Perhaps you would like a little rain with that beach? Or a small sunburn and the path less traveled with that fall excursion?

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I begin back with some late summer and early fall travels. My seeing a new state and somewhat far-off literary landmarks are at a pause for now, but I have been to the following since August: Hilton Head Island, Savannah, the Virginia Highlands in Atlanta, the Florida Panhandle and Mobile, Alabama, plus another location of the music store chain that I briefly worked for during their busy season. All in all, I managed to come up with some material to put together a new entry. It is a new season and I welcome that fact, yet many a day comes when I longingly gaze at my atlas or wall maps. I probably shouldn’t even list the many places to which I’ve yet to make the venture, or the combinations of sights and cities that I must carry out at some point. Like my current “real” job search that I’m doing as I write, these things apparently plan to come in good time. Just seems like it’s a lot of time.

So, back to being in travel and the happy places that I like to find myself. That’s what I write about on here, after all. I am actually still undecided in terms of how I’ll cover all my recent mini-travels and smaller adventures, but one or two ideas will be put to use first. Both are tied to Mobile and Saraland, Alabama. I found myself scribbling and actually making connections and clicking as a writer late on my last night in Alabama and on Central Time. I never let these moments (or pages of slightly hazy and disjointed history from my own mind…can’t wait to look back on those really loony days in the future) go to waste, so while I had to make a late breakfast and the hotel check-out the next morning, I was heading home too. The need for material and a few memories of this escape were prevalent, and since I was in Saraland to visit two of my long-time friends from high school (they are married to each other, and they have a son), I somehow remembered this ‘song’ from the late 90’s.

I say ‘song’ because I’m a little too quotation mark happy, yet I also mean that the piece wedged vaguely in my mind was more like a series of words; Baz Luhrmann was the artist, and “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” was the ‘song.’ I’ve now looked it up, and I’m ecstatic to be re-united with the lyrics and when this number was big—it was a graduation song of sorts for the class of 1999. I think we all still get a trademark pop song for our graduation year, although I believe mine (for the class of 2000…that’s kind of a big year to be finishing one stage of life) was some sappy song about remembering good times with friends. Imagine that! I recall that one of my other long-time high school friends wrote a few lyrics of it in my yearbook, so that’s why the so-called artist Vitamin C is slowly coming to me. Ah, yet I digress. I figured that when I was home from the Destin/Mobile hot sun beach and bay trip, I’d look up the sunscreen ‘song’ and do an entry that was somewhat based on its lyrics. Maybe I’d write in that exact style and insert travel and 20 something-terms in place of what this one guy was trying to tell the nation’s 18-year-olds. Or, I might just ramble like I’ve been doing. After all, one link that I wrote about in my late night musings was the notion of needing sunscreen in the fall (the official first day of fall was just two days after I got back). I certainly did while in Destin, and my fun sunburn patches were almost laughable when encountering rain at Hilton Head Island and flooding back in my home state and town in late September.

Right, rain. It changes the tone of trips and everyday life when it covers entire elementary schools, yet my mom had been worried about rain as we walked around the baking Destin, took a cool-off break to decide what to do next, and ended up looking around Fort Walton Beach and eating at a bar that was named after a German fighter plane. I might have ventured into such a place with my friends for our weekly trivia gathering, but in Florida, I had my quesadilla and found myself glued to the History Channel and its program on the Lincoln assassination. I don’t believe that the patrons at the bar were quite as interested, but if we didn’t have a bay or beach view, I’d rather not encourage anyone to come sit a while and toast my sweet tea. We went on back to Destin shortly after that and waited to walk when the sun wasn’t so fierce. A state park (one of my favorite spots to visit around home and while away) was down the Scenic Highway from us, but we didn’t want to fork over the fee to look around for thirty minutes or less. There was still the Hard Rock Café to hit (I don’t believe I’ve talked about it much on here before, but I collect their City Tees—I’ll have to do an entry on that at some point) and the Destin Commons. Plus, this charming outlet mall had a Liz Claiborne and a few other note-worthy stores. Going into the shade for shopping does sound shallow, I know, but I had fresh memories of trying to get some exercise sans shade earlier that day. I knew that we didn’t want to spend our full day in Destin in the air conditioning of our room, so this was the alternative.

