Hi gang!
Hope everybody is healthy, wealthy, and wise. We are still in LA (For those of you with short memories, or over the age of sixty, that stands for Lower Alabama.) but our time is getting short. In fact, very short. The Happy Couple have spent today getting the house and the truck ready to move. Tomorrow is the dreaded thing we all knew was coming. You see, tomorrow we start the trek north. It's back to Iowa, and for my friend Dave, it's back to work for the summer.
I would say we have had, for the most part, a good winter. If it had not been for the passing of Shari's dad, it would probably qualify as a great winter. The weather has been decent with only a few days of cold weather. The amount of rain has been exceptionally low and the temperatures here at Foley have been great. In fact I just yelled at the Village Idiot to see what the temperature was now and he reported it was 78* as I am writing this. With a nice NW breeze and low humidity, that ain't bad folks. It's so nice that Shari and Moe are outside sunbathing in the queen's chair. Dave says he's outside working but he seems to come inside quite often to get a cold beer. He says the neighbors came over and are drinking all his beer but every time I look out the window he is sitting in a lawn chair and nobody else is around. I think he is trying to get up his nerve to tell Shari that he doesn't want to leave.
What has the Happy Couple been doing the last month here in LA? Well, enough to put 1800 miles on the truck. It seems I have had to guide them all over and there is a lot to see in this area if you dig deep enough. One day, the two of them had lunch at Lulu's in Gulf Shores. Lulu's is a restaurant, lounge, marina, outdoor recreation place owned by Lulu Buffet, Jimmy Buffet's sister. The food was a little expensive but great on the tasting side. And no, Jimmy wasn't there, although he does show up unannounced occasionally. Twice, the rather Unhappy Couple rolled out of bed early in the morning (before 8:00 AM) and went to Pensacola to see the Blue Angles practice only to not to see a performance. The first time it was the Blue Angles' first day back from California and they had to do fly overs to learn their landmarks. Yesterday they did not practice because of low clouds in the area. The pilots did do some flying both days but not their show routine. All my buddy Dave could say is "Wait till next year." Sounds like a Cub saying. The Happy Couple made a couple trips to Pensacola to Joe Patti's Seafood. If you have never heard of Joe Patti's don't feel bad. The Happy Couple never had either. But they say, they won't come back here again without going to Joe Patti's. This seafood shop is the #2 tourist attraction in Pensacola and ranked #7 in Southern Living Magazine: "10 Things We Love About Florida!" It is a great seafood shop. To learn more go to www.joepattis.com Another great find was The Roadkill Cafe in Eberta, AL. When you have a cafe with the motto "You Kill It - We'll Grill It" you know it's got to be good. They're open Monday through Saturday 11:00 AM until they run out of food. This is authentic southern food served southern style. The Happy Couple had lunch there yesterday and Dave came out with a bright orange t-shirt and his stomach stuck out in front of him about a foot more than normal. He could hardly waddle across the street. I wish I would have had the camera. It would have been great on YouTube. I could go on with this forever but I know you have other things to do so I'll probably bring up some of the other things at a later time.
The Happy Couple have met a lot of nice people during the month they have been here. Actually, most of the people they met were through Moe. The Couple would take Moe for a walk, they would see people out walking, the people always want to talk and pet Moe, Moe would do her normal thing of "Meet N Greet", and then they would say to Shari and Dave "Oh, by the way, who are you?" One couple is Joe and Carolyn from northern Indiana. Joe is a golfer and wants to go play a round with Shari next year. (Golf that is.) Another couple is Paul and Karen from Michigan. Paul and Karen are bike riders and the Happy Couple hope to do some riding with them next year. A third couple is Jerry and Mary from south central Illinois. There is not a whole lot about cooking that Mary and Jerry don't know. Mary is a professional cake baker and bakes for numerous weddings during the spring, summer, and fall. Jerry is great guy but hard to describe. To give you an idea of what he is about, he has a sandwich he makes that starts with rye bread. You put on a thick slice of garlic baloney, a slice of super sharp cheddar cheese, a thick slice of sweet onion, and crunchy peanut butter. Try it! You'll love it! A fourth couple is Marilyn and Duane from the St. Louis area. They were originally from the Wapello area and really know their way around SE Iowa. My only concern about them is if Moe ever disappears, I think I would know were to go look for her. M and D watch Moe when the Happy Couple are out touring and Moe has decided she would like to go live with them full time. It has something about the animal crackers they feed to her all the time. Last evening the Couple took Moe out for her evening walk and she walked right to M and D's motorhome and started right up the steps. I heard she was looking for the doorbell when Dave pulled her away. Now there are times when I would help pack her suitcase if she really wants to move. But I don't think The Happy Couple would go for that.
Even though The Happy Couple are going to miss south Alabama and the new friends they have met, they are looking forward to getting reunited with their family and old friends back in Iowa. The plan is to leave tomorrow and travel to Natchez, MS to meet friends Ed and Deb for the weekend. On Monday the 4 of them are going to Tunica, MS for 3 nights and meet up with friends Al and Pam. Ed and Deb have been in south Texas for a couple months and Al and Pam are coming over from the Atlanta area. Next Thursday, the trek north will continue with another overnight stop and arriving at Crossroads RV Park in Mount Pleasant on Friday, April Fools Day. From what I have heard about the long term weather forecast, I think the joke is going to be on the Happy Couple. I haven't seen Dave in long pants for about 5 weeks. It ain't going to be pretty folks!!!! If there is anybody that would like to take Moe and me for a few weeks until it warms up, we sure would appreciate it. Call me on Shari's phone.
I do have a little trivia question to ask before I sign off. Without using Google or any other search engine, can anyone name Elizabeth Taylor's 7 husbands and which one she married twice? The Village Idiot has trouble remembering all his wives and he has only been married once. There may be a valuable prize for the first correct answer.
Well I guess I had better quit for now. I think stupid is about out of beer so the fight over going back to Iowa or not should be starting shortly. We may, or may not be back in Iowa. Just depends on who wins.
Later,
Tag
A quaint little drinking couple with a camping problem!
