This is STOP 21 and 22, the 62nd, 63rd and 64th days of our ten week cross country fall adventure in 2021! Here is a link to our previous stop in Natchez, MS.
The Drive from Natchez, MS to Fairhope, AL
As we leave town to begin today’s drive, we stop to buy gas, however, Harrison’s card is declined. Since this card is with the same bank dealing with Nancy’s compromised card and 72 hours have passed since we requested a replacement card (that didn’t reach us in time), one phone call will hopefully solve two problems. We get that problem fixed when Nancy goes to check on our next Best Western reservation – the mobile app announces she is only “blue” status (the lowest), so another phone call and they assure us that we are “diamond” status. (To this day, the mobile app shows blue and the browser site shows diamond). Can this day start with any more stress?
Today we have a 4.5 hour drive – and we will be visiting and staying with long-time friends Jayne & Dick Edge. We want to maximize our time with them AND we don’t have to deal with delaying our arrival for a 3pm or 4pm check-in – we can just arrive as soon as possible. So once again, we consult our GPS and take the fastest route. We take US-84 east out of Natchez then hop on US-49 south in Collins. In Hattiesburg, we take I-59 south briefly, then US-90 to the outskirts of Mobile, AL. Then we have a quick stint on I-65 south before getting on I-10 east which includes a long-ass bridge across Mobile Bay. In total – we have 12 miles of water crossing that includes a six-lane cable-stayed bridge over the Mobile River and 7.5 miles of eight lane bridges across the Mobile Bay. It has a vertical clearance of 215 feet to accommodate maritime travel.
For the most part there really wasn’t much in terms of scenic beauty on this drive. It is mostly through pine forest with almost no towns. We do stop for a bathroom break at one point and there is this little church with a “No Pets” sign outside of it. We found that interesting and amusing. As we approach Mobile, AL we see the city’s skyscrapers, catch a brief look at the ship yards and see the Battleship Alabama.
Once across the bridge the whole landscape just changes, for the better, of course. In a town called Spanish Fort, we exit onto US-98 south and we see we are driving through beautiful bay towns, one after another. The next major town is Daphne and then we drive through the historic Montrose District which is where the Edge’s actually live (just north of Fairhope). As we get closer to their house, the road is more of a lane – beautiful and picturesque with trees overhanging the way. We spot their driveway and it is longer than expected such that we wonder if this is a shared driveway or just theirs.
Jayne & Dick Edge
Harrison met Jayne back in 1979 when he joined a small company called Datatel and as they do the math, they realize they have known each other over 40 years. In many ways, they “grew up as adults” together while working for the same company. Harrison remembers when Jayne was pregnant and also remembers attending her 30th birthday party at the company. Nancy met Jayne back in 1987 when the university where she worked became a client of Datatel’s…over 30 years. As chairman of the user group Technical Board, she often worked with Jayne on over-arching client issues. Nancy later joined Datatel in 1998. So – we’ve both known Jayne longer than we’ve know each other! Poor Dick is the odd-man out, never having worked at Datatel – but he’s a great listener and conversationalist.
Their home is something that could easily be featured in Southern Living magazine. The main grounds include a 2 bedroom carriage house which is the original home, a separate spacious garage and their recently built home that overlooks Mobile Bay. The view of the bay is breathtaking, especially as the sun sets. The bay can be seen from the two sun rooms that grace both ends of back of the house as well as the screen porch located between the two sun rooms – and then there is the outdoor patio with a gorgeous stone fireplace. A magnificent Live Oak tree sits at the end of the driveway and is at the time of year where its acorns are falling. The foliage in general just compliments their property and we feel truly blessed to have this shared with us.
We settle into our 2nd floor bedroom and take a quick tour of the house. Jayne and Dick were looking for something different when it came to decorating the front foyer of the main house and ended up hiring a young artist who incorporates aspects of the grounds around the house into the the foyer area. Its really looks great!
We realize we haven’t seen Jayne and Dick in 4 years, but the empty time vanishes as we quickly catch up and reminisce.
We then hop in their car and head out for a quick tour of Montrose and Fairhope. We end up at the Yacht Club where we walk down to the end on the pier to take in the breadth and beauty of Mobile Bay. We then head back to sit outside, watch the sunset over the bay and get treated to an area famous drink – the Bushwacker. We’ve never heard of it – but almost every establishment we go to, serves it (although we’re told the quality varies from place to place). It is an alcoholic milkshake that originated in the Virgin Islands – and we joke that we’re having dessert before dinner. After watching the sun set here, we head back to the house. Speaking of dinner, Jayne created a fabulous Greek dish, Chicken Marbella. We have some wine and spend hours sharing more memories and stories and call it an evening.
Day 2 with the Edge’s
Once again, Jayne spoils us with her wonderful cooking. Our breakfast is home-made biscuits and home-made sausage gravy (plus some healthy fruit). Harrison and I decide to go for a walk on their beach, so we descend the 147 steps from their property to the waters and beach below and walk to the right. It is a narrow strip of sandy beach and we only pass 2 women and their dog. We see evidence of some old boat ramps & docks that haven’t been in working condition in some time as well as some that have been rebuilt. Jayne says that some owners haven’t had time since the last series of storms to completely repair all the damage. There is a slight nip in the air and we enjoy seeing the different houses along the shores. We turn around and Nancy heads back to the house, but Harrison wants to walk more. As Nancy gets to the top, she meets Jayne who is about to start her descent to the beach. She will catch up with Harrison and they can walk together.
