Off The Pavement

WHEN? Any Day

WHERE? Loveland, Colorado


In our travels, we have never seemed to have as much time as we would like to see all an area offers. Seems like the first time I was in Colorado, I was working in at a bridge tournament in the 70s, and I hardly saw anything except a high rise hotel in downtown Denver. Later, in 2005, we saw some of Colorado while on a month-long trip in our travel trailer that took us to several western states, but we never did make it as far north as Loveland.

Have you ever wished you could see wild animals in their habitat without them seeing you? Now's your chance, and you don't even have to leave your armchair.

Recently, a very cute video was received attached to an email. It was of an elk calf playing in the water in an elk wallow in Colorado. It turns out there are many more wildlife videos from cams placed there by David Neils which are ample proof that the wildlife seems to be plentiful in Colorado. Mr. Neils told me that the elk calf video contained no sound because a squirrel or some other animal pulled the microphone cable out of his camera box.

There's ever so much to see at David Neils - Photographer. He has revised his website to allow his videos to be more easily viewed. This elk calf video is now easy to find there, so I have removed the unauthorized YouTube video I had on this post. On the photography website, you'll note his videos show up the fourth image to the right very near the top. ENJOY!

It is very strange what attention this video has received by YouTube users. Maybe it is correct to say it has gone "viral."

I just checked YouTube, and there are about nine or ten users who still have this video up, but probably none of them have Photographer David Neils' permission to have them up. This is what You Tube offered when I search for Elk Calf.

There's no need to go to YouTube, however, because you can actually see the video at Off The Pavement - David Neils' website.

Live Music at MRBG

WHEN? Sunday, October 11

WHERE? Magnolia Springs, Alabama · find us on the map


When we first came down to Alabama in January of 2008, live music was playing on Sunday afternoons at the Magnolia River Bar & Grill. Now it's back. This time Billy Pelletier is singing and playing his guitar, and it's combined with karaoke for a fun time.

When I saw this little monkey, it immediately brought to mind Toby Keith's popular song, "I Love This Bar," which in many ways describes this bar.

Shrimp Festival 2009

WHEN? Thursday - Sunday · October 8-11

WHERE? Gulf Shores, Alabama · find us on the map

WHY? 38th Annual National Shrimp Festival


We did our level best to make it to the first day of the festival because we knew a musical group that were performing at 11:45 AM on one of the music stages. It turned out we did not make it by that time and SugarCane Jane was performing on the stage on the east end. What huge crowds were there already around noon as we rushed through them to get to the stage that was near the Pink Pony.

We were able to hear them for as long as we could stand -- literally STAND, and it was quite warm, even in the shade by the PA control tent. While we were standing there and listening, Top Hat came by and told the person working there that he was making them sound good, and he was right. They captured the attention of many of the festival attendees with their close-blended harmony and the musicianship of Anthony Crawford. Before we just had to leave, Savana Lee sang a solo of an Alison Kraus song. Also, they had sung several of their songs as well. Their new album had not arrived for distribution, but they were almost certain it would be in for their performance on Sunday at the festival.

We stopped at Doc's food booth for some fried shrimp, and hung around in shaded areas until we had both consumed every bite, having not had anything to eat since an early breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express in Jackson, Mississippi, that same day.



To see some of the festival's entertainers and a couple of Hooters Girls on Flickr, visit National Shrimp Festival of 2009.

TCB

WHEN? Tuesday · October 6

WHERE? Jackson, Mississippi · find us on the map

No, we didn't go all the way to Graceland in Memphis, and we weren't buying flashy jewelry like Elvis wore. We were simply taking care of eye exams long overdue. We have a preferred doctor in Jackson we just can't let go of.

While we were in Jackson, we took the opportunity to look up some friends. This may not include many photos, but such as they are, you can view them at Fall in Mississippi.

Good Combo

WHEN? Sunday, September 27

WHERE? Alabama's Gulf Coast · find us on the map

Okay, we have put on a few pounds since many of you have seen us. That's because we love to eat and there's plenty of opportunities to do it on the Coast. We are thinking of writing a song entitled "I've gotta lose weight and I sure do dread it" because we've stuffed in lots of good eatin' while we have been here in LA.

Big Daddy's Grill on the Fish River in Fairhope, is in our neighborhood anyway, so it's sort of silly to say we traveled there, but one of the reasons we do travel there as often as we do is it has it all, particularly on a beautiful day like today.

Picture this. Not only is the atmosphere great in the outdoors with good food, there's live musical entertainment to round it out.

Today, the entertainment (besides the dogs and happy people) was a couple of very talented performers who bill themselves as Sugarcane Jane. Here's a video of them doing one of their songs from their upcoming album, which we heard them do live this afternoon.

