Living Our Dream

Bog Blog

Summerdale, AL - Events of Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog is located only a few miles from Rainbow Plantation. It is part of a preserve that protects 6,000 acres of a fragile estuary system along the northern side of Weeks Bay, which lies on the eastern side of Mobile Bay.

We went to the bog a couple years ago. There is a nice boardwalk through the bog where visitors can see a variety of wildflowers and sometimes wildlife in addition to the pitcher plants. On Tuesday, we decided to take the 10-minute drive to the bog to check it out again. Pets on a leash are permitted, so we took Freeway along.

Along the boardwalk at Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog

Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that have tall, tubular leaves that are lined with downward-pointing hairs that trap insects. There is a pool of liquid at the bottom of the tubular leaf containing enzymes that dissolve the insect so the plant can absorb the nutrients. Pitcher plants are relatively rare because of their very limited range and habitat. There are several types of pitcher plants, but the primary type at Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog is the White Topped Pitcher Plant.

Tubular leaves of the White Topped Pitcher Plant

The tubular leaves with their white tops and red veins are very attractive on their own, but they are not the blossoms of the pitcher plants. Separate, red blossoms appear in spring.

Pitcher plant in bloom

Closeup of pitcher plant blossoms

Bogs are constantly moist, but they usually don't have standing water like swamps and wetlands. There was some standing water in the bog the day we were there because of all the rain we received only two days prior.

It was a little later in spring when we went to the bog the last time, and there were more pitcher plants to see (both the tubular leaves and the red blossoms) than there were this time. There were also a few more other wildflowers in bloom back then, but we did see some bitterweed flowers on our latest stop.

Bitterweed

There were also lots of cinnamon ferns, which get their name from their spore-bearing fronds that look like cinnamon sticks.

Cinnamon ferns

The boardwalk winds through the bog and eventually ends up at the Fish River.

Fish River looking upstream

Looking downstream we saw a fisherman at a dock under the bridge casting a net.

Net fishing under the bridge

As we headed back to the car, we stopped for a photo of some wild berry plants blooming alongside the boardwalk.

Wild berries

Even though there weren't quite as many pitcher plants and other wildflowers as there were on our previous visit, we had a nice time walking with Freeway and listening to the birds along the way.

Shortly after we got back to the motor home, we got a text from Pat and Mike asking if we were interested in going to lupper at Lambert's Cafe. They were leaving the next day, so we thought it would be an excellent way to see them off. Lambert's has three locations - one a few miles from Rainbow Plantation in Foley and two more in Missouri. Pat and Mike picked us up, and we all headed to to Foley.

Lambert's Cafe

We have passed by numerous times, but we have never stopped at Lambert's Cafe before. They specialize in southern comfort food, and they are "the only home of throwed rolls." Yeah, we know that's not correct grammar, but that's the way their slogan reads.

Earl and Agnes Lambert opened their first restaurant in 1942 in Sikeston, MO. Their son Norman threw the first dinner roll in 1976 when he couldn't get through the crowd to serve a customer. The customer yelled, "Just throw the danged thing." He did, and a tradition was born.

The side of the restaurant has a mural with likenesses of family members and others who are important to their business. We don't know who the man in the blue shirt and red suspenders is (maybe Norman?), but the roll he is throwing is painted on an air vent making the mural three dimensional.

Mural on the side of Lambert's Cafe

Margery, Paul, Pat and Mike at Lambert's

Lambert's menu is similar to Cracker Barrel with southern favorites like fried chicken, country ham, chicken and dumplings, catfish, pot roast and meatloaf. The big difference is the portion size. The Cracker Barrel portions are adequate, and their prices are very reasonable with most meals costing $7 to $10. The portions at Lambert's, however, are huge. Lambert's prices are somewhat higher, but they're still reasonable considering the much larger portions. Most meals at Lambert's cost $10 to $16. Drinks are served in 34-ounce, insulated mugs with free refills. The dinners are so big they serve most of them in 12" skillets. The photo below shows Pat's barbecued pork steak dinner with three sides (cucumbers and onions, baked sweet potato and baby carrots).

Barbecued pork steak dinner

We knew we would be getting a lot of food at Lambert's, so we both had chicken salad, which is a little lighter meal. It included a large scoop of chicken salad and two sides (shown below with sliced beets and white beans).

