations as they are still in the process of forming. The stone in a “living cave” will still appear wet and will be damp to the touch. The oils from human skin can clog the pores in the rock and prevent stalactites and stalagmites from growing. Our guide was excellent at not only pointing out different formations to us but also telling us what we could and couldn’t touch. We saw several amazing formations including a few natural bridges. My favorite was what the guide called “Cave Bacon”. It was a super thin sheet of rock with really cool stripes through it. They had placed a light on one side to show that it was so thin you could actually see the light through the rock. And it really did look like bacon. You can see it in the bottom right photo below- and remember, that light is on the opposite side of the rock from where the photo was taken. That’s how thin it is!

Among the features pointed out to us were several small fossils. These caverns were originally formed by an ancient river that flowed across the land and eroded the rock. Now, the caverns where guests walk are actually UNDERNEATH the original river bed. As a result, you can look up to see the the course that the river took AND to see fossilized sponge and coral. The guide showed us a few fossilized teeth and other aquatic organisms that had been preserved in the cavern walls.

And we didn’t only see evidence of extinct species- the cave is home to the Tri-Colored bat! We got to see several of these tiny little chicken nugget sized bats hanging from the cave ceilings as we progressed through the tour. They were so tiny and adorable!

The cave was nice and cool and the going was pretty easy – until we got to the very end which consists of a 110-step climb up the most narrow and steep stairs I have ever encountered in my life. They were also wet and muddy which made it that much more difficult to navigate as it felt that every step might be your last. The guide was not joking when he said this climb was “brutal”. We were all super winded by the time we reached the top but the guide was patient and encouraged us to stop for breaks along the way- thank goodness.

And unfortunately, that’s all we got to experience in the Cullman area. We have been told that there are several caverns and waterfalls and beautiful hiking areas but we just didn’t have time to see them. I said in the last post that we haven’t had our last visit to Mobile so maybe next time we can stop here and spend more time. But, Thursday morning arrived and it was time to move on to our next stop – Cave City, Kentucky.

Oh, and if there are any typos in this post- it’s because Herald supervised this writing VERY CLOSELY. While snoring. I didn’t have the heart to disturb her.

Somehow, we always find ourselves in the final stretch in a city with a thousand things left that we want to get done. No matter how much time we spend somewhere or how much we plan, we just never manage to fit everything in. I guess that always leaves the option of us coming back.

With Harley recuperating from her surgery, we wanted to keep an eye on her for a few days so on Saturday, I stayed home with her while John went to Pensacola to play in a Lorcana Tournament. For those that don’t know, Lorcana is a card game kind of like Magic: The Gathering but it is based on Disney characters. A new set released this week and John went to play and ended up taking 3rd place. Harley and I cleaned out my bedroom closet, caught up on laundry and dishes and napped on the couch. Also very productive stuff.

On Sunday, Harley was doing a little better so we decided to leave her at home so we could check a few things off of our list before leaving town. On the top of that list was to get an up-close look at the USS United States. This ship was built as an ocean liner in 1950 and 1951 and still holds the record for fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic Ocean in either direction for her maiden voyage in 1952. She was retired from service in 1969 and ownership changed hands several times over the next several decades. She was purchased by Okaloosa County, Florida with plans to sink her later this year or next year near Destin to form the World’s Largest artificial reef. In order to be rendered safe for the marine life that will eventually call her home, the ship must be thoroughly cleaned and gutted of any hazardous materials. This work will be completed by a company here in Mobile so she has been towed into Mobile Bay where that work will be completed over the next several months. She is very faded and rusted and looks like a beautiful, haunted phantom floating on the water.

We were able to get decently close and get a few photos although there was a fence between us and the bay. Of course the park where we are staying will be offering cruises to see her up close and personal but those start after we leave. Just our luck. We took several photos and left when we started to get hungry.

We have been to Mobile THREE times now and every time we have meant to try Dreamland BBQ but have never made it. We decided to remedy that situation today. The building doesn’t look like much from the outside but the food was really good. We each got a sampler platter (I got pork and smoked sausage and John got chopped chicken and ribs) and we got coleslaw, mac & cheese, baked beans, and fried okra to share. It was honestly all amazing and the service was really great too.

After lunch, we stopped by one of our favorite places in town- Cammie’s Old Dutch. This ice cream shop is a “must visit” location in Mobile. The ice cream is so good and it’s incredibly cheap. Last year, we visited several times and got milkshakes and sundaes and all kinds of crazy stuff. This year, with my diabetes diagnosis, we have been trying to eat a little better but we had to visit Cammie’s once. John got a single scoop of Moose Tracks and I got a scoop of Strawberry Cheesecake. It was heaven.

We ate our ice cream in the car and decided to make a drive down to Bayou La Batre. This town is the hometown of fictional character Bubba from “Forrest Gump” but is, like in the book, actually a huge shrimping town. Although they weren’t working, we did get to see a ton of shrimp boats docked in town.

We also drove over to a small park right on the coast and watched the fish and pelicans and sea gulls for a while.

On Wednesday night I went with John to his weekly Lorcana game in Spanish Fort. He had been playing with this group since we arrived in Foley back in November and was really sad to be leaving them. Everyone was so nice and really friendly. I hung out for the entire evening and John ended up winning all of his games.

We had a little bit of terror when we returned home, however. We walked in the door and there was blood everywhere. My first thought was that Harley had ripped out her stitches from her mass removal last week but they looked fine. We determined that she had been bleeding from the mouth. We couldn’t se an obvious wound but the blood kept coming from the lower right side- either her gums or her tongue or cheek. There was blood all over the couch and the blankets there and dripped across the floor. Harley’s legs and side were stained pink from her licking herself. We thought it was under control and went up to bed around 1230.

