Thursday, April 21, 2011

Spring Break!

In the last week, I've gone from freezing rain and 40s in Indianapolis to almost 90 degrees, hot and humid back home. I'm not complaining--I love spring break at the beach!

The girls and I've made the drive from our house to Orange Beach or Gulf Shores or Pensacola more times than I can count in the last seven years. So for this vacation post, I'll share some of my favorite landmarks and send warm thoughts to you guys still dealing with winter.

Here's my two little ladies loving the Gulf.

It's all over the news that it's been a year since the oil spill. That made me realize it's been more than a year since I started blogging. One of my first conversations with Matt was about the oil spill.

This next shot is amazing.

An ancient shack on Alabama 181--on the road to the beach. The house appears a million years old and abandoned, but the roses are growing over the roof to this day.

That's the nice thing about this area. Everything grows forever here. Except tulips. My grandmother always wanted to grow tulips, but no dice.

I threw in one of the farmlands between my house and the beach next. Baldwin County used to be predominantly farms. I interview natives all the time who talk about working in the fields as teens, picking vegetables, working at the produce stands, etc., for summer jobs.

In the 1990s it became more profitable to sell the land to developers, and it looked like the farms were on the way out. Then in 2009, all the developers went belly-up, and now it's more profitable to farm.

I have to confess. I'm glad the farms are back.

These next two are waterways. Wolf Bay Watershed, Fish River, Weeks Bay Watershed, the Magnolia River, and more crisscross the drive to the beach.

First is the Magnolia River. There's this old pirate-type sailboat (right) always docked there. You have to look closely. Next is the overpass at Weeks Bay. It looks out to the Gulf.

But for me, it's all about the beach. So I'll leave you with two more beach shots.

One's a beautiful house right on the Gulf wedged between the high rises.

The other's just one of Orange Beach. One of my favorite places in the world.


Wish you were here!

Have a great spring break, reader-friends! Happy Easter! Til Monday~ <3

30 comments:

Old Kitty said...

I wish I were there too!!! What a lovely spring break!! Hello to your adorable girls!! They're gorgeous!!

Oh that blue house is amazing!! I love that house!! Wow!!!!

It's great to see that area of the Gulf untainted by that oil spill! Good grief - that was such a horrific scandal!! :-(

Happy one year blogoversary!!!! Enjoy your break!! Take care
x

vic caswell said...

golly! i wish we were there too! beautiful pics!

Jessica Bell said...

Closing my eyes and visualizing it! ;o) Happy Easter to you too! xoxo

Renae said...

Looks like you are all having an amazing vacation! Love the pictures!

Unknown said...

Sooo lovely. I haven't been to the beach in years! Cade was probably 8 months old the last time we made in down to FL. :( Granted there was that little recession thing, but...

Kylie's spring break begins tomorrow. We're hitting up MN next week and the mall of America. I am praying for actual spring weather!

Matthew MacNish said...

Who's Matt?

We used to go to Gulf Shores, AL, and stay in houses that were up on stilts. I remember vividly being about 6 years old, and being terrified by the largest bee I had ever seen in the canebrake behind the house.

Ella said...

Happy Spring break n' Easter! Wonderful photos; you remind me of my trips to AL. I swore I wouldn't get pregnant in the sweltering, southern heat. Never say never...
Thanks for reminding me of happy memories~ Your girls are adorable; love the old house with lush roses!

Michael Di Gesu said...

Enjoy your vacation, Leigh!

KM Nalle said...

Enjoy! It looks wonderful. (I'm a tad jealous.) That house with the roses is inspirational. Muse is running with it already.

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

You can't possibly wish I were there as much as I wish I was there. It's cold and rainy here. I think the sun is skipping Ohio this year.

Angela said...

I was at the beach, too. It was beautiful. And I really like those wild roses growing over the dilapidated house.

Michelle Merrill said...

Great pictures! Looks like you had a fun spring break. That house on the beach is gorgeous and I love the roses on the other house! That's amazing :)

RosieC said...

It looks like you've had a nice spring break. Those pictures are really nice, especially that beach house. Wouldn't I love to spend a couple of days there! And those roses? Amazing.

Btw, sorry about the weather in Indy. I swear it was nice up here last week. We even hit the 80s a couple of weeks ago. Spring apparently took ill and is hiding out until Summer can take over, I think.

Happy Easter to you and yours!

Rosie
East for Green Eyes

Lydia Kang said...

Those roses are amazing! Wow!

N. R. Williams said...

I've only seen the ocean once in my life when I was little. But I hear it calling just reading your post.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium.

Hart Johnson said...

Man, I wish I was there, TOO! We had SNOW yesterday morning--you heard me. SNOW! Freaking Michigan. Though the next 3 days should hit 70. MAN, I wish summer would just get here.

I totally see why you love the gulf. It's gorgeous!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Leigh .. had a good catch up .. just hope you can get the house hunting sorted .. that rose cottage looks fantastic .. mmm I'd love to live there.

This neck of the woods looks pretty nice too .. and the beach .. well - you know for once little old England isn't doing too bad .. very warm, but without the stickiness!! Windows open all the time .. surprising at this time of year ..

Enjoy your break with the girls .. can you do Easter eggs in that heat?

Cheers - Hilary

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Happy Easter! I like cold weather, but 40's in April is a bit cold even for me.

DEZMOND said...

sounds like a great spring break!

LTM said...

@Hilary--ah, the dream: warm without the stickiness. LOL! :D yeah, it's actually not that bad. Yet. Have a great holiday! <3

@Nel--Thanks! And thanks for the visit~ :o)

walk2write said...

Soak it up, that sea-nery, and let those Hoosiers know what a Gulf Coast girl is made of. Sugar-sand and spice and everything nice...

Unknown said...

Wow, it's so wonderful. What a great place to visit. Your two little girls are so cute!

Al said...

What an amazing part of the world.
I love the old cottage with the rose growing over the top.

We used to grow tulips in QLD, but strictly as an annual. You had to put the bulbs in the fridge for a few weeks to make them think they had a real winter.

What an amazing beach house!

PK HREZO said...

You too! Have a wonderful spring break. We're headed to Daytona for ours, leaving tomorrow. Love that shack with all the roses... so poetic!

See ya on the flip side.... or as my daughter would say, "see ya on the flip flop!" ;)

LTM said...

@PK--woo!!! Have fun--Daytona. Spring break central. See you IN your flip flops... :D <3

Stina said...

I wish I was there too. ;)

Love the photos. Wow. No snow in them. I'm jealous. :P

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

gorgeous shots! And yep, wish I was there :)

Unknown said...

Looks beautiful! (your girls and the beach!) I've never been to Florida, maybe someday.

Auto Title Loans said...

You know what would be great? A farm on the beach. I'm not sure how that would work, but it would be my dream. Can you imagine what would make you happier?

LTM said...

@ATL--lol! I can't tell if you're joking, but that's making me giggle. I'm not much of a farmer, but I'd take living on the beach here any day~ :o)