(This is the Day – The The)

We finally got to visit Dauphin Island. A bright sunny day was perfect for a little trip.

If you remember five days ago I posted that we tried to go to Dauphin Island but the ferry wasn’t running. Now we got to see it.

Dauphin Island is a town in Alabama, on the Gulf Coast island of the same name. It’s known for stretches of white sand, like Public Beach. At the entrance to Mobile Bay, 19th-century Fort Gaines features original cannons and a blacksmith shop. Migrating birds can be seen in the forest, dunes and swamp of the Audubon Bird Sanctuary. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s Estuarium offers aquariums and a living marsh boardwalk.

http://townofdauphinisland.org/

https://dauphinisland.org/

The well-preserved ramparts of Fort Gaines have guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay for more than 150 years. Now a historic site, the Fort stands at the eastern tip of Dauphin Island where it commands panoramic views of the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The Fort was recently designated as one of the Eleven Most Endangered Historic Sites in America due to on-going shoreline erosion.

Fort Gaines is one of the key sites in the famous Battle of Mobile Bay where Admiral Farragut shouted his now-famous order, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” The fort has original cannons, a blacksmith shop, kitchens, a museum, gift shop, and tunnels.

We didn’t spend a great deal of time here. We saw a lot of beach homes so it’s similar to where we are in Gulf Shores in that people rent these places out to Snowbirds and family for their vacations.

Dauphin Island was on Richard’s list of places he wanted to visit while wintering here so I’m glad we got to see it before leaving.

I had to share one last picture from this trip. To my PEI friends and family, look at the Dauphin Island Ferry ticket booth. A bit smaller than the PEI ferry terminals, eh.

An added bonus today was we got back in time to enjoy sitting on the deck in the warm sun. ☀️ Love it ❤️

Nite y’all 😴

(Cocoa and Beignets – Mr. Blue Sky)

We decided to get up very early and head right down to Cafe Du Monde.

The original Cafe Du Monde Coffee Stand was established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. The Cafe is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, serving coffee and beignets. Beignets were brought to Louisiana by the Acadians. These were fried fritters, sometimes filled with fruit. Today, the beignet is a square piece of dough, fried and covered with powdered sugar.

You can see they have a limited menu. Everyone goes there for the beignets.

Why we decided to go there so early in the morning was because yesterday we saw how long the waiting lines are during the day.

Having no desire to waste time waiting in a line we thought early morning would be the best bet. We were right. Hardly anyone there.

So here’s our breakfast.

Before

Richard: coffee and beignets

Me: hot cocoa (they don’t serve tea) and beignets

After

They were certainly different. I was expecting a much softer texture but they are quite firm and chewy. As you can see we each ate all three of our beignets but there’s such a lot of powdered sugar that we left most of it on our plates. It was an absolute necessity to try them.

We saw so many things during our short stay. Here are a few more photos.

Horse and Carriage Tours

Joan of Arc

France erected the statue in 1972 as a gift to New Orleans, whose namesake, Orléans, was one of the towns Joan of Arc (1412-1431) defended from the English during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453).

Streetcars

Streetcars here have been an integral part of the city’s public transportation network since the first half of the 19th century. The longest of New Orleans’ streetcar lines, the St. Charles Avenue Line is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world

Old Man River

An 18-foot monumental stylized stone human figure made of 17 tons of Carrara marble, resides beside the Mississippi River in the French Quarter. Executed in 1991, the statue speaks to the river’s power and majesty in its rounded, circular body forms, which convey a harmony of the work to its location. The river is connected through the openings of the legs and arms to the land.

It’s description reads:

A Man with a Past

Arms reach empty handed,

God to a city in Love

with Water

Robert Schoen

Artist 1991

Jackson Square

Known as one of New Orleans’ most recognizable landmarks, Jackson Square is a National Historic Landmark nestled in the center of the French Quarter. The 2.5-acre space welcomes over 2 million visitors and locals each year and hosts a number of city events and celebrations, weddings and photography sessions. Jackson Square has even served as a backdrop in a number of popular feature films and television shows. The landmark earns its name for the bronze statue of Andrew Jackson located in the center of the square.