Later we went to the beach again, but the sun was mostly gone. I could appreciate the pinks and blues and other post-sunset colors of the sky; they made the high rises and buildings along the beach look good. Those high rises had lights on as well, and the cruise ship-like resort to our left wouldn’t be likely to persecute intruders like us as we walked down the beach. With all of the rows of rental chairs and high tide and the sun earlier, enjoying the beach was a different story! We passed the Back Porch from the night before, and while I thoroughly enjoyed their seafood (we still had leftovers in our room), I couldn’t make up my mind as to what we would have for dinner that night. Mom ended up eating more of the hodge podge from the fridge, but I decided that my uncle’s joke about ordering a margarita the night before (for they were in Destin, too) had stayed with me. We went back out to TGI Friday’s, so while that chain restaurant wasn’t a local eatery, it had a guy playing live music on a guitar outside. I also drink about once or twice a year, maybe, so I remembered and even photographed my strawberry daiquiri. That is actually my drink of choice, but I usually just want one in the summer. And at places that never seem to have them. The next day we were off to more of the Gulf Coast, and my GPS had some very blue and relaxing-looking water on its screen as we were directed to Saraland, Alabama.

I would talk all about how I know Sara and Jose Gruber, how I was the Maid of Honor in their wedding and how I had finally made plans to go see them in the Mobile area (they’ve lived there since 2005, the year of Hurricane ‘me,’ as I say at times) , but the average reader would skip over that section. I could find other intriguing ties to these long-time friends and how a section of Mr. Luhrmann’s song was suited for seeing them and natural to come to me late that Saturday night, but I’ll take you to another place instead. Pensacola must be a nice place to visit, but I mostly saw the interstate and a Fazoli’s. Rock on, Pensacola! We crossed into Alabama again and left the highway of random things and water from the channel on my GPS.

Once we were approaching Mobile, things got a little more interesting. We were almost surrounded by water of the Bay and the Gulf of Mexico in the distance. Our lane and the other highway lane were the exceptions. I didn’t think I’d be all that interested to see the USS Alabama, but as I filled my dad in on what we were doing and this part of the trip (another trapping of these mini-adventures with mom…status updates), I could describe the skyline and then, the ship. It was larger than some toy from our distance, but it had a lot of cannons/fire-blasting tubes/other nautical term for its weaponry. I could see a bit of the park and all of the other military items on display as we rode by, and I’ll admit, I was a little hooked. Sara and Jose had already been to see it a few times, so while we had not planned to go as a reunited group, I suppose that the tourist in me wanted to get a decent picture of it, at least. Sadly, no postcards or any other souvenirs of any type seemed to exist in Saraland. Wal-Mart just had shower totes and items for the University of Alabama (yes, we looked). A few tunnels and a look at the downtown later, we were riding a few exits up another interstate to my friends’ current town. Our hotel was easily found and the suite that I found a good price on was quite satisfactory. Another side note that I had thought about exploring would be the man that I talked to in booking the room. He must have had a lot of time to chat, but he had a way of explaining (no mudslinging) how their hotel was a better product and business than others in the area. He even added that they lowered their prices due to the recession. I didn’t need much selling, but I liked how that conversation was more memorable than all the others that I’ve had in booking one non-smoking, double bed room with a AAA discount.

