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Monday, February 19, 2018

We got up this morning with another plan for the day. We would be going to Wahlburgers for lunch today. We only have a little more than 9 days left here at Gulf Shores and we want to eat at a couple more places before we move on. Were not moving far but we will be gone from the Gulf Shores area and moving to Robertsdale, Alabama about 40 miles north of here for a week before moving into Mississippi. We’re looking forward to going to an area we’ve never been to before.

We left for OWA, which is an amusement complex, just after noon, and not knowing where it was we were depending on the GPS to find it. We drove to the other side of Foley looking for the road that it said it would be on. While the GPS said it would be on the west side of Hwy 59, it was actually on the east side. And the address reported was a road only inside the OWA complex. When we finally figured it out, it was necessary for us to drive around the complex until we found a way in. After driving around it twice, we finally found an entrance that looked promising. After we got in, we found the Wahlburgers easily.

The restaurant is in a building called the Uptown Theater which is a building resembling an old time movie house. But as you go into the building it transforms into a regular looking restaurant. The actual OWA complex is like a little town much like the Branson Landing in Missouri.

In any event we ordered the “Our” Burger, which is a favorite of Paul’s, and an order of Onion Rings. The food was great and only slightly more pricey than going to a regular place. It was $8.25 for the Burger and $4.25 for the basket of Onion Rings. We enjoyed it thoroughly.

It was much easier to find our way home than it was to find the restaurant. Had we known where to go, it would have been easy to find the restaurant also.

By the time we got back home Sharon took off with the laundry to go across the street and get that caught up. I was content to digest my lunch and watch the Olympic coverage.

Obviously there was no Supper for either of us tonight even though we snacked through the night. I couldn’t make it until the end of the sports coverage tonight and was in the sack about 10:30.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Sharon was off on her walk this morning as soon as she got dressed. It’s starting to get very warm in the mornings along with the increase in humidity. She comes home dragging every morning that she goes.

We left home this morning heading down the Beach road to the Waffle House when a car in front of us stopped short and the next car jammed on their brakes and needless to say we ran into the back of. I thought it might be the end for our towbar from the noise it made, but miraculously there didn’t seem to be ANY damage on either vehicle. Apparently the crash only made noise and no damage.

A block down the street was the Waffle House where our original destination was located. We went in and had a wonderful Breakfast even though the service today was shaky. It was great service the last time I was here with Les. But the food was good regardless.

When we got home I made a careful inspection of the towbar. No dents, no scratches, no broken bolts. It looked and worked just fine.

After Sharon posted on Facebook that we went to Waffle House for Breakfast, Diane posted that Les felt left out and lonesome cause it’s one of his favorite places to eat. I had thought about calling them but we went late so I thought they might have already eaten. In any event they stopped over this afternoon and we spoke about it and the fact that we were going to Panini Pete’s tomorrow for lunch. It’s up in Fairhope and I agreed to drive.(hopefully accident free)

Sharon whipped up some Potato Salad for Supper tonight, and along with it, we had the leftover meatballs in sandwiches. It was a very good combination.

I checked out the Olympics again tonight and found them lacking again. Lindsey Vonn, after a big buildup, pretty much failed the hype like a big wind, no rain. The female figure skaters came up short with missteps in their routines. All in all another disappointing day for the U.S. I had enough by 10 even though it was my bedtime.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

We were up with a plan this morning that included Les and Diane and a little bit of a drive up north.

After Sharon came back from her walk she commented that it is now too warm and humid to go for her walk at 9am. She comes back now and can hardly climb the steps to get inside.

We picked up Les and Diane and headed out toward Fairhope, Alabama where Panini Pete’s Café and Restaurant is located. It took us about 45 minutes to get there, although Fairhope is a decent sized town but it’s kind of out of the way, unless you come from Interstate 10.

Panini Pete’s is a Restaurant that has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. We saw it about a year ago and were anxious to eat there if we ever came back to Alabama. So this was our day for that.

The GPS took us to the French Quarter, which is where the Restaurant is located in Downtown Fairhope. It’s a good thing we had the GPS since there was no other indication of the restaurant, except a little sign, with a bunch of others, at the entrance to the French Quarter.

We sat in an atrium Dining room that was wrought iron framing and surrounded by glass. It was quite unique.

We ordered our Paninis and Sharon and I had the Roast Turkey with lettuce tomato, and onion. It had a unique sauce on it that made it taste really good. Les and Diane each had a muffelata (spelling) and also enjoyed them.

On the way home we looked for, and stopped at, Krispy Kreme to pick up some Raspberry filled donuts that Les had been bragging about for a few days, since we saw their picture on Facebook having Breakfast on the Beach.

We got home and I dug into the donuts immediately. I wanted to taste that Raspberry one to see if they’re that good. It was okay but nothing to write home about. I guess I’m not a big fan of Krispy Kremes.

I caught up on my Olympics when we returned this afternoon and they actually showed some optimism. We had some people actually in the running for medals. And then low and behold we actually had some kids winning them.

The nighttime version of the games showed that we even won some Golds for our efforts. I went to bed happy tonight for a change. I slept like a log.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

We awoke to another sunshiny warm day today that was going to be perfect for what we were going to do.

Sharon went for her walk and came back sweating before we decided where to go and what to do today.

Sharon and I had a plan all worked out this morning before she changed it. But that’s what she does, and I just go along to keep the peace. Actually I was agreeable to both plans.