Chicken salad plate and two sides (beets and white beans with ham)

In addition to including two or three sides (there are about 20 to choose from), all meals also include what they call "pass-arounds." Servers carrying large bowls, platters or pots serve fried potatoes and onions, macaroni and tomatoes, black-eyed peas, steamed cabbage, and fried okra. There are unlimited refills on the pass-arounds.

Then there are the famous "throwed rolls." We saw rolls being thrown from all the way across the room, but the server will still toss the roll even if he is standing right beside your table. However, if you don't want to risk being embarrassed by missing the catch, you can request the roll be handed to you.

Server (left) winds up to throw a dinner roll from across the room to the people at the table next to us

The rolls are also huge, so we thought we would be good and split one. They are served hot out of the oven. They were so delicious, we couldn't resist splitting a second one.

They also serve apple butter and sorghum syrup with the rolls. We had never had sorghum syrup before, and it is really yummy. Sorghum is a large plant that is a member of the grass family. Some sorghum is grown as a grain, but the the syrup is made from the juices of a sweet variety of sorghum in much the same way molasses is made from sugar cane. After the stalks are crushed, the juice is pressed out then boiled down to a syrup to concentrate the sweetness. We thought the sorghum tasted like a blend of honey and molasses.

Our only complaint about the rolls is Lambert's serves some sort of faux butter spread rather than real butter. However, the rolls are good enough, especially with sorghum, that we hardly missed having real butter.

Most people leave Lambert's with styrofoam boxes of leftover food. The big portions, the large number of included sides, the all-you-can-eat pass-arounds and the endless supply of rolls mean there is often enough extra food for lunch the next day.

When we got back to Rainbow Plantation, we all stopped at our rig to chat a while before we said our good-byes. Then Pat and Mike headed back to their rig to prepare to depart the next morning. They will be heading west this summer, and we probably won't see them again until we all get to Blurberry Hill in December. We'll miss Pat and Mike during the summer, but we'll stay in touch by e-mail, by text and by phone.

We've been eating out a lot on this stop. We have been in lower Alabama for about two weeks and we have eaten at two of our favorite restaurants (plus buying fresh shrimp in Bon Secour), and we have eaten at two new-to-us restaurants. We still have some favorite places where we want to eat, and we may also end up doing some sightseeing. We'll let you know what we're up to in our next post.

A Day Along the Gulf

Summerdale, AL - Events of Monday, November 20, 2012

On Monday, Margery had a pre-admission appointment at the hospital to fill out paperwork prior to her second cataract surgery. After the appointment, we met Pat and Mike and headed south to Gulf Shores. We had read about Gulf Shores State Park in another RVer's blog and we all wanted to check it out for future reference. We also read in the blog about a new restaurant in nearby Orange Beach we wanted to try.

Our first stop was Gulf State Park located just to the east of Gulf Shores, AL. The state park has beaches, a 1,540-foot fishing pier, a golf course, a swimming pool and a campground. We were primarily interested in the campground.

Although the state park lies along the Gulf of Mexico, the campground is across the road from the beach. We drove around several loops of the campground. There are almost 500 sites with full hookups and 30/50-amp electric. The pads and patios are paved, and the sites are nice and big. There are both pull-throughs that are parallel to the road and back-ins. Gulf State Park has definite possibilities if we should ever want to stay closer to the water when we come to Lower Alabama.

The volunteer at the entrance gate also invited us to stop at the nature center located in the campground. There are numerous live reptiles and amphibians in the nature center as well as taxidermy mammals and birds.

Live baby alligators in a plastic pool inside the nature center

Deer and black bear exhibit

Mike and Pat checking out some of the displays

From the state park, we drove a few miles east to Orange Beach to the new restaurant called The Gulf where we had arranged to meet our neighbors from Rainbow Plantation, Lu and Larry.

The Gulf just opened about two weeks prior, and there is little information about it on the internet. They have a website, but as of this writing, the website has no real information about the restaurant - not even the address, hours or phone number. We wouldn't have known about it if it hadn't been for the blogs of a couple of other RVers who happen to be staying in the area.