At 130, I rolled over and woke up when my foot hit something wet. There was a literal puddle of blood in my bed. I stayed up with her for a few hours and was about to wake up John for a trip to MedVet when it finally stopped bleeding. The next morning we looked in her mouth but couldn’t find anything obvious. She had a small bump on the side of her tongue but that was all. She was acting totally find and eating and playing with her toys like nothing had ever happened. As I write this almost a week later, we still have zero clue what happened.

We spent the next few days preparing for the bad storms that were forecast for Saturday. We were supposed to leave on Saturday morning to drive up the middle of Alabama to the town of Cullman but we were expecting strong winds, hail, severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes and the area of most danger was, of course, right where we were supposed to go. We decided to hunker down in our current camp site (which was still a 4/5 risk) instead of driving to the new park (which was 5/5). Our site at Historic Blakeley State Park was down in a little dip at the bottom of a hill and surrounded by hills and trees. The new campground – Palomino RV Resort in Cullman- is basically a big open field. We felt safer and more protected from the wind at Blakeley and, if things did get bad, we had friends there who had offered us shelter if we needed it. We took down the gazebo, put in the awning, and packed up all of the outdoor stuff.

On Thursday night we drove down to Foley to turn in our mailbox keys and check the mail one last time. We ended up picking up dinner from Cheeseburger Randy’s one last time as well. They have a very small menu but their food is absolutely delicious.

On Friday night, John went over to St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church to help with the fish fry. We have eaten there several times over the last two visits to Mobile and John heard that they needed help in the kitchen so he volunteered to help for our last visit.

I wanted to go and help cook, too, but it would have been too long to leave Harley and we didn’t want to push our luck with the recent surgery and the unexplained mouth bleeding. John went over around 2pm and got to work. He got to help with the fish, shrimp, oysters, grits, fries, and cobbler. He said that he had a great time and learned so much.

When I arrived at 5pm, he was working hard in the kitchen. I went through the line and got my dinner and he came out to talk for a few minutes when the line died down but, for the most part, he worked all evening. I went on home to feed the animals and he stayed to help clean up. He said that he learned so much and can’t wait to try our own fish fry when we get to Ohio to visit this spring.

On Saturday, we went out for breakfast and to pick up a few last minute necessities and then went home to wait for the storms. It was incredibly windy all day long and we were immediately glad we decided to postpone our move as it would have been impossible to drive with the house in tow with that wind. The rain started around 4pm and the worst of the storms hit us from 6pm until around 11pm. We did experience heavy rain, near constant thunder and lightning, and quarter-sized hail at one point but we made it through with no damage and were able to go to bed around midnight.

Sunday morning, we finished packing up and hit the road for Cullman. It was supposed to be a 4 hour and 10 minute drive but we passed a ton of accidents and stalled vehicles (not sure why because it was sunny and 75) so the 4 hour drive came in closer to 6. We did pass a lot of storm damage including downed trees and some debris in the road from time to time. We also passed an RV dealership where some of the RVs had been blown over or slammed into each other so that was definitely scary and made us realize how lucky we were that we decided to stay behind in Spanish Fort to ride out the storms. Apparently, a few tornadoes were confirmed along our route and near the new campground.

We arrived and setup the house – thankfully the sites are paved and level and were really easy to back into- then ran out for some quick food since we hadn’t eaten in about 8 hours. Then we came home and passed out because we were absolutely exhausted. We only have a few days at this stop but we needed rest before we could do anything.

Whew. We are finally entering into the final run of parades for this Mardi Gras season (or “Deep Gras” as it is locally known) and, while we have had a blast, we are also ready to get back to our normal lives. It is a lot of fun but trying to attend as many parades as possible really wears you out after a while and all of the eating on the go makes following a good meal plan almost impossible. It’s all worth it, though, to get to experience the fun for such a short time.

On Saturday March 1st, we had been invited to attend a party for one of the parades in Daphne. Our friend Maria, who took us to the ball and the float review party last week, invited us to watch the Shadow Barons with her at a private location along the parade route owned by one of her business associates. They had brought in chicken from Popeye’s and had homemade red beans & rice and all kinds of snacks and drinks. We set up lawn chairs in their parking lot and got front row seats to the parade that evening. While the parade was a little smaller than some of the ones we had been attending in Mobile, the floats were really cool and we really enjoyed ourselves.

The Sunday before Fat Tuesday is celebrated as Joe Cain Day in Mobile, with its center being the Joe Cain Procession (never called a parade). This has been called “The People’s Parade” because it is performed by citizens without being run by a specific Mardi Gras krewe. Although Carnival was first celebrated in Mobile in 1703, it eventually fizzled out in the city. Following the Civil War, a man named Joe Cain brought it back. Joe Cain Day has been celebrated since 1967. While most of the parades in the area are known for their elaborate floats, the Joe Cain Procession is made up of people walking. Sometimes they pull wagons or push carts or ride bicycles or scooters but for the most part it is all marchers.

We saw Dolly Parton impersonators, and all sorts of costumes. One group was dressed up as characters from the movie “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and one of them presented me with a plastic cockroach which I will choose to interpret as a high honor.

While the real Joe Cain was only married to one woman in his life and there is no evidence that he had a mistress (let alone a whole gaggle of them), the prominent groups in this procession are the Merry Widows and the Mistresses. Membership in both groups is secretive and they appear wearing heavy veils that completely cover their faces- the widows in black and the mistresses in red. In the morning, they pay their respects at the cemetery where Joe Cain is buried and they dance on the grave and usually have a staged fight between the widows and the mistresses. We didn’t get up early enough to make it to the cemetery but we sure did enjoy the procession.

Following the marchers, the Joe Cain Society parades with floats. These aren’t quite the elaborate floats that some of the other orders create but they make up for it with pure enthusiasm.

