Yesterday, Don and I took a little road trip to nearby Fairhope, AL, one of the most charming community I've ever encountered. A friend recommended that we check it out on our first winter here on the Gulf coast and we loved it. As you may have guessed, I'm a bit lacking in photographic skills so I'm taking pics from the town website, for your viewing pleasure.
Fairhope is located on the Eastern shore of Mobile Bay, across from the city of Mobile. This pic from the city website is a view of the bay taken from the large and lovely city park that stretches along the shore of the bay. We always finish our visit to Fairhope with a drive through the park. Yesterday was a beautiful day to be outdoors, and plenty of people were at the park when we drove through at 4 o'clock, enjoying the sun and the warm, feeding the ducks and geese, and fishing from the fishing pier. I've always thought this park was a wonderful gift to the people of Fairhope.
When we arrived in the city, the first thing was for Don to get in line for his haircut at the local barbershop. He found this old fashioned barbershop--complete with a revolving red striped barber pole outside the door!--last year and Vernon, the barber, gave him the best haircut he's ever had in his life! Vernon (all last year we referred to it as "Bubba's Barber shop" since we didn't know the barber's name, but now we know it's Vernon.) only takes walk-ins so Don had to wait quite awhile until the chair was ready for him. While he waited in the shop, I explored a couple of boutique clothing stores nearby and then sat at the outdoor Lebanese cafe and sipped a glass of Lebanese iced tea. Unique and tasty!
After Don was all spruced up, we walked to one of the many interesting restaurants in this town and got ourselves a bowl of seafood gumbo for me and a gigantic smoked turkey sandwich for Don. He also ordered Cajun potato salad which I tasted and liked. It's a basic potato salad with some Cajun seasoning added, so I can easily make this at home too.
We stopped at a couple of stores on our walk back to the car and picked up some things to take home with us. But the real pleasure of being in this town is that it surrounds you with charm and beauty. I did manage to get a couple of pics I want to share with you, beginning with this shot of one of the flower beds that line every sidewalk in the downtown part of the city. There are a wide variety of flowers in these beds but primarily tulips and pansies along with fillers like the Dusty Miller shown in this pix.
Lots of the shops had hanging baskets of flowers and potted flowers around their doors. I particularly liked this one featuring the pink cyclomen. Even in the summer, we don't have planters as beautiful as this one, but I just got an idea of how I can begin changing that, starting with my own pots this summer! Yes!
We do have lots of bright red geraniums back home, and I was delighted when I saw these window boxes outside this jewelry store. So brilliant along side of the white trim on this building.
My friend tells me that Fairhope hosts an amazing art fair in March every year and I'd like to take it in some day, but we're usually back home before the fair begins. Maybe another time.
Before we went on our road trip, I deconstructed the striped Solstice block that I didn't like, here,
and resewed it into something I like better, here,
I also took a good look at the most recent block Pat Sloan posted and decided to pass on it. It's kind of an exploding star that finishes at about 32" and that's way more than I bargained for! I'm liking the 12" blocks and I'm sure there will be enough to make a throw sized quilt if nor a bed quilt. Besides, if I need a few more blocks, I can make them up with designs of my own choosing. I mean, it's my quilt, isn't it?
Today I'll put away all my sewing paraphernalia in preparation of our guests who will be here before lunch time. It's pouring rain right now and that cancels Don's golfing for the day. I don't know what we'll do with the 8 year old if it's still raining this afternoon. We'll see how it goes.
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