Anniversary Trip Video

As mentioned in a few of my vacation posts, I have put together a video clip covering various stops we made during our trip. (Run time is 22:22.) The quality is not high as I had not taken into account the humidity and did not keep the camera lens scrupulously clean. My bad. I hope you will find this video informative and entertaining in spite of the somewhat poor quality.

Another link to this, and other video clips taken over the years, can be found on my Appleattic Home Page and is titled “Page to view video clips.” The direct link is Gulf Coast Video.

I’ve put together a Photo Album of the trip and have a link to it from my Galleries page. The direct link is 40th Anniversary Trip. There are many photos in the Gallery that have not appeared in these posts so it may have a few surprises.

We would like to thank our daughter Felicity for arranging her schedule so she could take care of our dogs and cats and make this trip possible.

Felicity and Jer in their Florida and New Orleans T-Shirts

Also thanks to Mary and Jeff Hayes for their hospitality and for putting us up for a few days, and for Jenn, Jeff, and Rowan Gould for making time in their schedules to visit with us.

Here are a few observations about this trip:
Our pre-conceived ideas about the South are not always accurate or complete.
A carriage ride in downtown New Orleans is worth taking.
Houmas House Plantation was the best last-minute addition to the trip.
The panhandle (Gulf-side) beaches are fantastic but the ocean-side beaches are more interesting.
Key West is expensive.
Epcot requires a lot of walking and one can easily spend a full day there and not cover all venues.
Ft. Walton Beach was a great beach stop with St. George Island a close second.
Key Lime pie is not over-rated.
Fresh fish meals are far better than frozen fish meals.
Family and friends are still the glue that hold us together.

Larry asked, in his last comment, if there was a particular spot we will remember after other vacation details have faded, and the answer  would be: Long Beach, Mississippi.

Long Beach was our first Gulf Coast beach stop and came as a result of Pam spotting a small road on  the map that followed the coast line. We left I-10 to follow this road, saw that first broad expanse of white beach, and we just stopped on a spur-of-the-moment. Even though it was after New Orleans and the Houmas House Plantation, this stop made us feel like we really were on vacation. The first feel of warm white sand under our toes and splashing in the surf under a bright sun made a memory that will not soon be forgotten. We have walked many beaches before, particularly when we lived in Oregon, but the Long Beach stop stands out as one of the strongest memories we have from this trip.  It says – “Vacation!”

That’s it for now, Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

As Tabitha noted in her comment, you “pay” for your vacation when you re-enter the normal routine again.  In our case, the Gulf vacation was a hint of a leisure life style we might be able to experience (somewhat more frequently) during retirement.  It gives me the incentive to move forward with retirement plans: develop the Sanderling property for summer use and find a winter location elsewhere.  Having reviewed our pension schedules and with a more firm timetable in mind, onward.

Happy Trails.