Jackson Square is also the location of an open-air artist colony, where artists display their work on the outside of the iron fence. Visitors even have the opportunity to see the artists at work and perhaps have their portrait drawn by one of the many talents utilizing Jackson Square as their studio.

This was taken around 7:00 a.m.

We spent most of our time in the French Quarter. Perhaps other time we’ll get to all the other things.

We saw this on our early morning walk. I guess they have to clean the streets each morning due to the nighttime revelries.

Sadly, like in a lot of cities, there were many homeless people sleeping and begging on the streets. During our Hop On tour we even saw tents erected below underpasses with people’s belongings scattered around the tents. It was upsetting to see.

I’d say this was my favourite moment.

We accomplished a great deal in our short trip but there’s so much more that we missed. That’s for another time.

Nite y’all 😴

(Decatur Street Boogie – Piano Red)

The one thing that was on my bucket list for this trip was New Orleans. I’m so pleased we got to go there.

One important part of planning a trip is your accommodations. I’d been looking online at various places for weeks and had some wonderful suggestions from friends. I finally decided to book a smaller historic hotel that was within walking distance of places I wanted to see and was also a reasonable price.

I chose French Market Inn on Decatur Street. With my CAA discount we got a Petite Room for $89.95 a night, of course plus tax and plus valet parking, but all in all a great deal. The room was certainly big enough for us.

The Inn was once a private home. It was constructed sometime in the 1800’s for a royal couple, the Baron and Baroness Pontalba. The inn features a courtyard with lush foliage and tables with umbrellas for enjoying the New Orleans atmosphere. I read that there have been reports that it’s haunted. Oooooooo.

https://www.frenchmarketinn.com/

The French Market Inn is on the banks of the Mississippi River in the center of the French Quarter of New Orleans. It’s on Decatur St. and is within six blocks of renowned New Orleans attractions like Jackson Square, the French Market, Aquarium of the Americas, Bourbon Street, Harrah’s New Orleans Casino, and Cafe Du Monde.

It’s a quaint place. Staff was very friendly and the service was quick. We arrived around 10:30 am. This was later than we expected to arrive. Thanks to GPS. I don’t know if it was our error inputting the info or if it just took us a longer way but, thank goodness, part way there we thought we were going a strange way and were able to get ourselves rerouted. We arrived much earlier than check-in time (4:00pm) but they checked us in, stored our bags, and valet parked our car. Sweet. We’d been on the road since 5:00 so we wanted breakfast. The desk clerk told us of a place right around the corner so off we went.

We had a full breakfast for $8.95 so no complaints there. It was tasty and filled us. The place was a bit run down but seemed to be a spot for locals so that’s always a good sign.

When my best friend Lynn and I went to New York we bought a Hop On Hop Off pass. It was fantastic. We first took the whole route to learn about the city and then used it to go to various places during our week there. Richard and I just got a one day pass in New Orleans. Did we need it? Probably not but we used it to do the complete tour loop. It was interesting. Our guide told us a lot about the city and as she was right in front of us I could see in her face the love she has for her city.

We then decided to explore on our own. We took a wonderful walk along the waterfront and then off to Starbucks and a bathroom. Lol. Couldn’t pass up taking this photo on the escalator. We went back to the waterfront where I spotted a choir performing. They were from Cheltamham High School in Philadelphia and were touring here. In total there were 94 students comprising an orchestra, a band, and a choir.

This is their choir and band. I didn’t get a picture of the orchestra.

I had to take this photo of the choir as they were performing Bring Me Little Water Silvy by Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly) which my Elm Street Girls Choir had done my last year of teaching. It brought back lovely memories. They also sang What a Wonderful World which my choir had also performed.

During our waterfront walk we saw the paddle wheeler Natchez leaving on a tour cruise.

I took a few pictures and it was funny when I was looking quickly through my photos of them. It seemed like the boat was moving just like one of those little books we used to make as kids.

