,WELCOME TO MOBILE, ALABAMA

At Wintzell’s Oyster Bar in Mobile, Alabama, you can have your oysters”fried, stewed, or nude.” We had them all ways along with baskets of fried green tomatoes and fried pickels and Blue Moon with hunks of fresh orange and bread pudding with rum sauce and key lime pie- the toursim dept knows how to treat their writers !!!! Can’t keep this up though or we will need to cycle at night besides the day from all the consumption.

.Landed in beautiful sunny 70 degree weather- toured the History Museum of Mobile where we learned of the horrendous slave trade down here once upon a time- walked along the working harbor to see the monster cargo boats and shipping containers( the only working port in Alabama) and watched locals fishing with their kids.The historic downtown looks like a mini New Orleans and the huge live oaks and hanging Spanish moss remind me of Savannah. Very pretty quiet town.

One of the coolest things is we are sharing this experience with the Pennel family from Ann Arbor, Michigan.Beth Ellen and I go back to our days on the Appalachian trail- over 32 yrs ago- and we have traveled all over the world together since- Hawaii, Alaska, houseboating on the Mississippi, Switzerland, the Inca Trail, the CDT, etc..There is a lot to be said for old freinds but old friends whom you have shared epic adventures with are soul friends ,,,,then throw our kids sharing and growing up,together out here in this big playground of the antural world- doesn’t get any better!,

 Tomorrow,we will hop on the Alabama’s Coastal Connection – a 130-mile scenic byway highlighting the authentic resources and attractions along the southern tip of the state. Stay tuned!