The restaurant is located on the western side of Perdido Pass, which is a channel through the barrier island. The pass is actually the mouth of the Perdido River. The restaurant has an interesting design. It is constructed from 4 stacked shipping containers.

The Gulf

Ordering is at a walk-up window. There is a chalkboard menu beside the window. The most popular items seem to be the burger and the grouper sandwich, but there are other selections available including one or two specials that the chef comes up.

Order window with chalkboard menu

The Gulf has no indoor seating, so we're not sure what their plans are for winter. It has a lower deck, an upper deck, a grassy lawn and a sandy beach. There are tables and seating located in all these areas.

View of the lawn, lower deck and beach from the upper deck

Note the fine, white lines in the photo above. There is monofilament fishing line strung from the palm trees to the upper deck criss-crossing over the lower dining areas to keep the sea gulls away. They seemed to be very effective because we didn't see any birds at all in the dining area.

One of the picnic tables had stools made from cast-iron tractor seats. Margery tried one and said it would make a perfect bicycle seat!

Margery trying a stool made from a cast-iron tractor seat

There is comfortable lounge seating on the beach...

Seating on the beach

...and on the upper deck. The floor of the upper deck is real grass and has its own irrigation sprinklers.

Comfortable seating on the upper deck

More seating on the upper deck

We chose a table on the grassy lawn because those tables had umbrellas for shade. Shade seemed like a good idea when we first arrived. However, we spent almost two hours there eating, chatting and looking around, so we were wishing for more sun as it cooled off in the late afternoon.

Larry, Lu, Mike, Pat, Margery and Paul

Lu and Larry had grouper sandwiches, and the rest of us had burgers. The prices at The Gulf are a little high, but aren't bad considering how good the food is and considering the waterfront location and ambiance. The grouper sandwiches are $12, and the burgers are $6. Hand-cut fries are $4. The sandwiches are served with half a huge dill pickle. Cheese for the burgers (American, blue or Swiss) is $1.50 extra bringing the total for a cheeseburger and fries to $11.50.

Burger and fries

After we ate, we tried out some of the seats on the beach.

On the beach

We loved The Gulf. Like Bahama Breeze, it really makes you feel like you are on vacation on a tropical island. Not only that, but the food is excellent. We can't wait to go back!

Montgomery, AL Part III: Good Eats

Montgomery, AL - Events of Tuesday, October 16 to Friday, October 19, 2012

After we finished our tour of the First Confederate White House on Tuesday, we had one more thing in the downtown area we weren't sure whether we wanted to do or not, so we drove several blocks to the northwest to check it out. Old Alabama Town is a collection of about three dozen old homes and other buildings from 1800s and early 1900s that have been rescued from demolition and restored.

When we arrived, we could see 4 tour buses in the back parking lot and a gaggle of kids playing in the playground in front of the visitor center. Although you have to pay $10 to see the buildings up close and to tour the insides, many of the buildings can be seen from the street. Therefore, we decided to just walk down the street and check things out from the outside before we paid our admission fee. Below are a few of the things we could see as we walked by.

Lucas Tavern c.1810

Looking over the fence into a garden

Old Alabama Town looked like it might be interesting, but we were kind of tired and hungry, so we decided to skip it for this visit. It will be a good excuse to come back some day.

The Tucker Pecan Company is located on the corner across from Old Alabama Town, so we stopped in on our way back to the car. We sampled some delicious cinnamon pecans and some chocolate-covered pecans; but since we are still limiting our carbs and sugar, we decided not to buy anything.

Tucker Pecan Company

On the way back to the motor home, we stopped at Las Casitas Mexican Restaurant located in Prattville, AL for a late lunch. Not only did Las Casitas get good online reviews, it wasn't too far out of our way since we were staying just a little to the east of Prattville.

Las Casitas Mexican Restaurant

Lunch specials are $5.50 to $6.00. Margery had a chicken chimichanga with refried beans and a small guacamole salad, and Paul had a chicken burrito and a chili relleno combo that also included a small guacamole salad. Both meals were delicious, and the service was efficient.

Paul with his lunch combo

We hung out around the motor home on Wednesday, and we drove to the eastern side of Montgomery on Thursday to stop at Sam's Club to pick up a few items we needed. Then we stopped at Walmart to restock groceries. Back at the motor home, Paul worked on a project in the afternoon. We'll have more info on the project in our next post.