Off to walk around the French Quarter.

The French Quarter is the city’s historic heart, famous for its vibrant nightlife and colorful buildings with cast-iron balconies. Crowd-pleasing Bourbon Street features jazz clubs, Cajun eateries and bars. Quieter streets lead to the French Market, with gourmet food and local crafts, and to Jackson Square where street performers entertain in front of soaring St. Louis Cathedral.

We walked around for a while hearing music in lots of places, a lot were pop or rock cover bands. Then we stopped at the Musical Legends Park.

Here are some of the statues displayed there.

Sitting, drinking our beer and margarita, and enjoying some jazz. Heaven.

Off walking again and arrived at Jackson Square. Saw some tarot card readers, a magician, henna tattooists, an escape artist, and a violinist.

I was disappointed in the violinist. Initially it seemed that he was very good until I noticed him stop playing his instrument but the music magically continued. Oh technology.

We continued walking and touring until we realized we were tired and started looking for a dinner spot with some live jazz. We eventually found one almost next to our hotel.

Here’s our meal plus I think I drank at least four glasses of water. The meal was really good. I had Caesar salad and Richard had macaroni and cheese and Brie with apple chutney. I couldn’t pass up a slice of delicious flourless chocolate cake.

Then we called it a night. TIRED. Have to be ready for tomorrow.

Nite y’all 😴

(Walking to New Orleans – Fats Domino)

Well actually driving to New Orleans.

We spent yesterday walking in New Orleans.

This is just a quick update and I’ll tell you more later.

See y’all 🥰

(The Irish Rover – The Irish Rovers)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone.

This is how I celebrated this morning.

Richard says he’ll celebrate St. Patrick’s Day when the Irish celebrate St. Georges’s Day. Whatever Richard.

I know. What? Mimosas? Certainly not an Irish drink. But I’m not really a beer or whiskey drinker. Plus the champagne was $6.99 and had to give it a try. Wasn’t bad at all.

We went for a walk along the Gulf Shores Beach boardwalk and saw this interesting machine on the beach. I’d never seen one before.

It’s a Surf Rake or colloquially called a Sandboni. Too funny, right.

It drags a raking or sifting device over the beach sand to remove rubbish and other foreign matter. That’s why the beach looks so pristine.

During our walk we were sure taken by surprise by the number of people all decked out in green clothes, beads, green sparkly headgear etc. I just never expected to see such an Irish display down here. I don’t know why I thought that. Apparently St. Patrick’s Day is universal. Of course this is Spring Break for a lot of places so there were lots of partying students but the ‘oldies’ were more dressed up than the young’uns. The Hangout, a restaurant on the beach boardwalk, was rockin’ the Irish tunes.

https://www.thehangout.com/

As you can see it’s party central there for the month of March.

We opted for a quieter time on our deck. Good decision.

Nite y’all 😴

(Prince Edward Island is Heaven to Me – Hal Lone Pine)

We had planned to go to an outdoor BBQ and Blues Festival today but it’s raining 🌧 so I did the gym 🏋️‍♀️🧘‍♀️and came back to our home away from home. I wrote earlier this week about going to see the movie The Wizard of Oz. Remember her poignant there’s no place like home? Truer words were never spoken.

I have loved our winter here in Gulf Shores, Alabama. It’s much warmer than home and there’s no snow. We’ve had a terrific time. It’s been fun being in a new place and experiencing new adventures. During our stay here I’ve had many people ask me about where I’m from. So today for those reading my blog who are not from PEI I chose to share info on my sweet province, PEI.

I love my province and I love being an “Islander”. PEI has my heart. ❤️

There’s so much I could tell you but I’ll just share a few things I found online: information, pictures, and websites for you to peruse at your leisure.

