Picnic in the Park

Well, fall is finally here! The weather has been amazing lately, so we decided to head out for a picnic on Mobile Bay in Fairhope. There was so much going on....people renting kayaks, sailboats everywhere, and plenty of people, dogs, and birds just enjoying the beautiful day. We found a shady spot to take it all in. Then, we walked out onto the pier, where we met the most social pelican. We also watched a young boy catch a 35-pound redfish. Once he finally reeled it in after a long fight, applause erupted from the excited crowd of onlookers that had gathered. What a great way to enjoy a lazy Saturday in September!

Bo setting up our picnic. He wanted me to quit taking photos so he could eat!

One of the at least 50 sailboats out on Mobile Bay taking advantage of the wonderful breezes.

This was the friendliest Pelican ever! He was quite the supermodel, posing for tons of photos.

Enjoying the views and activity from the Fairhope Pier.

Everyone...even this cute little birdie....was enjoying the weather and water!

Coastal Cleanup

International Coastal Cleanup Day is held annually the 3rd Saturday in September, with over 55 states and 44 countries participating to clear the waterways of trash and debris. Tanner spearheaded Meyer Real Estate's team of volunteers to "Get the Trash out of the Splash". Employees and our families were ready to go at 8am and found everything from car tires to bricks on our 1 mile of assigned shoreline. This year the 1 Millionth pound of trash was picked up on the AL coastline, and it was probably thanks to our team!

The Meyer crew, ready to roll at 8am.

Mom, fresh from a trashcan run. We wrote down everything
we collected so it could be tracked for the annual report.

A moment without garbage, but not without extra forms and garbage bags!

Ghost Ship

Hurricane Ike did not just affect Texas, as there were several properties in Fort Morgan that had sand and water damage from the high storm surges.....we had 20 foot waves the Thursday and Friday before landfall. The most interesting thing that has come out of the sand displacement is the uncovering of a "ghost ship".

A ship that has been buried under several feet of sand was unearthed when the surge pushed the sand inland. The ship becomes unearthed when storms are large, and has been making small appearances for years, but this is the first time that so much of the ship is visible. It's quite large, and supposedly there are still several feet buried under the sand, as the ship appears to be tipped over on it's side.

It is currently on private property, as it has been pushed upwards by the tide (the last time it showed itself, it was several feet closer to the water line). The homeowner wants it removed, since it is quite a liability. Plus, I bet he's sick of people traipsing through his yard at all hours of the day!

Check out our pictures of it, and also check out the back story at cnn.com. The link is below:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/19/ike.mystery.ship.ap/index.html

Bo and I up close and personal with the ship. There have been tons of people out to see it,

even my friend Paul who is standing behind me!

Mom and Dad show off just how big the "Ghost Ship" is.
You can really tell how much the ship is tilted on it's side here.


A close-up of the interior of the ship.

Most of the wooden shell has rotted away, leaving the metal skeleton showing.

Wonderful weekend

After several rainy, dreary weekends, we finally had a weekend we could go out and play! Friday night we went to Pensacola to pick up my new car's remote. We ended up meeting my parents at The Tuscan Oven (the most wonderful pizza place ever!) to celebrate my mom's new job! After eating, we needed some exercise, so we decided to walk dinner off with a good shopping trip.

Saturday morning was filled with running errands before meeting up with our friend Sarah Neil who was vacationing from TN. We had a girly afternoon browsing the unique downtown shops of Fairhope while Bo enjoyed Saturday football! We went to dinner at The Crab Trap, a very good gulf front restaurant where we watched the waves while we ate. After dinner we chased crabs on the beach before calling it a night (and back to more football!).

Sunday, we went over to my parent's home, and had a lazy afternoon swimming and grilling out. Afterwards, Bo and I made our way to The Wharf, where we wandered around the many shops. Eventually, we headed home to get ready for the work week. It was such a fun, laid-back weekend, and we're already looking forward to the next one!

Remnants of Hurricane Gustav

While preparing for our first hurricane, we were beginning to get a bit nervous about Gustav. We weren't sure what we were going to be in for! Fortunately, it turned out to be less of a monster storm and more of a bummer....especially since it arrived over Labor Day weekend! What it did do, though, is bring roaring waves and tons of seashells to the beach. It was so fun going out the next day and collecting the huge seashells that were everywhere!

Bo, the proficient shellsman, made sure we had plenty of bags to fill with our "loot".

So many shells.......so little time!

Seaside

While getting Alyson settled in to FSU, Bo's parents came out of their way for a brief visit to our coast! We headed to Seaside, FL, and had a wonderful time shopping, walking the beach, and enjoying the view from Bud & Alley's rooftop bar. Meanwhile, Alyson was having fun rushing Zeta Tau Alpha. Even though rush is a blast, I definitely think we were having the most fun!

Little Gus is adopted!

Little Gus came into our lives 2 days before Hurricane Gustav was supposed to arrive. Bo found him wandering lost in a field, malnourished and dehydrated. He needed our help and we couldn't resist those big brown eyes! We decided to take him in during the storm, and thanks to good fortune and good friends we were able to find him the perfect new family. We'll miss our Little Gus, but we know we can visit him anytime!

Welcome to our blog!

Now that we've settled into "the good life" at our home in Gulf Shores, AL, we thought we'd join the rest of the world and start a blog! We want to share our new life with our family and friends who aren't here to enjoy it with us. Please check back often as we plan to keep you updated with all the latest happenings here on the Gulf Coast. Wish you were here!