While we had gone downtown to watch the Joe Cain stuff, we also got to see the MAMGA (Mobile Alabama Mardi Gras Association) parade which was on an alternate route but it did intersect with the main parade route where we were. I wasn’t expecting it but we suddenly just found ourselves in the middle of a parade which really happens to us far more often than you would think. It was a smaller parade but still put on a good show.

We opted to skip the parades and events on Monday or Lundi Gras as it is commonly known because I had been fighting off being sick and we just wanted to take it easy before hitting the parades for the final day- a marathon of parades for Fat Tuesday. We did take advantage of the beautiful day to explore another part of our campground – the battlefield.

This was the site of an actual Civil War battle in 1865- one of the last battles of the war. The Battle of Fort Blakeley took place from April 2 to April 9 and resulted in the fort being surrendered to the Union army on the same day that Grant accepted the surrender of all Confederate troops under Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. While visiting Historic Blakeley State Park, you can still see many of the earthen fortifications used during the battle and efforts have also been made to preserve and restore the area of the fort. John, Harley and I had a great time exploring the main battlefield and the area where the fort had been.

We got up early on Tuesday and met some friends from Michigan who were also spending the winter in the Foley/Mobile area. David and Gayle and one of their family members, Dawn, decided to come up and join us for the big day. We met near our campground and had them follow us to our usual spot at the corner of Broad and Canal. David and Gayle had attended a few parades in some of the smaller towns surrounding Mobile but it was their first time at a parade in the city and it was Dawn’s first Mardi Gras parade all together.

The first parade rolled at 10am and was the Order of Athena. They had some really pretty floats and threw some great stuff. Although it was super windy, we really enjoyed this group.

Next up was the Knights of Revelry. They were supposed to roll at 1230 but I think they kicked off a little early due to the weather forecast which was absolutely fine by us. John had a friend in this parade so we made sure to yell and get his attention when his float came by. Getting his attention also meant getting the attention of most of his fellow riders, though, so we ended up getting showered with beads and packs of ramen noodles from all of them which was very much appreciated.

Following the Knights of Revelry, we had a few floats from King Felix III.

The final parade was the Comic Cowboys. This group tends to be very political and a little more adult. While we don’t always understand a lot of their stuff because much of it has to do with local politics, they are still a fun group to watch.

And finally, Mardi Gras was over. But we still weren’t done being busy for the week.

Harley was scheduled for a routine dental cleaning on Thursday so I got up early and drove her down to the vet in Foley. This is the same vet that did her tumor removal last year and we really like them. When I dropped her off, we also discussed a large lump that had been developing on her head just under her ear and the doctor said he would take a look while she was under for the teeth cleaning. I killed time doing some shopping and errand running around town since it was a 45 minute drive back to the campground and they called me to update me. They ended up removing the mass from her head in addition to her dental procedure as they felt that it was likely cancerous but the vet feels confident that he got it all and we shouldn’t have any issues going forward. It has been a rough recovery as her mouth was sore from the dental (she didn’t have any extractions but did have to have some gum tissue removed as it had grown up over her teeth in a few places, a quirk of pit bulls that can be exacerbated by her allergy medication) AND she now had 5 stitches in her head from the mass removal. It also didn’t help that she is a very smart dog and learned that the more she whined and cried, the more attention she got. (Please believe that Harley has a very high pain tolerance so we don’t believe she is actually that uncomfortable. Last year when she was hospitalized for a snake bite on her foot the vet told us that they firmly believed her leg could be falling off and she would still be determined to pull on the leash and sniff every bit of the yard when she went out). We were feeding her some extra canned food during her recovery and giving her soft human food as treats since eating her dry food might have been painful for a few days. She is still trying to get us to believe that she can’t eat her dry food several days later but I am starting to think that she might be playing us for additional chicken nuggets.

On Friday night we got to do something that we have been looking forward to since last year- attend a fish fry at St. Catherine’s! St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church has the absolutely best fish fry we have ever attended. We went last year on the advice of the people of Reddit and we fell in love- with the people and with the food. Everyone was so friendly and many of them still follow us on social media. We couldn’t visit Mobile during the Lenten season without attending a fish fry. For $12 you get a generous helping of the best fish I have ever had, grits, hush puppies, french fries and coleslaw. You can also add on soup but it sold out right as we got up to the front of the line. We also got some peach cobbler for dessert and it is also amazing. We started chatting with some people in line and they invited us to sit with them. Our friend Maria and her husband also came in after us so we moved to sit with them once they got through the line with their food. Two priests and several other members of the church also came over to talk with us. They always make us feel like one of the family and we are so happy that we will be able to visit one more time before we leave town next weekend.

So, with bellies full of fish and a dog with 5 stitches, we prepared for our final week in the Mobile area.

I am ending this post with a collage of all of the outfits I wore to Mardi Gras because I think I looked pretty darn cute.

We started our second week in Mobile with a full schedule for the week. Harley and I had plans to explore the park a little more on our daily walks, we had been invited to a Float Review Party and a Mardi Gras Ball for the order of LaShe’s, and there were still several parades to attend.

We started Saturday morning by heading to the Float Review. Each group that puts on a parade has a large warehouse or barn where they spend the year working on the floats for the next parade. It’s all pretty hush-hush so that the theme and floats (which change each year) are all a surprise for the parade. Just before the parade, they have an open house where guests can come and get a look at the floats. They have a DJ, games and activities for the kids, and food available for purchase. A very sweet lady named Maria that we met during a previous visit to the area had invited us to the party and to the ball for the Order of LaShe’s. We met her at the party and she was kind enough to buy our lunch. For $10 per person, you get a punch card with 10 slots. They had various items available for different numbers of punches. For 5 punches, they had red beans & rice. For 3 punches you could get a pulled pork sandwich, hotdog or hamburger. For 1 punch each, they had soda, water, a variety of chips, and Rice Crispy Treats. John had the red beans & rice and it was really good. I got a hotdog which really hit the spot. We also used the rest of our punches on snacks and drinks. John also enjoyed getting an up close look at the massive floats and was all over them.