Prince Edward Island is one of eastern Canada’s Maritime Provinces, off New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The island is marked by red-soil, sandy beaches, lighthouses, and fertile farmland, and is renowned for seafood like lobster and mussels, potatoes, and Anne of Green Gables.

https://www.tourismpei.com/

Charlottetown is the capital of Prince Edward Island. It’s on the southern coast of the province. The Province House National Historic Site hosted the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, spurring the country’s birth. There are many shops, restaurants, and historic walks. The Confederation Centre of the Arts (Le Centre des arts de la Confédération) is a cultural centre dedicated to the visual and performing arts. The musical “Anne of Green Gables” is entering it’s 55th consecutive summer there.

https://www.charlottetown.ca/

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/pe/provincehouse

https://confederationcentre.com/

Summerside is the Island’s second-largest city. Harbourfront Theatre attracts world-class entertainers and plays host to many great festivals and events. A boardwalk allows visitors to shop and dine beside the ocean and at the College of Piping, performers show off the Island’s Celtic roots with energetic displays of dancing, piping, and drumming.

https://summerside.ca/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Edward_Island

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/best-of-prince-edward-island/index.html

https://welcomepei.com/blog/the-nudge-you-need-to-visit-pei/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=NudgeYouNeedTravelPlanning

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g155022-Activities-Prince_Edward_Island.html

https://welcomepei.com/blog/49-travel-tips-from-pei-locals/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=49LocalsTravelTips

Just a small sample of PEI’s beauty.

The following pictures were taken by Richard from his home in Borden-Carelton. PEI.

This is just a small taste of PEI. Come visit and see all that my beautiful island has to offer.

Nite y’all 😴

(Not Today – Imagine Dragons)

Well today was the day to visit Dauphin Island. The blue dot is where we’re wintering.

https://dauphinisland.org/

Dauphin Island is a town in Alabama, on the Gulf Coast island of the same name. It’s known for stretches of white sand, like Public Beach. At the entrance to Mobile Bay, 19th-century Fort Gaines features original cannons and a blacksmith shop. Migrating birds can be seen in the forest, dunes and swamp of the Audubon Bird Sanctuary. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s Estuarium offers aquariums and a living marsh boardwalk.

We decided we’d take the Mobile Bay Ferry that runs between Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island.

http://mobilebayferry.com/

Not today.

We arrived at the ferry terminal. PEIers, it does not resemble the PEI ferry terminal. It’s a very small booth, a little bigger than the potato stands we see on the side of the road in the summer, and has one person selling tickets.

Not today.

The crossings were cancelled due to weather/high waves.

We didn’t allow that to stop us from having a good day. We decided to do our last visit to the Tanger Outlet Mall.

https://www.tangeroutlet.com/foley

After enjoying our Starbucks we spent a few hours at the mall and we both bought a few things. Not many. Lunch time had come and gone so we decided to have a lunch/supper at Lambert’s Cafe.

https://throwedrolls.com/lamberts-cafe-iii/

We’d read about this place. The servers throw rolls to you. And yes they do. The rolls were whizzing around the room. And some dropped on the floor. When they came to me they just passed a roll to me. Hahaha. Guess they thought I’d never catch it. They were probably correct. Servers also walked around offering you unlimited amounts of their Pass Arounds. These include rolls, fried okra, boiled cabbage, black eyed peas, fried potatoes and onions, macaroni and tomatoes, apple butter, and sorghum.

I had a roll (hot and very good) and we also tried the fried okra. Richard liked that but I didn’t. We passed on all the others. I noticed a lot of tables had extra take out dishes on their tables and were putting food into them. No thanks.

Richard had the largest serving of liver and onions that I’ve ever seen. He said it was good but there was so much he couldn’t finish it.

I had catfish. Wasn’t great.

I’m glad we went to experience this unique concept but both of us have no desire to go again.

A few more pics. Drinks were served in these huge mugs.

We missed our gym workout today but we enjoyed a long, lovely, late afternoon beach walk.

A very nice day.

Nite y’all 😴

(That’s the Bag I’m In – Fred Neil)

I was excited about today.

Richard had seen an ad in the local paper a few weeks ago for today’s event called Purses with a Purpose and knowing my love of bags he mentioned it to me. Sounded good to me so we decided to go. Now Purses with a Purpose was a silent auction of over 100 “lovingly used ” purses that were donated. It was held at Saint Andrew by the Sea, a non- denominational community church with the proceeds going to support their Outreach Programs.

