Early Morning, Orange Beach

Here I am at the Beach.

Charlie, Sarah, Kate and I drove down yesterday - leaving Laura Beth and Ada at the house - Laura Beth is in town to see the dentist and possibly have a root canal done. :-(

Seems that when we go out of town these days, we usually leave people at the house or have someone arriving while we are gone.

I haven't posted in so long - and I've quit apologizing for it. It's the just the way things are.

I really do think of things - during the day - small nothings that launch a really good memory - something to write about on the blog - then when I sit down to the computer I can't remember what it was. I should keep a small notebook with me to jot the subject down.

Let's not forget - this blog is supposed to be about things I like to remember - or my favorite things.

One of my favorite things - which is common for a lot of people - is early morning at the beach - hearing the sound of the waves(we're on the gulf) - fresh cup of coffee - I'm hearing sea gulls - We're staying at the Phoenix. If anyone is from Alabama the Phoenix has become to a lot of you a very familiar condominium to rent. There are so many. owned by that familiar name, Brett/Robinson Realty. I can't imagine the wealth of some of these folks - Who is at the head of this company? I don't understand anything that big.

I grew up in Evergreen, Alabama - which is just two hours from the Gulf Coast. We could go in a day and get back the same day. Easy. When I was in high school, I and my four closest friends, Rachel(my cousin), Martha(married my cousin), Mary(Martha's sister), and Val(in the same class with Rachel and Mary since grade school) - all five of us would get up so very very early, leaving by 7:00 - no later than 8:00 - to drive down to Pensacola. In those days - we could drive up to an undeveloped area, park the car, and go find a very unpopulated spot and cook ourselves all day - on the beach. No sunscreen in those days - no warnings about skin cancer - and who even considered one day that our skin might really wrinkle. We were 5 girls in a car, taking a day to be on the beach. We packed a lunch, in a cooler and there we were. I don't even remember what we did about a bathroom break. No matter. I'm sure we took care of it somehow.

Living so close to the coast. It didn't seem that close, as a child. 2 hours in the car? On a two lane, no air conditioning in the early years. The first air conditioned car we owned was when I was in the 9th grade. So - until I was 14/15 - we were in a car with rolled down windows -

There was another phenomenon in those days - we always seemed to "know" people who owned "places" at the beach - and somehow would be offered a week at their place. I only remember one summer when we actually "rented" something. It was called "Shady Shores". A row of cottages to be rented. They were on the bay, in Pensacola, just before driving over that long bridge which connects to Santa Rosa Island. I loved that. The floors were black tile. Anybody remember that look? I thought the whole thing was great. I loved it that the refrigerator had a separate freezer door. At home in Evergreen, we were still owning the old Frigidaire with one door - which had the tiny little 14" by 14" inch freezer at the top in the middle. I think it was a 2 bedroom cottage - Mary Ann and I had a room with twin beds which were that metal frame - the rounded look - hard to describe. Probably chenille bedspreads - something plain and white. We could walk out the back door of the cottage, across the sand, down toward the bay. There was a pier, of course to walk out on - over the water. I have no idea how old I was. Maybe 8. I don't remember what we did besides play on the beach. The swimming wasn't that great due to seaweed. We had access to the tourist area - and we'd drive to the Gulf. There was no TV - in the cottages - never TV at the beach. No cell phones - no laptops. Imagine our world. It truly was an escape. Always had to go to the souvenir shops - get something really tacky. I loved it all. I loved the coastal area - the salt air and the sun - the warmth - the salty water. All salty and white and sandy - all of it.

Usually, for entertainment, Mary Ann and I would be allowed to purchase something - to play with. I know that my usual choice was paper dolls - and I do remember sitting on beds at the beach playing with them - this would be during rest time - or comic books - Katy Keene was my favorite - and Archie comics - I liked Superman but that was about as actionpacked as I preferred. I guess I liked the romance and drama between Superman and Lois Lane. Katy Keene was by far my favorite. She was the beautiful fashion person and she had these friends all around her - and there was always the mean jealous girl who was trying to win her spot of popularity with the men and females. But Katy Keene was so nice and beautiful and kind to everyone.

Listen, I'm rambling and it's getting up in the morning. I need another cup of coffee - I'm at the beach. Not much of what I wrote is really what I wanted to say - but at least it's something. Perhaps early tomorrow morning I'll find another unoccupied laptop, left out here in the living room and can post again.