Once back at the house, Jayne & Dick are going to be our tour guides for the day. It is a wonderful change of pace for us to not be driving or worrying about directions. They give us a tour of Fairhope & Montrose and then we head to the Gulf Shores of AL. Fairhope is a small town filled with shops and restaurants and although we are just passing through we get a little bit of the sense of the community.
From Fairhope to Gulf Shores we travel through a surprising amount of rural farmland and get to see cotton being harvested.
Cotton Harvesting
Gulf Shores is large beach area filled with the types of amusements, souvenir shops,, restaurants, bars, condos and homes you see in many other southern beach towns. Much of it looks fairly new and may be related to how Hurricane Katerina hit this area awhile back.
Jayne and Dick grew up in Alabama and have spent a lot of time in the Gulf Shores area over the years. We share lunch at one of their favorite local haunts, DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen where we each do the “pick three” lunch with a variety of delicious choices. We can see why they enjoy eating here.
When then take a short walk down to the beach and find its mostly deserted. With the cooler temperatures, we see a lot of seagulls and occasionally a brave sun bather along with some folks playing volleyball.
Next we drive through the Orange Beach area and then they take us to a place called “Flora-Bama” which is a 3 story party bar located on the state lines of Florida and Alabama. This is one of the more famous beach bars in the country. In 1962, the state of Florida gave the State of Alabama 2 miles of beach front land in return for the construction of the Perdido Pass Bridge. When built in 1964, the Florida county was “wet” and the Alabama county was “dry”…you could buy it in the Florida section then walk into an Alabama room and enjoy it. As traffic increased in the area, the owners kept building additions to accommodate the crowds. It has changed hands many times over the years and now features live music as a daily event and also hosts multiple events including fishing rodeos, chili cook-offs and the “interstate mullet toss” (not sure what that is). They have 5 stages with local performers and opportunities for open mic – one of which has bras left behind by customers that are hanging above the stage viewing area. We walk around this enormous place, grab a few beverages, people watch and share more great conversation. The picture in the post does not convey the true size of this place. It must be an absolute insane asylum in peak season.
After Flora-bama we head back to Fairhope and visit Jayne and Dick’s favorite bookstore. This place is unusual in that it’s not only a bookstore, it has a coffee bar and sort of a small sports bar all in one. After browsing through a few books Harrison wanders back in the section where the patrons are watching football and having a few beers.
Back at the homestead, we get back just in time the watch the sunset from the backyard. No one feels like either eating out or cooking. The perfect solution is to order pizza and we get 4 different types from The Ravenite Pizzeria.
Watching the sunset over Mobile Bay from the Edge’s home.
It is hard to believe that 2 days has passed to quickly. We truly had a fabulous time and hope to come visit again.
Our last picture be departing the Edge’s
The Drive from Fairhope, AL to Gadsden, AL
Our next true destination is Gatlinburg, TN, but that is too far to drive in one day. We’ve planned a one-night layover in Gadsden, AL which allows us to do some scenic driving and a stop along the way. We follow Jayne’s directions to I-65 and head north to Montgomery where we make a few route switches and finally land on AL-9 north with a goal of stopping at Cheaha State Park in Delta, AL. We pass through a lot farms and small towns as we venture north. At one point we run into a cornhole tournament that is taking place near the county court house.
Located on the southernmost tip of the Appalachian mountains, it is not only the oldest park in AL, but it has the highest point in the state. The park is located in the southern end of the Talladega Scenic Drive (AL-281).
It is a gorgeous Sunday afternoon and the park is very crowded – there is a line about 30 cars long just to get into the parking lot for Bald Knob. Our first stop in the park is the observation tower that was built during the great depression by the Civilian Conservation Corp. We hike up to the top and take a few pictures and then head out to Bald Knob trail.
At 2407 feet above sea level, the hike to Bald Knob is quite easy since they’ve built a boardwalk to access the top.
Time to head to Gadsden for the evening on the fastest GPS route before it gets dark. We stay at the Best Western Plus Gadsden Hotel & Suites and enjoy a delicious dinner at Old Mexico Cantina & Grill, next door to the hotel.
Our Verdict
We probably wouldn’t have known to go to Fairhope, AL if it hadn’t been for the invitation to visit Dick & Jayne. We’ve talked about going to the nearby Gulf Shores of Alabama, but had never gotten there until now. This whole area is worth looking into for a few days stay – and we just might come back here sometime even if the Edge’s don’t live in the area anymore.
Next Up
Our next stop will be a in Gatlinburg, TN – where we spent our honeymoon 21 years ago
Dick and I enjoyed your visit! We have really enjoyed reading and talking about your awesome trip! Thanks for sharing the pics and travel log.
Great review! I hope to visit Jayne and Dick in the future and stay on the beach….Gulf Shores or Orange, maybe just Fairhope. All looks lovely!