A hero laid to rest

WHEN? Thursday · August 27

WHERE? Olive Branch, Mississippi · find us on the map

Some unique experiences were part of a WWII veteran's funeral we recently attended. At the close of the service, our funeral procession traveled nearly 20 miles along a busy interstate to historic Elmwood Cemetery in Midtown Memphis. As each vehicle crossed the quaint stone bridge leading into the cemetery, the daredevil Memphis motorcycle officers who had escorted us stood at attention on either side and saluted until the last car had passed. Unexpected and touching.

I would have been very disappointed had not the video turned out as Taps was played at the cemetery. Since some of the deceased's large family were unable to attend, it was one of many photos and videos taken at Elmwood to share with them.

Day is done, Gone the sun,
From the lakes · From the hills · From the sky,
All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh

Fading light dims the sight,
And a star · Gems the sky · Gleaming bright,
From afar, drawing nigh, falls the night

Thanks and praise for our days,
Neath the sun · Neath the stars · Neath the sky,
As we go, this we know: God is nigh

Magnolia River Bar & Grill

WHEN? Tuesday, August 11

WHERE? Magnolia Springs, Alabama · find us on the map


We had a very pleasant surprise today. We were served a free sample of gumbo that was the best gumbo I had ever eaten. Unfortunately, the recipe is not available. All I can tell you is that some of the ingredients include shrimp or chicken, wonderfully cooked rice, some hot sauce, and bay leaf.

This place is right on Highway 98 in Magnolia Springs, about half way in between Fairhope and Foley. Keep your eyes open for their sign. It's just one more good place to visit with friends with a cool one or to stuff yourself with some more Gulf Coast cuisine. You might even be talking to the person next to you and get a tip on a place to settle down in LA.☺

Remembering our friend Al

WHEN? Saturday · August 8

WHERE? Kelseys in Foley, Alabama · find us on the map

It wasn't that long ago, on May 6th, that we celebrated Al's 80th birthday at Kelseys. An even larger crowd gathered on Saturday, August 8th, to remember our friend Al.

Finger foods were served, and the bar was packed with those who had known Al a long time, along with others who had known him for a short while (yours truly).

Wayne Fuller played the guitar and sang Marshall Tucker Band's Can’t You See. Someone at Kelseys was actually recording a video of Wayne's performance. Here’s an early 70’s live version of this classic:

Al's friend Bob Arness composed a poem for the occasion:

Here’s to our buddy, here’s to our pal
It’s hard to believe, but his name is Al
Some words of wisdom, advice to follow
It may not be easy, just learn to swallow.

Al could be hard to take, a pain in your side
Just shake it all off, take it in stride
He was one of a kind, a real piece of art
Most of the time just a grumpy old fart.

We’re all here, you may wonder why
We’re just here to say good-bye.

Al, you are missed.

Slovenian group

WHEN? Anytime

WHERE? The Internet

WHAT? Perpetuum Jazzile - Vokalna Ekstaza

I have an email correspondent from Slovenia, so I asked him about this group. He responded:

Oh, Perpetuum Jazzile is a group of professional Slovenian singers, many of them have a solo career. They're really good. They sing "a capella" (no instruments, everything is simulated with human voices), mostly adaptations of Slovenian songs, but some foreign songs as well. If they ever come to USA, don't miss them! ;-)

My wife and I were on a concert last fall, where Africa was performed for the first time (this is where YouTube recording is from) and it was fantastic (it's completely different hearing it live in a huge concert hall than now on YouTube, although it's still great).

Best regards, Kristof

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Maybe you have seen the rainstorm part of this before but maybe not the choir doing Toto's Africa. Very entertaining. By all means, listen to the first part of this video of the rainstorm.

The beginning of this video is really striking. Group members simulate an African thunderstorm with their hands, then they sing. It's really something to see and hear.



Africa by Perpetuum Jazzile is performed live at Vokal Xtravaganzza 2008 (October 2008) - arranger Tomaž Kozlevčar.

The thunderstorm simulation effects were inspired by Kearsney choir (South Africa).

MSU Bulldog Bash

WHEN? Sunday · August 2

WHERE? Gulf Breeze, Florida · find us on the map


We took another trip over to Florida in the Pensacola area. This time it was for (are you ready for this?) the MSU Bulldog Beach Bash & Send-off Party. Alumni and friends, incoming MSU students, and prospective students and parents were invited. Lots of work went into planning this event by members of the Northwest Florida Chapter of the Mississippi State University Alumni Association, and it was really good to get together with Mississippi State fans. The college football season is just about here!

Our photos from this event were taken by Wendell, and they are located here.

Old Fashioned and Delicious

WHEN? Friday · July 31

WHERE? Foley, Alabama · find us on the map

Established in 1929, Stacey's Rexall Drugs and Olde Tyme Soda Fountain is the oldest drugstore in Baldwin County. This café was featured in the Pelican's May 1, 2009 issue. The article was displayed near the table where we ate our ice cream.

Wendell had butter pecan - I had a hot fudge sundae

Let me backtrack. The first time I went into this drugstore from the Fifties, I was trying to find some place to buy some cosmetics. They didn't have any. What they do have is a place that has some good ice cream and even a menu with foods listed that you might have expected to order in an old fashioned soda fountain.