And, of course, there were the themed floats. This year’s theme was different types of parties. They had floats for New Year’s Eve, Christmas, Halloween, Slumber Parties, and so many more. They were all amazing!

The building also had a small museum that had a history of the LaShe’s group dating back to their founding in 1989. It was really fun to go through and see the different photos and items from the previous years.

We had plans to attend the parades all weekend but John’s foot had been hurting and we were afraid that he was headed for a goat flareup so we spent Saturday afternoon and evening at home watching television and taking it easy. We really wanted to go to the Sunday parades but it was pouring rain all day and John’s foot still wasn’t 100% so we decided to just stay home again.

On Monday, Harley and I took a long walk (about a mile and a half) around the park. We started at the Old House site, cut through the woods and walked the backside of the earthen fortifications along the skirmish lines and then walked part of the Confederate Breastworks Trail over to the Tensaw Tent Campground and then circled back around to the car which we had left at the Old House Site. It was a really peaceful and relaxing walk and we saw the most gorgeous oak tree ever. I could have honestly spent forever in its shade.

Monday night was the Order of Venus and Many Faces parades. They ran back to back but they were both smaller groups. While a lot of groups make their own floats each year, some of the smaller groups will rent floats from the other orders so a lot of the floats that went Monday night were ones that we had already seen. They also didn’t have very many bands so it went pretty quickly.

Tuesday night was the big event we had been waiting for – the parade for Order of LaShe’s and their ball! Mardi Gras Balls are formal events that are held by each krewe or order and, in Mobile at least, are held immediately following that groups’ parade. The members ride on the floats then hurry back to the party to put on skits, dance, eat, drink and celebrate. Many orders crown royalty for the year and their costumes and gowns are so elaborate and incredible – many cost tens of thousands of dollars. Anyone can attend a parade for whatever group they like (we tend to go to as many as possible) but you have to purchase or be gifted tickets to the ball from a member of the particular order.

Lucky for us, our friend Maria who had taken us to the Float Review treated us to tickets to the ball! The entire reason that we travel is to meet new people and try new things so to be able to do this was absolutely amazing. We don’t really have things like this back home in Ohio (at least, none that I was ever invited to!) so we didn’t know what to expect but Maria was super helpful and gave us all of the information ahead of time.

Dress is formal attire which means tails for men and a floor length ballgown for the women. We picked out our clothes all the way back in December so we were ready. John rented his tux from Men’s Warehouse and I bought my dress from David’s Bridal. Both stores made it super easy! We gave them the date of our event and they made sure to look up any dress code items to make sure we got the right stuff. John’s tux rental included the pants, shirt, vest, jacket, tie, socks and shoes, and cufflinks which really made things simple for us. John helped me pick out a gorgeous green dress and a few matching accessories and, I have to say, I think we looked pretty spiffy.

We got dressed and had a mini photo shoot at the campground before heading downtown to the parade. This year, the ball was held at the Mobile Convention Center so we parked at one of the garages that are attached to the hotel across the street and used the elevated pedestrian bridge to get over there after the parade.

The parade was a great time and it was really neat seeing the floats all lit up! We had already gotten a look at them during the Float Review Party but seeing them at night, full of riders tossing throws, and all lit up was so different from seeing them crowded into a warehouse.

The ball was a lot of fun. There were a few kinks because this was their first year having it at this location and it also appeared something happened and a lot of the members were running late getting back but it was still a good time. They let all of the guests in and we found tables to sit at. Music was playing and there was an open bar while we waited for the members to finish the parade and get back.

Once the members returned, they performed some dances and announced some of the senior members. I didn’t get to see any royalty in their super fancy gowns so that was a little disappointing but just seeing everyone in their formal attire was wonderful.

After the introductions and dance numbers, a live band took over and the dance floor opened up. They also started serving finger foods and we enjoyed some cheese, meatballs, pretzels, cold cuts, dips and popcorn while dancing and socializing. And of course, we took tons of photos.

Because we knew that we would be out late at the ball on Tuesday night, John had scheduled a day off on Wednesday. We slept in, then went out for breakfast and shopping. We visited Toomey’s which is a Mardi Gras supply store and bought a few souvenirs to take back to Columbus with us this spring. We also stopped at Lupercalia Art Society, which is one of my favorite places in Mobile. This art gallery is in a beautiful building on Dauphin Street downtown and is absolutely full of beautiful art from local people. We have yet to leave there empty handed and this time was no exception- we bought a few pieces and had to completely rearrange our art wall to make everything fit but it was worth it.

On Thursday night, we attended the parade for the Mystic Stripers. I absolutely loved their floats but they were a little aggressive with throwing things and we spent most of the parade trying to protect ourselves. Our strategy is normally to catch everything we can but for this parade we just protected our faces and picked things up off the ground afterwards.

By the end of the week, we were both pretty exhausted so we stayed in Friday night and streamed the parade from home while eating Chinese food from a local carryout place. John occasionally threw things at me to make it feel like I was really at the parade. His dedication to my happiness is really something, lol.

Wow, going back and writing this it really seems like all we do is go to parades…and that’s basically true. Mardi Gras is one of my favorite times of the year but lord, it’s a busy couple of weeks. Join us next time for what? MORE MARDI GRAS PARADES and some fun around the campground PLUS the best fish fry ever.

On Saturday, February 25th we made the move from Alabama Coast Campground in Foley to Historic Blakeley State Park in Spanish Fort, Alabama – just across the causeway from Mobile. The drive was only about 45 minutes and was pretty uneventful- until we arrived at the park.

