The last day of the trip. I have to admit I am starting to feel a bit road weary. These last several drives have been fairly long. I say goodbye to my friend and head out towards New Orleans. I have two stops along the way Gulf Shores and Fair Hope Alabama. Not having much luck in the rest of Alabama I am hoping these towns along the coast will not be the same. Gulf Shores ends up being a strict beach town. It remains part of the “redneck Rivera” Mountains of billboards and tacky crap greet you. This is a place of water-parks and huge condos set right on the beach. Like Panama city a spring break Mecca. I have no issue with this, I rather enjoy this type of area if I am looking for a beach vacation, but I am really on a quest for some place to live and work in a somewhat normal community. This just doesn’t seem to fit the bill. Prices advertised for beach property here do appear to be a lot cheaper then Florida. I find it hard to believe that any of these huge concrete towers will make it through a major hurricane. They sit right on the beach. I drive along the shore road and spy an older wooden restaurant and beach bar wedged between towers of concrete. I stop for lunch. It is so windy stepping out of the car is like having someone run a sandblaster over your face. I seek refuge in “Bahama Bobs” I join the bar crowd and have a Corona. I order a Mahi, Mahi sandwich. Now often at these types of places the crew working there will begin to hate people just by the fact there are so many of them making their life hell. In Bahama Bob’s case they seemed to be all great and very friendly. Customers at the bar were also having a good time. I stayed longer then I should have but enjoyed my time there. Two thumbs up. I moved on to Fair Hope about 20 miles away. This town represents the polar opposite of the rest of Alabama. It is prosperous and seems to have a lot to offer. Nice downtown, fancy homes on the shore but regular homes too. It has a sprawl area ….well we all need a Wal-Mart and a Publics…but it is just outside of town and is designed very well. It is all landscaped and screened with trees so it almost looks good. The town has a lot to offer and the beaches are close. Alabama pulls one out of the hat. From here I headed to New Orleans for my plane the next morning. I came into the city a different way then I left and was really pretty surprised to see the city is still in really bad shape. Street after street of abandon homes and large buildings falling into decay. They will not recover from that flood for many years to come. To bad a great city. I checked into the Raddison and then hit some BBQ bar for my last fix of southern food. Louisiana smoked sausage is the best.
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