For the friendly manager from the week before, I condensed my thoughts on what could have been several more lines. You’re welcome. I want to include my dinner out at the Blue Gill on the Causeway, so those pictures should be towards the end of the selection you’ll see here. My mom and I allowed the locals of four years to give us suggestions and take us by one of their places of employment on our way to dinner. Plus, we had the child of my friends along; he reached the age of one this past June. Mr. Alex made eating interesting, but he was agreeable and seemed to agree that his parents ought to switch places during the meal to allow for the one not eating as much (for help was needed to consume a bowl of fruit successfully, now) to finish the delectable food on her plate. While the seafood was heaped on again, I enjoyed the corn fritters and deck atmosphere. I took several pictures, for I knew that those would last longer than keeping leftover shrimp!

This sunset surely beat out the one in Destin, and the part of the Causeway that became a channel of water behind the restaurant helped. I went out on a little dock that was a part of the back deck, being sure to not feed any alligators if I saw them (I do follow most signs). One could ride up in an Airboat and have a meal as well; we did see one dock before heading back to the Grubers’ house. The day that the Georgia contingent of the party headed on back, we had breakfast with Sara and Alex and proceeded to drive across most of Alabama. Most of this ride was passed in conversation, but I zoned out with my mP3 player (not while driving) and mom kept the satellite radio on this spa station. The Jimmy Buffet one was only appropriate while in Destin and within an activity guide and brochure’s throw of the beach (I do have enough free literature to spare a few pieces). We stopped in Auburn and glanced up in places like Montgomery, but the relief was great when we were within the city limits of Atlanta.

I’ve recounted the general tale of the Gulf Coast 2009 trip, but perhaps I’ll go back to my three or so miles on a bicycle in the rain on Hilton Head Island. That seemed to be a perfect not-so-great-time-but-really-travel-writer-worthy experience. Whatever I do, though, I’ll try to make it worthy of a travel blog that had its start in Italy! Or, in the plans I made and wrote about for my second (and probably last ever) study abroad. You may trust that song I’ve referenced a few times on the sunscreen, but trust me, the travel bug never rests!


The passage from “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” that really seems to speak to me at this stage of life:

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders.

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Photos

A scenic pier...and some Mobile skyline
I loved the angles/shots I could see just from walking outside the deck of the restaurant and looking around.

The Back Porch
Sits on the beach and has the funky signs and gift shop. Plus, some delectable food.

Souvenir cities
Alvin seemed to have the corner on the market for souvenir/beach gear shops. I enjoy seeing these or buying my postcards in such a mecca for tourists...it's part of a long-running joke with a cousin of mine.

Clear water ahead
Seen from a bridge crossing as we traveled from Destin to FWB.

Bay at FWB
This bay has a long, long name, so know that it's the one that Fort Walton Beach sits on!

Fokker's in FWB
A good lunch place, but more fun if I had been going with friends for trivia and not hoping for a waterside dining experience.

Destin sign
Seen as we drove back into Destin over one of the bridges from Fort Walton Beach. It is a bit of a paradise in its own way.

Necessary fountains
Destin by day was quite warm, so I could see why anyone would like to run through some fountains in between some power shopping at the Destin Commons.

HRC Destin
I'll freely admit that seeing another HRC (I have a decent list going of locations I've seen!) in Destin was a draw to go there before heading on to Mobile.

Bass Pro Shops--entertaining for a hot day!
I don't recall a fish tank and places to observe the creatures in any Bass Pro Shops in Georgia.

A Gulf Coast sunset
Beach in Destin...nice to have one within walking distance of our hotel. It's just better when it's not high tide AND crowded with beach chairs.

RSA Battle House Tower
We saw Water Street and were taken through Mobile by the GPS on our way to Saraland. Driving into any city and its skyline is cool, but this place has a battle ship to boot!

Causeway 'backyard'
This is part of the Causeway that was behind the Blue Gill, our dinner place in Mobile.

The signs are still there
I knew I had to take a photo of my name as a way to measure how far underwater the Blue Gill had been in 2005! My friends had to evacuate at that point, actually.

Reunion of old friends
Hopefully we're not considered that 'old.' We've just been friends since high school, and I've finally met my friends' son!