Ballyhoo Festival

We stopped at this little festival after seeing tents below the Intercoastal Waterway Bridge near the Waterway Village restaurants. There were vendors selling art and crafts, live music on an entertainment stage, a cow-train for kids, petting zoo for kids, several food stands by local seafood restaurants, and performances by the Poarch Creek Indian Tribe.




The Poarch Band Indians out of Atmore, AL are descendants of a segment of the original Creek Indian Nation which once covered almost all of Alabama and Georgia. Although they had occupied lands here for hundreds of years, the people of the Creek Nation were driven west by the U.S Army in 1836-1837.

The 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson was imposed on the nation and stripped vast areas of Alabama and Georgia from the Creeks. Other treaties  pressured the Creek people to abandon their Alabama homes ad move to present-day Oklahoma.

U.S. soldiers and state militia troops rounded up thousands of Creek men, women and children, herding them into concentration camps and driving them west on the Trail of Tears. At Fort Gibson, OK, each family was given one blanket and abandoned on lands reserved for them in the West. Most of the survivors were deprived of almost everything they owned.

The wholesale removal of tens of thousands of Creek, Cherokee, Chotaw, Chickasaw and Seminole Indians at the same time is one of the greatest tragedies in American history.

Laughing with a Kookaburra

"Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree, Merry merry king of the bush is he. laugh,Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, Gay your life must be!"

If that was not enough, I got to touch a Bearded Dragoon. The little horns along his side felt like rubber and its skin was rough.

Another Australian Creature

And to add to our nature experience, we saw an Eurasian Eagle Owl. It is one of the largest species of owl and nocturnal.  It feeds on small mammals and birds, reptiles, fish and large insects. It typically breeds on cliff ledges, gullies, among rocks and other concealed locations. Its nest is a scrape which averages two eggs laid at intervals to hatch at different times. Parental care is provided by both adults for five months or so.

It was a fun day.  Do you Ballyhoo?

Sharing the Beach

These signs are new on the Gulf Shore beaches.  Sea turtle populations are in decline around the word and many species are listed as endangered or threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Increased human use and development add to the natural threats, such as storms and predators


Sea Turtles are threatened and endangered animals that look for a safe place to nest and where their hatchlings can emerge from the sand and then find their way safely into the warm Gulf waters. Thousands of sea turtle hatchlings take their first steps on the popular beaches here from May through October.

Protecting Alabama Sea Turtles May through October

Sea Turtles are threatened and endangered animals that look for a safe place to nest and where their hatchlings can emerge from the sand and then find their way safely into the warm Gulf waters. Thousands of sea turtle hatchlings take their first steps on the popular beaches here from May through October.

Sea Turtle Nest

Female sea turtles lay more than 100 leathery, ping-pong ball-size eggs at a time. Only a few young turtles make it to adulthood. Hatchling sea turtles find their way to the gulf waters partly by sing moonlight or starlight. Sea turtle incubation averages 55 to 60 days for nests in Alabama. Most hatchlings emerge together in an "eruption" from the nest.

Loggerhead Sea Turtles are Common in Alabama

Three species of sea turtles next on Alabama's Gulf Coast: Loggerhead, Kemp's Ridley and Green.
Adult loggerhead sea turtles weigh 175 to 350 pounds. Baby hatchlings weigh less than one ounce.

Seriously?

At the Beach

The Gulf State Park's two miles of beaches greet you with white sun-kissed sand surging surf, seagulls and sea shells.

Gulf State Park Pier

Fishing for Rays

The Gulf State Park Pier is the second longest pier on the Gulf of Mexico and Alabama's only public pier on the Gulf. It is 1540 feet long, 20 feet wide and boasts almost 2,500 feet of fishing space.  Cost to go on pier? $3 Only $9 if you want to fish off the pier. Fishing gear and bait available on the pier.  

Don't Forget to Look Up and Enjoy the Scenery

Seafood Festival at The Wharf in Orange Beach

Art at The Wharf

The Seafood Festival is a fundraiser for youth sports in Orange Beach, A. Proceeds are used to purchase uniforms, and equipment for youth baseball.

There were 85 Arts and Crafts vendors selling jewelry, pottery, watercolors, metal items, candles, textile arts etc.  There was also a car show displaying 40 treasured automobiles. 

The Wharf

The Wharf is an entertainment district located on the water between Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.  It has great shops and restaurants and marina attractions.
The Wharf Ferris Wheel is the largest Ferris Wheel in the Southeast at over 112 feet high carrying 140 people in 24 gondolas.

Olive Oil Anyone?

It's a day of music, food, arts and crafts, and military memorabilia.

Kickin' Up Their Heels

Stormy Weather

This year we experienced unusual weather in the south, mostly due to El Nino. 

The El Nino phenomenon is a warming of the Pacific waters, which can have an effect on weather patterns.

There were three tornado warnings in the Ft Meyers area and two tornado warnings in Foley-Gulf Shores-Pensacola while we were staying in those areas. The Gulf states rarely have tornadoes at this time of year. Tornadoes are worse than hurricanes because they know when a hurricane is likely to hit.

Back to the Beach

Senior Trip

The view at The Hangout in Gulf Shores, AL is awesome.  You can sit in the restaurant and watch the waves crash on the white sand beach that stretches for miles. The restaurant was changed up since our last visit two years ago, the bar was moved and more tables were available for up to 350 diners.  

The Place to Be in Gulf Shores

The food is your basic hamburger, hot dog, shrimp basket, etc. but it was good.  The burgers were so big it was hard to wrap your mouth around it.

That's One Big Bite!

Shark Attack Cocktail

The Hangout is located at the "T" intersection of Hwy. 59 and Beach Boulevard. It has a new outdoor stage in the outside patio where you can kick up your heals along with a little sand.  The Hangout hosts many events such as The Hangout Music and Arts Festival and Shrimp Festival.

A New Addition at the Hangout

Hang Loose

Celebration - I am a Seenager (Seniorteenager)

Live every day as if it were your last.  Some day you will get it right.

Happy Birthday,Pati

It was a day to remember. LeRoy took me birthday shopping and when we got back to our coach he gave me a special birthday card. I have everything that I wanted as a teenager only 50 years later.

Later we dined with friends at the Big Fish restaurant in Orange Beach. We enjoyed our meals of fresh seafood and hand-cut steaks, cocktails, a lovely courtyard along with our sassy waiter.

We enjoyed cake and ice cream back at our coach and sat around the campfire talking smart and solving all the problems of the world. A great time was had by all.