Three Hours to New Orleans

6:50 And No Rain!

It's 8:00 and we leave Orange Beach this morning and of course, it's not raining for the first time since we arrived. I am enjoying my coffee and breakfast and even walked out on the beach to just see what it was like without precipitation.  We hope to be on our way to New Orleans by 9:00 at the latest.

Live Oaks

A Windy Biking Path

Singing In The Rain

Yesterday, because of the rain and wind, we decided to skip a beach walk and instead, drive five miles to the Gulf State Park, 6500 acres, including 2.5 miles of white sand beaches, three lakes, and 28 miles of hiking trails. We took the park road which basically rings Lake Shelby and we ended up walking part of the Gopher Tortoise Trail, paved and wide, perfect for hiking or biking. By the way, they had a couple of stands around the park where bikes could be rented using your credit card I presume. 

Coastal View Ruined By Condos

Hard-Skinned Pufballs -- Poison Mushroom

Bench Set Under A Live Oak

We enjoyed our walk, protected from drizzle by a canopy of Live Oaks. Interestingly, every 50 to 100 yards we would find a bench with an inscription, usually in memory of someone who loved the park. After a mile, we turned around at the lookout, high above the coast and returned to our car. We were home by 12:30, showered, and relaxed until 2:00 when we left for Flora-Bama, a music venue on the Alabama/Florida border.

About Live Oaks Tolerance For Change

We learned about the Flora-Bama Frank Brown Music Festival from a couple at Tuesday night's dinner. It lasts ten days and is in its 39th year, Aspiring songwriters and musicians from all over the world have their songs heard and people like us hear the stories behind their lyrics.  Everyone from Grammy winners to upcoming talent participates. 

Our Favorite Cool Dude

The Stage

We sat through three hours of upcoming talent from various states, talking about their music in front of their peers and playing their songs. We sat in the venue, basically a bar, a stage, and folding chairs for three hours, nursing an afternoon beer and listening to three musicians at a time as each played two of their songs. It was a fun afternoon.

The Musicians Enjoy Each Other's Songs

The Final Four

Just as a side note, the woman in the above photo needed help getting her guitar out of her car and I ended up helping her and carrying it into the venue so we had to stay for her music. 

We made it home by 5:30 and did some packing and relaxing until 7:00 when we went to dinner at The Flying Harpoon, a bar we visited the last time we were in Orange  Beach. The upstairs was closed but the downstairs was open and we found a seat at the bar of course. We ordered a bowl of gumbo, hand-cut potato chips, and another shrimp po-boy to share. We enjoyed our dinner and then ended up talking with four guys from Texarkana here for a golfing holiday. One realized we were going to New Orleans so he sat with Evie and wrote out on a napkin all the places we should go. I talked with one of the guys, Rick James, and he regaled me with his son's athletic prowess as well as filled me in on the other two guys. It was our favorite way to spend an evening, at a bar talking with patrons. 

The Guys From Texarkana

We were home by 8:30, tired from our day and went to bed early, knowing we had a three-hour drive to New Orleans ahead of us.