Our first full weekend in Foley also happened to be a three day weekend for John thanks to Martin Luther King, Jr Day and we intended to make the most of it. Heads up- this post will be a LOT of pictures because I could TRY to explain some of the things that we saw but its much easier to just show you.
Much of Foley consisted of a main highway through town with all of the chain stores and restaurants but there was a small downtown area that had some small businesses, the post office, a green space, and a few museums. We had received several recommendations for the Medical Museum specifically so that was pretty high on our list.
The Holmes Medical Museum in Foley, Alabama used to be a doctor’s office/surgery/hospital from 1936 until 1958. This hospital saw the birth of the first documented triplets in the county- they recently visited the hospital to celebrate their 75th birthdays! The hospital handled dental procedures and eye exams too! We saw an incredible collection of antique medical equipment (and even saw a few things that we own as well!) and had a great time. Admission is free but donations are encouraged.
Less than a block from the Holmes Museum, we found the Train Museum in Foley. We got there pretty close to closing time but still managed to check out their incredible model train setup. They had several trains running on different tracks through an amazingly well setup and detailed town. We saw a drive-in theater that was actually playing a movie on a little screen and a circus tent with tiny little performers and an audience inside. My favorite was the miniature fireworks factory that had caught fire! You could see little explosions being projected inside through one of the windows. It’s a good thing there was also a tiny fire station complete with firemen sliding down the pole and a fire engine that came out the front door and then circled around to the back. They even had a tiny Piggly Wiggly grocery store!
We also got to explore an actual train outside. We were able to climb up on the locomotive and actually walk through the caboose.
The museums closed pretty early so we still had a good bit of the day left. After a quick stop at the house to walk Harley, we decided we wanted to keep exploring so we drove over to Alabama Point East to enjoy the beach. There was a beautiful boardwalk leading from the parking lot to the sand. It was only about 50 degrees but we walked along the shore enjoying the view and the wildlife and had a really relaxing time – except for when I swore I saw a dolphin but John missed it so he said that I was imagining things! We saw a lot of birds including one who is well known in the area for harassing fisherman until they share their catch with him and we even found some urchins in some of the tidepools.
Because we had left Harley alone all day on Saturday, we wanted to so something fun with her on Sunday. We all got in the car and drove down to Alabama’s Gulf Coast State Park. There are several places to park and hop onto a trail so our first excursion was just along the road off one of the parking areas. John walked Harley around the water while I stood and watched a beautiful heron stalk and finally catch it’s dinner. I could also see several crabs just beneath the surface of the water.
We jumped back in the car and drove to main of the one recreation areas – a beautiful park with trails and a boardwalk along Lake Shelby. We were a little tired from all the walking the day before and Harley was a little distracted by all of the other dogs so we only walked about half a mile before turning around and calling it quits for the day. It wasn’t a long hike but we enjoyed the scenery and it was enough to wear Harley out!
On Monday, we had perhaps one of our weirdest adventures yet. John and I had been told about a place called Barber Marina that had a lot of neat boats and a very large sculpture of a lady bathing in the water. One of our neighbors had also recommended the Roadkill Cafe for lunch which was just on the way to the marina so it seemed like the makings for a fun day out.
We ate at the restaurant and it was pretty good. Not the best food we had ever had but the service was excellent and the prices were great.
After lunch, we began the journey to Barber Marina. There was pretty much one road heading that way and we had been told to allow time to check out some cool attractions along the way. We really didn’t know what to expect but we were excited to check things out.
We started by driving straight to the Marina since I realized I had to use the bathroom shortly after leaving the diner. We arrived to find a giant sculpture of a spider (which John had to pose with) and watched as a large boat was wheeled across the parking lot and dropped into the water with a large lift.
I used the restroom at the main building and we killed some time walking along the docks checking out all of the incredible boats. We found the Lady in the Water pretty easily – it was super weird.
We also made friends with some cats that lived at the marina. They had food bowls and lots of places to sleep inside the bait shop and were let in and out about a million times while we were there by the very obliging staff. They told us that the one cat that had attached himself to us and followed us around was named Hobo and that, contrary to his claims otherwise, he was very well cared for and not in any actual distress – he was just dramatic. He led us on a guided tour of several statues in the immediate area.
After breaking off from Hobo and hopping back in the car, we decided to check out some of the other points of interest along the road. Right out of the parking lot at the marina, there were small pathways leading into a small strip of trees. This was pretty overgrown in places but we were able to locate several statues of soldiers among the weeds.
Once we left the Warriors in the Woods, we drove around a giant fountain of Neptune and on back the way we had come in.
We were able to use Google Maps on our phone and some patches of dirt where the grass had been worn away to find four different giant dinosaurs hiding in the forest along the road. Two of these were actually visible from the road and we were able to drive right up to them but the other two took a little hunting and walking through the woods.
After leaving the dinosaurs, we used Google Maps (and a labeled parking area) to find the main attraction – Bamahenge. This is a miniature version of Stonehenge made from plaster and resin and was actually pretty cool to see. After parking, we walked through a short tunnel of trees and then the trail came into a clearing with all of these towering structures. We were able to get some fun pictures and John flew his drone for some even cooler videos and aerial shots.
Our last stop was a circle of Roman columns surround a statue of a woman. Like some of the other sites, this was a bit of a walk from the main road but unlike the others, it was in a giant open field instead of in the woods. Again, we took lots of pictures and some cool video before calling it quits for the weekend and going home to rest.
The only other event this week worth mentioning was the anniversary of when John and I started dating. Even though we are married, we were together for almost a decade before tying the knot so we still celebrate our dating anniversary in addition to the date we got married. We had been given several restaurant suggestions by friends and we chose one of the nicer places on the list – Cobalt. At this time of year, we couldn’t really experience the amazing views but this restaurant is right on the water and offers spectacular views of the beach. Because the sun set at 5pm in January, it was well past dark at dinner time but I can only imagine how romantic it would be to share a meal with someone special on the patio at sunset. We enjoyed a half dozen oysters, Shrimp and Grits, and Pasta with Crawfish and Andouille.
