Once we hit Mobile Bay, the change in scenery was a stark comparison to the world behind us. We left a remote, isolated area with nothing but fresh water, curvy rivers, tiny creeks, woodlands, trees and very little signs of human life on shore and we entered an expansive bay with lots of huge barges, high rises, houses, retail and salt water.
We docked at The Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, AL and settled in for an extended stay. After lots of research and lots of changing plans, we decided to stay here a month to enjoy the area and get some DIY projects completed. We had some time before heading back to Dartmouth for the holidays and this area has so much to offer!
When we started the loop 12 months ago, our initial plan was to get to Fort Myers/Bradenton area to leave the boat and head back to Dartmouth for the holidays. With two hurricanes hitting FL and deciding to slow down and enjoy the rivers, we changed our plans. A better match was to leave the boat in Alabama for our return home for the holidays. Not only would that give FL time to recover, but could get work done on the boat, and hopefully both the work and dockage would be cheaper.
We stayed 23 days, riding bikes, exploring surrounding areas with a rental car, a trip to New Orleans for Thanksgiving, an overnight stay in the hospital, and lots of dinners and laughs with other loopers. Since Tracy flew home early for a girls weekend, a fellow looper helped Bob move Three Sons to Nelson’s boat yard in Foley, AL to be hauled. Bob spent a few days in a hotel while working on the boat before flying back to MA for the holidays.
Our first adventure in Orange Beach was taking the dinghy out to Lulu’s for lunch with Keep Calm. After that, we decided to head the other way down the GIWW (Gulf Intracoastal Water Way) and check out GT’s for their Happy Hour. So much fun zipping along being back in the dinghy!
We heard about a speakeasy just a few steps from our boat. After entering a jewelry store, you walk through a small hallway to a vault. In order to enter, the secret code must be keyed into the lock. The code can be found on Facebook secretly embedded in their post. Once you enter the code and open the vault you do not find gold and jewels but a super cool bar! We enjoyed this upscale atmosphere, live piano music, creative (and expensive) cocktails and delicious and unique charcuterie board. Who knew pickled watermelon was so, so good! It was a fabulous night with Keep Calm!
The waitress told us about tomorrow’s special,1/2 price Wine Wednesday. Since Keep Calm also loved the speakeasy and did not want to miss out of 1/2 price Wine Wednesday, it did not take too much convincing for them to switch their flights back one night. The next night we had dinner at Ginny Lane and a repeat visit to the speakeasy!
Enjoyed lots of ‘Happy Hours” at various restaurants at The Wharf with Keep Calm and other Loopers. Something Cold was one of our favorite local beers.
Rainy day entertainment of puzzle making and binge watching crappy TV.
A fun, relaxing day checking out some local establishments, Big Beach Brewery and Sloop
A morning bike ride to CoastAL Orange Beach was rewarded with a wonderful breakfast in a perfect setting! The restaurant was open to the boardwalk overlooking the beach.
Meet Jack, the the resident heron that lived on J dock. He liked to hang out on one of the finger piers and even though we knew he would be there, he scared the living day lights out of Tracy every night. Squawking and flying over us once we got close to his perch.
A fun evening back at CoastAL, this time for dinner with Camelot and their friends.
We finally met Jubilee in person! They invited us over for a night of games, where we played Rummy Cube and they introduced us to a new game. The next day we ordered Chronology to Three Son’s game cabinet.
We were loving the December nice weather and took advantage of all the bike trails and boardwalks at Gulf State Park. The trails connect Orange Beach and Gulf Shores which allowed us many new places to explore. Thankfully, we could leave our bikes on the dock and easily hop on them for a daily ride.
Sunday night Bingo and cheap Margarita’s at Yo-Ho Rum Taco’s and Tracy was a winner!
What a fun night of laughs at Florabama with Lady in Red. We knew there would be live music but we certainly were not prepared the lively band!
Looper Docktails with Santa!
Back to Yo-Ho Rum Tacos for their Happy Hour and the lighting of the tree at The Wharf with a group of loopers. Of course, ended the evening at the Speakeasy!
Yes, they throw rolls across the dinning room, They are fresh from the open, hot, yummy and thrown with precision. Certainly, it was an interesting meal with tons of choices and lots of ‘pass arounds.’
Lots of projects were completed in between the fun and exploring. Tracy painted the stateroom window frames and completed the cleaned up look by wallpapering. Considering nothing on a boat is symmetrical, straight or even it was a fun job! To add to the cleaned up look, new curtains were sewn during our time in Dartmouth. The end result was a much cleaner updated look. Bob spent time in the engine room flushing the engines – aka barnacle buster, updated the energy systems, and changed impellers, belts and other maintenance items. Also after almost 16 months of living on board, it was time for some reorganizing and purging.
While Bob stays in Alabama to finish boat projects and move the boat to the boat yard, Tracy flew home to MA for some creative time with the her squad!