They also provided a light lunch at a cost of $5 per person. Prior to going we talked about what the lunch would be. If it was on PEI I thought it would have been lovely little tea sandwiches and sweets with tea and coffee. Not quite the same here. It was a little packed lunch of two small wraps, two cookies, a bag of Lays chips and a small container of grapes.

There was also a choice of sweetened or unsweetened iced tea, water, or hot tea. It was different but nice.

Now to the purses.

When you entered the hall the first table had quite a few designer bags e.g. Coach, Michael Kors, Dooney and Bourke.

The other tables had an assortment. All in all there were a lot of bags. Although they advertised these purses as “lovingly used” I did notice that quite a few had tags from local stores and seemed new. I also noticed that some bags had things inside them like gift certificates, jewellery, soaps etc. as additional bonuses.

I was hoping to find a nice clutch but no luck, so I restrained myself and did not place any bids.

A duo provided musical entertainment. Very nice.

Although I didn’t get anything it was fun to have a different kind of day, plus we supported their cause.

I really loved the idea of this silent auction with purses and think it could go over well on PEI. So if your group is looking for a unique fundraiser this might be it.

SOUTHERN RECIPE #10

Miss Myra’s Banana Pudding

On quite a few restaurants’ menus down here we’ve seen Banana Pudding listed in the desserts section.

Now that would never be my dessert choice. Where’s the chocolate? But as I’m trying to make some southern recipes I made it to have with tonight’s supper.

Banana Pudding is a classic southern dessert made of layers of vanilla wafers, banana slices, and custard and topped with whipped cream or meringue. The recipe I used called for meringue.

It’s not difficult to make. The main part of the pudding you make the previous day and then add the meringue before serving it.

Well Richard thought it was ok. I didn’t like it but that’s understandable as I’m not one who likes fruity desserts. I won’t make it again.

I hope all of you had good day.

Nite y’all 😴

(We’re Off to See the Wizard (The Wizard of Oz) – Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg)

Not quite a normal day. Didn’t get a ton of sleep last night. We found two cockroaches last night. Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck. 😝 Yes, they’re now dead. Slept with the lights on as I was petrified of going to the bathroom in the night. The landlord said they’re normal for down here. I know. I know. I still don’t like it. 😠 He said to spray the baseboards if we wanted so that’s what we just finished doing. 🤞🏼

We did get to do our normal gym and Starbucks.

I’m excited about tonight. We’re going to the movies to see The Wizard of Oz.

It’s hard to believe that Richard’s never seen it. I couldn’t count how many times I’ve seen it. The movie I’ve watched numerous times plus I’ve also seen the stage musical several times as well. He’s such a great sport. He said he’d love to go. Too bad it’s not a singalong. I’d really love that. Who thinks we should have a singalong The Wizard of Oz in Summerside?

So first dinner and then We’re Off to See the Wizard.

Nite y’all 😴

(Oops I Did It Again – Britney Spears)

Today started off well. Richard dropped me off at the gym for cardio and a Pilates class while he headed off to a Bird Walk.

When he picked me up I learned there were 23 on the walk when there was supposed to be a max of 12. The guide spoke so softly they couldn’t hear her plus they saw no birds. How disappointing. 😢

Then I was off to my hair appointment. It went so well last time that I wasn’t concerned. Not one little bit.

Oops.

Colouring and cut were done and she was blow drying it. That’s when I noticed that the hair down the part was much darker than the rest. Yup. She used a wrong colour on the upper part. 😧 She called the owner over and they agreed to redo the top. Great. So another hour later I’m finally done. Not even an I’m sorry. No discount for the trouble. But they did charge me more than my first appointment. Ahhhhhh. 😠

I’ll be so happy to get back to The Style and have Jason doing my hair. I always knew he was great. Now it’s confirmed. Thanks Jason for being such an amazing stylist. I appreciate all that you do.

Nite y’all 😴