It's been a long time since we have had barbecue. There are numerous barbecue joints in the area, so we decided to try one of them for lupper on Friday afternoon. Most of the local barbecue places got good online reviews, so we had a hard time deciding which one to go to. We ended up at Champs Barbecue about 15 minutes to the north of the campground in Wetumpka, AL.

Champs Barbecue

Champs has pork barbecue, ribs and smoked sausage. They also have burgers and chicken tenders for those not interested in barbecue. Sandwiches and burgers are $3.75. Sides are extra. Plates cost $7.90 for one meat and two sides and $10.90 for two meats and two sides. Rib plates cost $12.95. We both had chopped pork plates. Margery had cole slaw and onion rings for her sides, and Paul had slaw and potato salad.

Chopped pork barbecue plate

Margery can't wait to dig in.

The service was fast and friendly, and the food was delicious. The pork was tender, moist and smoky. The sauce was a perfect blend of sweet and tart - just the way we like it. The slightly-sweet, crunchy cole slaw went well with the slightly-tart barbecue sauce. Margery thought the onion rings were delicious, and Paul's potato salad had a hint of dill.

We love the cute signs and pig-themed decor that many barbecue joints have. We especially liked the pig made from old license plates at Champs.

Pig made from old license plates

Paul caught sight of the "Hog Wash" sign as we were going out the door, and he couldn't help but chuckle out loud.

Hog wash

As we said earlier, Paul worked on a project during our stay, and we'll have a report on it in our next post.

Montgomery, AL Part II: First Confederate White House

Montgomery, AL - Events of Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Located to the immediate south of the Alabama State Capitol building in downtown Montgomery is the First White House of the Confederacy. As we mentioned in our last post, the Confederate States of America was organized and Jefferson Davis was elected president in the Senate Chamber in the Alabama State Capitol in 1861, so it was only fitting that Montgomery would serve as the capital of the Confederacy, at least initially.

After we toured the Capitol, we walked over to the First Confederate White House. Self-guided tours are available every day except Sunday. Admission is free.

First Confederate White House

The newly-formed Confederate States of America leased the house for Jefferson Davis and his family for $5,000 a year, which was an enormous sum back then. Originally located several blocks away, the house was moved to its present location beside the Capitol in 1921.

Photo of First Confederate White House in its original location taken in 1901

The two-story Italianate frame house, which was built between 1832 and 1835, had been previously owned by several prominent Montgomery citizens. Today, the house is furnished with many items originally belonging to Jefferson Davis and his family as well as other pieces from the 1850s and 1860s. Many of the items belonging to the Davis family came from their post-war retirement home Beauvoir in Biloxi, MS. Click here to read about our 2011 visit to Beauvoir.

Photography is permitted inside the First Confederate White House provided you don't use a flash, so we are able to show many of the rooms.

Entry hall

In addition to the entry hall, the first floor had the bedrooms of Jefferson and Mrs. Davis, a double parlor, the dining room, the kitchen (not part of the tour) and a study.

Jefferson Davis' bedroom

Mrs. Davis' bedroom

Double parlor

Dining room

Jefferson Davis maintained an office in one of the government buildings, but some of the business of the Confederacy was conducted in the study of the Davis' home.

Study where some of the business of the Confederacy was conducted

The second floor had the children's rooms and guest rooms.

Second floor guest room

One of the former bedrooms on the second floor was set up as a small museum and contained many personal items belonging to the Davis family and items from the First White House like the piece of Confederate bunting in the display case in the foreground of the photo below.

Margery in the small, second-floor museum

After we finished our tour of the First White House, we did a little more exploring in downtown Montgomery. We also ate out a couple of times over the next several days. We'll tell you more in our next post.

Montgomery, AL Part I: Alabama State Capitol

Montgomery, AL - Events of Monday, October 15 to Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Our next destination after leaving the Chattanooga area was Montgomery, AL. We got a fairly early start Monday morning because it was another longer than usual drive of almost 5 hours. We also had to hook up the toad and stop at the dump station before we hit the road. Fortunately, we gained an hour because we drove into the Central Time Zone shortly after leaving Chattanooga. We pulled into Capital City RV Park, which is located on the northern side of Montgomery, about 1:45 CDST.