We were assigned site number 28 and when we pulled in at around 1pm, someone was already in our site. We called the office and they sent out a ranger to let the people know that they had to move. Apparently, they had been here for a little bit and had been told they needed to move to another site as we had already reserved this spot for the month. They weren’t home when we got there so we had to wait for the ranger to call them and for them to return to their camper, pack everything up, and move to the new spot before we could move in. It ended up taking over an hour with us just sitting there waiting.

Then, once we got into the spot, it took us about 2 hours to get situated and level. We were excited to return to this park because we had stayed here last year and absolutely loved the flat, huge spots (we were in site 5 last time). The spot we were assigned this time is really small and is so incredibly unlevel. We were really stressed out at first but we finally got the house maneuvered and mostly level and were able to take a break and grab some lunch and just relax for a little bit.

Once we recovered from the stress of the move, made sure the animals were okay, and got the house set up, we decided to drive over to Mobile for another Mardi Gras Parade. We opted to sit in the same spot we had the night before (near the corner of Canal and Broad) which is one of our favorite locations because it is toward the middle of the route, has parking right next to the route, and is easy to get out of after the parade goes past.

The parade on Saturday night was actually two groups in one – Pharaohs and Conde Explorers. The Pharaohs had several really cool, unique floats and both parades had several marching bands and DJs. It looks like Conde Explorers rents floats from Conde Cavaliers as they had many of the same floats we had seen the night before but they still had a few unique floats and it was still a good time. We didn’t catch as many throws but we had fun and that’s what matters.

On Sunday, we had a lazy day. There were no local parades and we really just needed some downtime so we hung out at the campground watching the SNL 50th Anniversary special and spent some time sitting outside in the gazebo with Harley. We did venture out for lunch at Whiskey Bay Bar & Grill in Daphne and it was delicious! I got crawfish and a side salad and John enjoyed a sandwich and fries.

John was off work on Monday for President’s Day and we used the day to visit the Mobile History Museum and Fort Conde. Across the street from the museum is Mardi Gras Park which is home of the Mardi Gras Tree. I wasn’t able to find a lot of information about the history of the tree but apparently it is a traditional Christmas Tree that is decorated in Mardi Gras colors (purple, green and gold) and is left up during the entire Mardi Gras season. They have an annual lighting ceremony at the beginning of the season but we weren’t able to attend this year. They also have several statues around the park depicting Mardi Gras Royalty, Joe Cain, and the character of Folly. We walked through the square then headed to the museum.

The Mobile History Museum is housed in the old city hall building and has exhibits covering the history of Mobile from the time of the Native Americans through colonization and into modern times. They have exhibits on the history of Mardi Gras and the rise of Mobile as a port city. They also had a special temporary exhibit of painted manuscripts that were absolutely gorgeous.

After the museum, we walked to Fort Conde just a block away from the museum and across the street from Mardi Gras Park. Fort Conde was built in 1723 by the French although it changed hands and names several times over the years. The original fort sat where Mardi Gras Park is currently located and has since been destroyed but about one-third of the fort was reconstructed next to the original location and opened to the public in 1976. We had never really noticed it before in all of our visits to Mobile and I soon figured out why – it sits ON TOP of the George C Wallace Tunnel. We often take the tunnel into Mobile and because of that, have never really seen what sits on top of it.

The fort is really nicely built and has a ton of artifacts from the past including items from the military AND items from the civilian settlements. They even have a dolphin skull on exhibit which I have never seen before. In the summer months, they have demonstrations by actors but during our visit it was pretty dead and we had to explore on our own.

After the museum and fort, we visited a nearby restaurant called California Dreaming where we had their signature honey butter croissants, shrimp pasta, and an amazing salad. As a diabetic, the croissants were definitely on the YOU SHOULD NOT EAT THIS LIST. It was REALLY hard to limit myself to just one but I did…although we did take the leftovers home for another day.

We got hit with a cold spell this week so that caused us to spend a fair amount of time in the house. I did get to take Harley on a few walks in the park, which is actually a really cool place to visit. The park is enormous! It covers over 2,100 acres along the Tensaw river which flows into Mobile Bay. The park contains the remains of the historic town of Blakely which hit is peak in the early 1800’s and served as the county seat for Baldwin County from 1820 to 1868. By the time of the Civil War, the town had dwindled to just few dozen families. It was also the site of the largest Civil War battle to be fought in the state of Alabama- The Battle of Fort Blakely – which was fought on April 9, 1865 making it one of the last battles of this war. Today, there are remnants of the town and the earthen fortifications made by the troops during battle and the park has a variety of hiking, biking, and horse riding trails for guests to explore.

For our first big walk, I loaded Harley into the car and we drove to the back of the park for a walk on the Hiding Tree Boardwalk and the boardwalk along the Tensaw River. The Hiding Tree is a massive tree that is big enough for men to hide in and that’s just what they did. Confederate soldiers used the tree as a place to hide to evade capture by the Union troops and as a way to ambush passing soldiers. The trail is a short boardwalk that continues on past the tree a little ways and then dead ends. It is a very short, easy hike and Harley really enjoyed checking it out.

We also walked along the river boardwalk and then cut back through the remains of the town of Blakely and back to our car, which we left near the Hiding Tree. In all, it was about a mile of easy walking. We did our walk at around 8:30am and it was so quiet and peaceful and we didn’t encounter another soul the whole time we were out. Harley did get mad at me for not letting her eat horse poop but that’s another issue altogether.

We also walked around the cemetery and memorials. These are located near the campground area of the park and have memorials to the soldiers who died during the battle of Fort Blakeley, and various people affiliated with the park over the years.

