Salt Water Bound

 Fairhope

Sometimes you come across a place where you say to yourself, “I could live here.” Well Fairhope, Alabama is just that type of place. The streets are lined with low hanging live oaks and cypress trees draped in Spanish moss. It’s just big enough and has a nice sized downtown that has everything you need that includes a small community feel.

From Alabama Cut to Fairhope was about 70 miles meaning a long day for us. Fortunately we had a following current that cut about an hour off of the cruise. Our trip would take us past Mobile just at the top of Mobile Bay. That section is very industrial mostly concentrated around the shipping industry and ship yards. Not the most scenic of sections but interesting nonetheless.

After we crossed Mobile Bay to the east we arrived in Fairhope. After two back to back 70+ mile cruise days I called uncle. My brain was fried.  I was glad that we had a two day stop to recuperate. Once we got the boat secure I headed out for a run. When I returned I saw that a shrimp boat was just finishing up for the day so typical Mike style, I approached the captain and asked, “Hey any chance you want to sell some of those shrimp?” He said, “ Well I just locked up for the day.” Bummer.

Well I just don’t give up that easily.  I struck up a conversation with him that led him to ask where we were from. I said, “Virginia Beach.” He said, “I have a really good friend that lives there.” When he told me the name I said that not only did I know his friend and that he was a patient at my office but that his mom and dad were also patients for years. Well don’t ya know before it was all over he unlocked the cooler and I scored a couple of pounds of bay shrimp not hours old. Sue then went to work in the galley to put together a shrimp scampi of sorts.

We invited our UK friends over and devoured the fresh shrimp dish Sue had prepared. 

The next morning we jumped in the dinghy and went to the town pier for an easy walk into town. Fairhope had such a good feel to it. It made us think of a cleaned up smaller version of New Orleans without all the bars.

A number of the two story buildings had the classic ornate wrought iron railings New Orleans is famous for. They had a great local history museum that talked about how the town came to be. It was the vision of economist Henry George that had the idea of a single-tax colony. It worked but he and 28 of his followers buying up land in the area and incorporating the land tracks.

The corporation would then pay the necessary taxes to support the town from profits on leases on the land. Parts of it still survive today. We had lunch at Panini Petes which is located down this alley lined with tropical plants called the French Quarter. We met Pete, the owner who also owns the best rated restaurant in town that happened to be on Fly Creek where we were docked.

 

Sue was also able to score a haircut while we were in town, her first since we left Virginia Beach. That evening 8 of us decided to go to the restaurant on Fly Creek.  We could see the restaurant across the basin but it was a 1.5 mile walk to get to it but only a 2 minute dinghy ride. So Uberdink went into service ferrying our Looper buddies to the restaurant. The fee was free for the ride to the restaurant but the return would be a significant fee!

The restaurant and meal did not disappoint. After dinner we enjoyed the outside fire pit and then called it a night. 

As many of you have begun to realize is that with boating there are a fair amount of challenges.  Wednesday morning was one of those challenging days. 

The Wharf

The wind forecast was for winds to pick up which could make for a rough ride down Mobile Bay not to mention with a falling tide in the morning. With the two combined it had the potential to reduce the water level in the marina to non navigable levels. Translation: we would be stuck there till the tide rose again. On the Gulf there is only one tide a day so we would have to wait till the afternoon. So we pushed off at 7am.

We were able to just get out stirring  a lot of mud but we made it. Our 30 mile cruise down the bay and into the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway was uneventful. The dolphins seemed to lead the way. We arrived at the Wharf Marina in Orange Beach about 11:30am and got settled. The Wharf is a multi use complex consisting of a large marina, condos, large shopping area, movie theater and multiple bars. Quite a fun area. We also learned by the number and size of the sport fishing boats parked there that this area is a hotspot for bill fishing. The fishing boat at the end of our dock was a mere 80’ and gleamed. While we were there I made a call to a nearby marina which has a great reputation for excellent work. We needed to get our bottom painted as the last job failed due to a product problem. Well as luck would have it they could get me in the next day!  Dinner was aboard that night with a quite evening to follow.