Capital City RV Park has 85 or 90 full-hookup sites with 30/50-amp electric. All but about 10 of the sites are pull-throughs. The roads are semi-paved (tar and chips), the widely-spaced sites are fresh gravel and the generously-sized patios are concrete. The sites are also extra-long. There is well-manicured grass and shrubs between the sites with a few larger trees here and there. The nice landscaping is a testament to the owners' previous landscaping business.

Our site at Capital City RV

View down our row at Capital City RV

The campground has free cable and Wi-Fi. Our site was toward the back of the campground so the Wi-Fi signal was a little weak. There were a few times (usually in the late afternoon when everyone returned form the day's activities) when we got dumped off and couldn't reconnect. However, when the Wi-Fi worked, which was most of the time, it was fairly fast. When it didn't work, we used our Verizon Broadband, which is 4G in the Montgomery area.

There is some traffic noise from the 4-lane road that passes the campground, but it diminishes at night. You can also sometimes hear a few distant trains depending on which way the wind is blowing.

The standard nightly rate at Capital City RV is $30, which isn't bad for full hookups, 50 amps, free Wi-Fi, free cable and big sites. However, their weekly rate of $140 is a real bargain. The price was so good we even decided to spring for an additional $10 for the week for an extra-large site since we had just spent several days in tight quarters at Chester Frost Park.

Montgomery is the capital of Alabama, so one of the things we decided to do was to see the Alabama State Capitol building. Free, self-guided tours are available Monday through Friday for individuals and small groups. Large groups can call to arrange for guided tours.

We headed into Montgomery on Tuesday morning. Since the legislature was not in session, there was plenty of metered, on-street parking available in the vicinity of the capitol. Metered parking in that area was very reasonable at 25 cents for 30 minutes with a two-hour limit.

Alabama had several territorial and state capitol buildings in several other cities before moving the state capital to Montgomery in 1846. The current capitol building is constructed from stucco over brick. It was completed in 1851 and is the second capitol in Montgomery. The first was destroyed by fire.

Alabama Capitol

The Alabama State Capitol is fairly modest compared to some of the very impressive granite and marble structures we have seen. Even though there have been a couple of wings added over the years, the capitol building is relatively small, so most of the state's business is conducted in a series of office buildings such as the one shown below that surround the Capitol.

One of many office buildings that surround the capitol

Even the legislature no longer uses the Capitol. They meet and have their offices in the State House which is located behind the Capitol.

The main entry hall is flanked by a pair of cantilevered, spiral staircases that lead to the second and third floors. Paul always likes spiral staircases because of the sweeping curves and different shapes that can be seen from different angles.

Spiral staricase looking up from the first floor

Looking straight up from below

The pair of staircases as seen from the second floor

In what used to be the Supreme Court Chamber there is a display honoring the Alabama's Fallen Heroes. The display is flanked by a pair of symbolic Fallen Soldier's Battle Crosses that are made up of boots, rifles and helmets.

Fallen Heroes display

From the second floor rotunda, you can look up into the dome and see the stained glass skylight at the top. The original rotunda was very plain. Ornate plasterwork and a marble floor were added 1906-1912, and the murals above the third floor depicting Alabama history were added in the late 1920s.

Alabama State Capitol rotunda

After the legislature moved to the State House 1985, the old House Chamber was restored to its 1870-1890 appearance. The old House Chamber was the the site of a meeting in January, 1861 where Alabama voted to secede from the Union.

Old House Chamber restored to its 1870-1890 appearance

Old House Chamber from the gallery

The old Senate Chamber is restored to look the way it did in 1861.

Senate Chamber restored to its appearance in 1861

View of the Senate Chamber from the gallery

The year 1861 is significant because delegates from the secessionist states met in the Alabama Senate Chamber on February 4, 1861 to organize the government of the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as President of the Confederacy on the front steps of the Capitol. Montgomery served as the CSA capital until it was moved to Richmond in late May, 1861.

Plaque commemorating the formation of the Confederate States of America

After we toured the Alabama State Capitol, we had one more thing we wanted to see in the neighborhood. We'll tell you about it in our next post.