We had a little excitement on Tuesday. John was walking Harley and two dogs came at them from out of the woods. No one was hurt, thankfully. He called the park ranger when he brought Harley home because he thought the dogs belonged to another camper. He dropped Harley off and went back to try to corral the other dogs because the park was going to call animal control. Without Harley, the big dog came up to John and let him pet her. He saw she had a harness and a rabies tag. He called the number on the rabies tag and got the number for the owner. He called the owner and got no answer but her voicemail gave her place of work so we called the place of work and asked for her and got her. The dogs had dug under the fence and had been on the run for almost 24 hours. We learned that their names were Sally and Bailey. The big one, Sally, was pretty friendly once Harley was removed from the situation and we eventually won the little one, Bailey, over with some Beggin’ Strips and got them to our gazebo. It had been raining like crazy so we got them under shelter and dried them off. The little one was shivering but let me wrap it in a towel and a blanket while John worked to dry off the bigger dog. I held the smaller one and kept it warm and John draped a blanket over the bigger dog. We couldn’t bring them inside because all of our animals would have freaked out. Of course, all of our lawn chairs and Harley’s outdoor bed were all soaked but we did the best we could to get them warm and dry until the owner’s son arrived to pick them up. They are now back home where they belong!

On Thursday we attended the parade for the Order of Polka Dots – an all female group. It was only about 36 degrees outside but we braved the cold and went out anyway. The spot where we like to sit has parking available right along the parade route so we picked up dinner from Popeye’s and sat in the car eating while we waited for the parade to get to us. We got out to watch the parade then were right back in the car to head home afterwards. I did manage to get the best throw ever though- a scepter with a skull on top! I saw it go flying from the float and yelled out to John “I NEED THAT!!!” at the same time that he saw it and thought, “Angel needs that”. He managed to snag it for me and I spent the rest of the night carrying it around, using it to point to things, and making proclamations to the peasants (John and the animals). As expected, they all ignored me. It’s hard to be royalty.

Harley and I also decided to explore the Historic Town site on one of our walks this week. We saw the remains of the first county courthouse for Baldwin County and the Hanging Tree. The park as built outlines of buildings or “phantom buildings” where some of the old shops and homes would have been so we got to see those. They also have part of an old church that was relocated to the park from another nearby town. The main part of the building was irreparably damaged during the move but a pavilion was made to support the steeple. They also have a replica hut that would have been common in the native American villages that existed along the river hundreds of years ago.

On Friday night we attended the Order of Inca parade. They also put on a great show! It was a little warmer than the night before but still only in the 40’s. We got lots of great throws because, even though it was a Friday night, there wasn’t a huge crowd because of the weather. I was wearing a winter cap with two pom poms on top and I think the people on the floats were trying to get beads on my pom poms like a ring toss game. One actually made it! Another person tossed a hula hoop to me and managed to get it around my head. Again, it’s always an adventure at the parades.

It had been a crazy week but we still had a lot of Mardi Gras fun to go. Stay tuned for our next post which will cover a Float Review party, more parades, and us in formal attire for a ball!

Our three months in Foley, Alabama were drawing to a close. It’s hard to believe we had spent almost three months here. The only other place we have stayed for this long was in Michigan last year when we bought our property. When we arrived in November, those three months stretched out ahead of us and seemed like such a long time but, really, it went by in the blink of an eye. This post covers our last few weeks in the area.

After the snow and the cold snap that we had, we were itching to get outside so we took an evening and drove down to Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Gulf Shores. They don’t allow pets (because it’s a wildlife refuge) so we left Harley at home and did this walk with just us humans. We chose Centennial Trail, an easy trail that wandered through the trees a little ways then came out near an observation tower between Gator Lake and Little Lagoon. The trail continued on but we stopped at about the 1 mile mark (meaning we did 2 miles – one mile out and one mile back). The view from the observation tower was incredible and there were several little beaches along Little Lagoon that were absolutely gorgeous. It was also very peaceful – we were surrounded by nature and could hear owls calling to each other as we walked. We only saw two other people the entire time we were there! We didn’t see any wildlife aside from a few birds but it was a really nice walk.

We also decided to finally try something new that we had wanted to do forever- we went kayaking for the first time! We rented kayaks from a shop in Gulf Shores that also rents out e-bikes. The shop is situated right on several of the little waterways that wind through the grassy channels and empty out into Little Lagoon. Our hike at Bon Secour let us explore the western shore of the lagoon and this brought us in on the eastern side.

There was a small plastic dock/launch right behind the rental shop and the staff helped us get into the boats. Once we were seated, we slid right down the ramp and off we went! We saw several sea gulls, a few Great Blue Herons and SO. MANY. PELICANS.

The man at the rental shop had shown us a map and gave us advice on places to stop and things to see. We ended up going down about a mile to a small peninsula that was a wildlife area and open to the public. We paddled the kayaks right up onto the beach and hopped out to walk around. It was really pretty but also very gross because of all of the dead fish. The recent cold snap had killed a bunch of fish and they were all washing up on the beaches and getting stuck there when the tide went out. You really had to watch where you walked so you didn’t step on them. We also found several hermit crabs of varying sizes and really enjoyed watching them wander around.

We spent a little time resting there and admiring the view before hopping back into the boats and heading back toward the shop. We had rented the kayaks for 4 hours and were only about half way through but we were exhausted because this was an activity we definitely weren’t used to. It was a struggle getting back across to the channel that led to the shop but we finally made it-fighting the wind and the current the whole way. It was a lot of work but we decided that we really enjoy kayaking and hope to do it again soon.

Our last week in town was definitely a busy one. We obviously had a lot of packing to do since we had been sitting still for 3 months and all of our belongings had migrated onto countertops instead of being secured away so we spent several days packing up and getting everything ready to move.

We got a surprise call from John’s Grandparents our last full weekend in town and they let us know that they wanted to drive over from their home in Florida (about an 8 hour drive) to visit us for the week. They arrived late on Tuesday night and were staying until Saturday. They came over for a visit at the house on Wednesday morning and then we all went out for dinner that night at Lambert’s Cafe. I think they really enjoyed themselves – especially the fact that you are served bread by having it thrown across the room at you by the servers. I didn’t take any pictures this time but we have eaten there and shared photos before.