So we took off this morning looking for a T-shirt for the big guy and failed miserably. We went to 4 of the huge surf shops at the end of Hwy 59 and couldn’t find a single embroidered shirt. Apparently the only shirts available are the stamped shirts that are overpriced and ready to be scooped up by the Spring Breakers. We’ll be long gone from here by the time they show up. At this point we have no idea where to pick up a shirt, but Sharon is going shopping for a dress tomorrow so she can keep looking.

Phase 2 of our plan today was to go to Lambert’s Café for lunch. We’ve had trouble at this restaurant with the pass-arounds. Pass-arounds are the extras that they serve randomly after you’re gotten your order. They consist of Fried Okra, Black Eyed Peas. Macaroni and Tomatoes, Fried Potatoes and even cooked Cabbage. The “Throwed Rolls” are the unique feature that come flying at you from different directions by just holding your hand up. But today as was in the past, the pass-arounds came very slow, and people, including, us complained about the slow service. We did have a nice lunch however, and then we hurried home to get back to the air conditioning.

Sharon took a little nap and sat upright to digest my lunch. I also caught up on the Olympic coverage for the day. By the time Supper rolled around I was completely caught up. Having eaten lunch late today neither of us was hungry for Supper. Later I was munching on a bowl of cereal.

After the cereal I was back to the Olympics again for the rest of the night. I was being more optimistic watching tonight. The women’s Hockey team picked up a Gold

medal tonight and the men’s Curling Team got into the gold medal finals.

Jessie Diggins pulled out a Gold in the team sprint Cross Country. The first medal we’ve ever gotten in Cross Country. I managed to stay up for the Women’s Figure Skating even though there were no girls in contention for a medal.

Friday, February 23, 2018

Another sunshiny day awaited us this morning and Sharon was off on her walk early. By the time she came home she welcomed the air conditioning that I had already turned on. It’s not that it’s super warm in the morning but the humidity has been hitting early.

The first thing on her agenda today was going to be a shopping trip to look for a dress for our daughter’s wedding in May and then on to the grocery store to pick up a few staples. She was gone until about 1:30 and Les and Diane were picking us up for lunch at 2.

We had planned to go to the Fish River Grill at least one time while we were here, for their Cajun Crawfish Pistols. Today was going to be that day. Surprisingly Les and Diane didn’t order the Pistols which I thought was the reason we came here today. In any event, Sharon and I had them and they were delicious again. They’re so unusual, and we haven’t seen them anywhere but here. The Pistols are like a Kaiser roll that’s filled with a Creamy mixture of Crawfish and Sauce and then fried to a golden brown. They’re absolutely fabulous.

We got back in time to play the tape that I had recorded this afternoon of the Olympic coverage. I got through the coverage quickly because the U.S. wasn’t in some of the finals. So fast forwarding was my friend today.

We weren’t hungry for supper tonight because of the late lunch so we just moved into the Olympic coverage for the night. I stayed up until about 10:30 and

Sharon outlasted me again with her usual 30 minute delay to give her pill a chance to work. It seems to be working well for her.

Saturday, February 24, 2018

We had some rain last night that hit us right around the time when we were getting ready for bed. I didn’t hear anything after that but it did come down quite heavily for a few minutes.

We awoke to a partly cloudy day that looked like it was going to clear up and the Sun would be shining today. The humidity is quite heavy in the morning with the coach being soaking wet on the outside and dripping water.

We didn’t have any major plans for today except to go to the hardware store and pick up a few items. We need wheels for our clothes hamper and a door stop for the bathroom door.

The Olympics was winding down today even though the Closing Ceremonies were scheduled for tomorrow. They dug up some film that they had from 1988 and played for the better part of 45 minutes. They did have a full schedule of games for this afternoon and tonight, so I don’t know why they were playing years old recaps.

In any event I was still glued to the TV to see whatever they wanted to show me. I completely missed the women’s hockey game which some people say they saw in its entirety. I had heard later that it was shown on MSNBC but I would think it was probably shown on CNBC the Canadian channel.

Sharon reads a book while the games are on, looking up only when something exciting happens. But they’re easy to watch since all the other channels are playing reruns. But it’ll all end this weekend.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

We were greeted with rain this morning and rain expected all day. We had planned to go The Diner’s appreciation dinner this afternoon but it now looks like we’ll opt out of that. In fact, Les and Diane opted out yesterday when they announced they would be visiting a friend up north today.

Sharon was up and off to church this morning and I was off to my Sunday morning political shows. After that it was Olympics as usual since it started two weeks ago. It’s been a disappointing 2 weeks to say the least. I thought I may have been the only one noticing that this is definitely been a down year for the US, but there are more people talking about it this morning. We had actually finished 4th in total medals this time.

While Sharon was gone this morning I cooked myself a big Breakfast of Pancakes and Sausage and it was quite a nice change of pace.

When Sharon got back, well after noon, it was obvious that she had gone shopping at the grocery store, while she was gone, also. She came back with about 6 bags from the grocery store, so she was either shopping or shoplifting.

I settled in for the afternoon in front of the TV to watch Olympics and they played a two hour recap of the Olympic protest of Tommie Smith and John Carlos from 1968. A Chapter in our history that nobody wants to remember.

Sharon whipped up a Pizza Casserole for Supper tonight. I had asked for it the other day when she was stumped as to what to cook. She also gave us each a small salad. I could’ve done without the salad but she likes to choke them down me whenever she can.

The closing ceremonies are on tap for the Olympics tonight. I imagine there will be a recap of the unfortunate performance of the US teams over the past 2 weeks. And they pretty much drifted over that fact. The closing show was much nicer than the opening, however. I guess I compared the opening to the opening at Beijing. But we thoroughly enjoyed the show tonight.