John took Thursday off and we took his grandparents out for a Dolphin Cruise. We had done one when we first arrived in Foley and were more than happy to do it again and we thought they would enjoy it as well- and they definitely did. The way that this company works is that they run two boats at a time. The boats go off into the bay separately and look for dolphins. When they find a pod, the boats get into position and run side-by-side which makes a big wave in the middle. The dolphins love to jump and play in the wave and it makes a great show for everyone on the boats.

While on the boat, we also cruised by Barber Marina and got to see the Lady in the Lake and his grandparents seemed to enjoy that so after the tour, we drove over there. Barber Marina is a marina that sits at the end of a long road. All along the roadway are weird roadside attractions that you really have to see to believe. John’s Grandma has been having trouble with her knee so we didn’t do the ones that required a lot of walking to get to but we did visit Bamahenge, two of the dinosaur statues and the marina itself. We walked on the docks to get a closer look at the Lady in the Lake and stopped to pet the cats that live at the marina store.

On Friday, John had to work so his grandparents entertained themselves by visiting the local railroad museum in the morning. After work, we picked them up for our final adventure together for this visit.

We had been talking a while ago and they said that they had never been to a Mardi Gras Parade. We LOVE the parades and think that everyone should experience one and, as luck would have it, the first parade of the 2025 Mobile season was during their stay. We decided that this must be a sign so we talked them into going.

We stopped at Buc-ee’s gas station on the way for snacks and a bathroom break so that was a lot of fun watching them experience that for the first time too. I bought a Mardi Gras t-shirt and John’s Grandma got an ornament. We all got snacks and drinks and continued on into Mobile.

We also made a stop at Pollman’s Bakery to pick up a King Cake for them to try. For those that don’t know, King Cakes are a traditional treat dating back to 12th Century France. The cake was originally used to celebrate Twelfth Night, the eve of Epiphany, which is 12 days after Christmas. The cake honors the three wise men who visited Jesus. It is circular in shape to represent the circular route the kings took to visit Jesus. It is usually topped with icing, colored sugar, candied fruit or a combination of those items. It is also usually decorated in the colors green, gold and purple- traditional Mardi Gras colors. A small bean, pea, or coin was hidden in the cake and whoever found the token in their slice was named “king” for the day.

Today, the King Cakes resemble a ring of cinnamon rolls and usually have a cream cheese icing. Instead of a bean or coin, the token inside is a plastic baby (although, thankfully, many bakeries just put the baby on top instead of baking it inside since it is a choking hazard). They are often taken to family get togethers, parties, or enjoyed in the office. Whoever gets the baby is blessed with good luck but will also be responsible for bringing the King Cake to the event the following year.

We ate our cake while watching the Conde Cavaliers parade through town. I received an entire box of mini blueberry Moon Pies and John’s grandma got a stuffed heart (the parade was on Valentine’s Day this year). I think everyone enjoyed seeing the elaborate floats and all of the marching bands and baton twirlers. I think John’s Grandpa especially enjoyed watching the cleanup efforts after the parade when a whole line of workers with rakes gather all of the trash and dropped beads in the street and then a line of street sweepers come through and suck it all up. They usually have the roads open within about 10 minutes of the last float passing by and it is really something amazing to watch.

We had a great visit together but I think we were all exhausted by the end of the week. John’s Grandparents left on Saturday morning and we finished packing up and made the move from Foley to Mobile. On to the next adventure!

As we celebrated the New Year, we realized that our three month stay in Foley was half way done and there were still a few things we wanted to do. This post is kind of a hodge-podge of our adventures from late November through the end of January. There isn’t really any order or structure to it so we apologize for the lack of organization and hope to get back to regular, chronological posts going forward.

One big thing that happened at the end of November is that I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. I went in for my regular physical and annual bloodwork and was given the news. My doctor was really wonderful and explained everything to me really well and gave me some great information about management options and dietary changes. My A1C (the measure of your overall blood sugar for the last 2-3 months) was at 7.7. A normal A1C is less than 5.7. The range from 5.7 to 6.4 is considered “Prediabetes” and anything 6.5 or over means that you are diabetic. My doctor and I decided that, with my lifestyle and my aversion to needles, we would try managing my diabetes through diet changes only and reevaluate in one month. I started watching my carbs and tracking all of my meals. John has been really helpful in supporting me and helping to find and cook a ton of diabetic friendly or Keto recipes.

Of course this would have to happen over the holiday season which made it extra hard but when I went back to the doctor on December 23 for my first follow-up appointment, I had managed to drop my A1C back to 6.1 which is in the “Prediabetes” range and a really good improvement. The doctor was impressed and we agreed to continue on the same course and do another check in 2 months. She even gave me permission to have occasional “cheat days” which really helped to get me through Christmas and New Year’s. We will still be trying new restaurants and eating good foods that we will post about but they will be healthier meals or, if they aren’t on the healthy side, those meals will be less frequent.

On the fun front, we explored the nearby town of Fairhope. We visited a huge antique shop and several smaller shops including two bookstores in the Fairhope French Quarter area. We grabbed lunch at Ox Kitchen – a Po’Boy sandwich with a side salad and a burger with waffle fries- and it was delicious.

We also visited the Henry Stuart House in Tolstoy Park. Henry Stuart was an English immigrant who moved to the area after being diagnosed with tuberculosis and advised by his doctor to seek a warmer climate. He purchased 10 acres which he named Tolstoy Park and built his circular, domed brick house in 1926. The house is about 14 feet in diameter and is even smaller than our tiny house! The house is now surrounded by an office park and parking lot but is open to the public for free. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

We also made a visit to the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo in Gulf Shores. This is a smaller zoo but they have a decent variety of animals including one we have never seen in a zoo before- the New Guinea Singing Dog (which just looks like a cute regular dog). The zoo originally opened in 1989 but moved further inland in 2018 after having to evacuate its animals for three separate hurricanes over the years! They currently have giraffes, lemurs, lions, cheetahs, a wolf, a bear, the New Guinea Singing Dogs, the biggest alligator I have ever seen, and a variety of bird, reptile, and primate species.

While we were at the Gulf Coast Zoo, we also did the Lemur encounter! This was around $25 extra per person in addition to our admission and we spent about 15 minutes in with the lemurs. The staff gave us biscuits to feed them but they weren’t really interested in those. We did get to pet two handsome gentleman named Butterfingers and Avocado and learn all about them. We also got to hear them “talk”- they make the cutest little noises that sound like a cat meowing.

We realized that we had been in the area for almost two months and had only visited the beach once so we also made a trip down to one of the public beaches in Gulf Shores. The weather was only in the 50’s but we still rolled up our pants and waded along the shore looking for seashells. Because of the cooler weather, there weren’t too many people around. The people we did meet there were really friendly and we spent some time talking to them about local birds, fishing and shell hunting and even traded a few shells with one lady.

The other big adventure that happened during this time period was the snow! We came to southern Alabama rather than spending the winter at our property in Michigan so that we could avoid the snow. We have spent the past two winters on the Gulf Coast and only experienced a handful of “cold” days. Our second move ever back in November of 2022 saw snow flurries on the trip from Southern Indiana to Shelbyville, TN. We suffered through a cold snap in Jackson back in December of 2022 where temperatures were below freezing for a few days and basically the whole city shut down because water lines were freezing and bursting. In January of 2024, we had a few days in the 30’s and 40’s with nights dipping below freezing and one day in Foley when the local schools actually cancelled due to freezing rain. For the most part, our winters have been pretty mild since we started travelling.

Imagine our surprise when the forecast was calling for snow! It was originally estimated to be between 2 and 4 inches. We were already unhooking our water every night while temperatures were below freezing and then hooking back up the next day when it got back above 32F but the day the snow was supposed to hit showed a high temperature of below freezing. Having grown up in Ohio, we are both very experienced at driving in the snow so we knew that we would be okay in an emergency if we had to go out but the thing to remember is that this area does not usually see snow. They don’t have road salt, they don’t have a whole fleet of plows, and their drivers are NOT experienced when it comes to driving in the snowy and icy conditions. We stocked up on a few essential groceries and planned to stay home to ride things out.

Harley and I started the morning by sitting outside and taking a walk around the campground just like we always do. The snow started around 11am and we walked outside to experience the first few flurries and delight in the fact the we were seeing snow for the first time in over two years.

We returned to the house and curled up on the couch while the snow continued to fall. We watched it build and build and build as it slowly covered the ground. The next time we went out, you could just barely see the tips of the grass as it poked through the growing layer of snow. We walked around, amazed by the fact that snow was collecting on the palm trees!

When everything was said and done, we ended up with almost 8 inches – an all-time record for this part of Alabama. The owner of our campground actually had to text John to shut off water to the whole park for him for the night because he had gone to check on his mom and they had closed the bridges so he couldn’t get back to the campground that night! Thankfully, it began melting the next day and was completely gone two days after that but it sure was magical and crazy while it lasted.

Before it all melted, John and I did make one more trip to the beach. We drove down to Orange Beach and had a snowball fight on the shore and built a little snowman looking out over the gulf. It just absolutely broke our brains to see patches of the snow sitting on top of the sand while the waves just kept rolling in.

While it was definitely fun to see the snow and play in it again, I am glad that it is over!

I want to end this post with a few amazing meals that we have enjoyed over the last few months. We have eaten at these places a few times each and really want to mention how amazing they are. The first is a place we have written about before called Lambert’s Cafe. We have visited the Foley location on previous visits and twice while we have been here this year and we visited one of the Missouri locations last year. This restaurant is home of the famous “Throwed Rolls”- giant, fluffy dinner rolls that are served to guests by being thrown to/at them from across the dining room. Bread isn’t great for diabetics but if I plan ahead I can eat a half of a roll at each visit and it is soooo worth the planning and extra work. We had the privilege of dining at Lambert’s with some friends that we made in Michigan last summer who were also wintering in the area and it was so much fun to watch them experience it for the first time!

The other two restaurants that we are kind of in love with right now are the Wacked Out Weiner (Foley location) and Cheeseburger Randy’s. The Wacked Out Weiner is only open for lunch but we have made sure to find the time to visit twice (hello, cheat days!). They have pretty much any topping imaginable that you would want to put on a hotdog. We both really love the Wacky Macky (macaroni, bbq sauce, and bacon). I also enjoyed the Beach Dog (pineapple, bacon and bbq sauce) although it is really wet and the bun ends up falling apart. John’s favorite is a custom dog with liquid cheese, jalapeno and bacon while I enjoy liquid cheese, bacon and onion on mine.

Cheeseburger Randy’s is a tiny little hole-in-the-wall that offers a bar and a few tables for dine-in but also does a lot of business in carryout orders. We ate there on our first visit but then have gotten carryout twice more. We don’t have a lot of pictures of their food because either the camera on the phone malfunctions resulting in just a black screen or we eat the food before we remember that we need a photo. I like the Cheeseburger with Randy style onions and John likes the JBC (jalapeno, bacon and cream cheese). They only offer a couple of burger options and for sides you can get onion rings, fries or “frings” (a combination of onion rings and fries). The menu may be small but everything is cooked to perfection and is absolutely delicious. Because their menu isn’t super diabetic friendly, we usually just get a burger from there and a side salad from Texas Roadhouse then eat it all at home. If you are going to cheat and eat a lot of carbs, an order of “frings” is the best way to go, though!