We only snapped a few photos while we were enjoying our ice cream. You can view them on Flickr at Stacey's Rexall Drugs and Olde Tyme Soda Fountain.

Brockles in Dallas

WHEN? Late 50's & early 60's

WHERE? Dallas, Texas · find us on the map

Just the name of this blog, The Perpetual Vacationers, leads one to believe that it's about places we have been and things we have seen. Please forgive me for using a poet’s license to include a trip into the past. Not one about where we went or what we saw, but about something we ate.

Back in the late 50's and early 60's when we lived in the Dallas area, there was a restaurant on Ervay Street, just off downtown, named Brockles Restaurant. It opened in 1929 under the name of Brockles' Club Cafe. Andrew Brockles, Sr., went into the restaurant business in 1919. In the Brockles Restaurant on Ervay, they made and served a special dressing on their salads. The salads were nothing more than a quarter of a head of iceberg lettuce covered with this special dressing. There was also a bottle of the dressing on each table and an ample supply of saltines to nibble on until the food was served. The dressing was so good, and in such demand that they started selling it in some of the grocery stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Actually, their special dressing began being produced and sold commercially in 1942.

The first time I ever tasted the dressing was at the Texas State Fair. They had a booth there, and were passing out crackers with this special dressing spread on it. It was Soooo Gooood! Needless to say our house was never without Brockles Special Dressing as long as we lived in Texas. My job, however, took us other places and the dressing was not to be found.

I admit that I thought about the dressing from time to time, but after three or four decades, I had about forgotten about it. Luckily, Mae Dean had not. You see, she had worked with a lady who’s father-in-law was either the owner or one of the owners of the business, and had thought about them from time to time. Eight or ten days ago she made an internet search to see it she might find something about the restaurant and it’s dressing and got a BIG HIT. A member of the Brockles family had a web site on The Brockles Family, Brockles Restaurant and Special Dressing. Not only that, but since neither the restaurant nor the dressing business are still around the whole Brockles family agreed to include the recipe for that great tasting Special Dressing on their web site.

BROCKLE’S SPECIAL DRESSING

1 Pint Jar of Mayonnaise (16 oz)
4 Tablespoons Sweet Pickle Relish, drained
2 Teaspoons Paprika
1½ Ounce Blue Cheese, crumbled
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

Place Mayonnaise in a mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients one at a time stirring to mix after each item is added. Continue stirring by hand until it is an even color and texture. Place sauce back into the mayonnaise jar that has been washed. Refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours before using.

Note: There should be a little left after filling the jar. Just spread on a saltine and enjoy your effort. This sauce is good as a salad dressing or just eaten on a saltine cracker.

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I made my first batch today. I can assure you that our house will never be without Brockles Special Dressing again.

~ Wendell Smith

Second Visit to Pensacola Air Show

WHEN? Saturday · July 11

WHERE? Pensacola Beach, Florida · find us on the map

The photo at the top of this blog post came from the Pensacola Beach Website. We were way too far away to get a photo like this. This photo must have been made from the air anyway. We weren't in the air.

Organizers of the annual Pensacola Beach Air Show have had many years of experience and definitely know how to plan for a crowd, and a crowd of folks coming by foot, boat and various kinds of motor vehicles was there. The traffic jam was not what we expected and we even considered just going back home, but we drove all the way to Navarre and picked up some snacks and headed back where we came from until we found a place to park and access the far eastern side of Pensacola Beach. One of the requirements for where we parked was that it have at least one portapotty. With that having been found, we brought our beach gear out on a very beautiful, uncrowded beach and spent two or three hours mostly under our newest and best beach umbrella we have ever owned. It put all the others to shame, even if I do say so myself — and I just did.

The difference between this year's and last year's air show is hard to say because our vantage point was way far away from where the show was staged. The good side was we sat on a beach some people dream of. It was likely as uncrowded as it was because so many tourists had crammed into the areas of Pensacola Beach where the air show took place. We can only guess that the show was very similar to the show last year.

Since our photos are not all that good and just prove we were there, we are referring you to a website that has some great photos of the Blue Angels:

Blue Angels at Bent Bay

Our own photos are located on Flickr:

Blue Angels Air Show at Pensacola Beach in 2009

Here's the Blue Angels 60th Anniversary show in 2006:

Happy Birthday America!

I wanted to save this for myself so I could look at it from time to time.

Just click here and enjoy My Beautiful America.



Happy 4th of July!

Father's Day & First Day of Summer

WHEN? Sunday · June 21

WHERE? Orange Beach, Alabama · find us on the map

When we left the Foley area, the temperature was around 98º, but when we arrive in the areas near the Gulf and the beaches around the Alabama-Florida line, there was a breeze and the temperatore was 89º. That might have been reason enough to take our little Sunday drive in that direction.

While in that area, we tried a restaurant we had never dined in. We could critique it, but we won't. Let's just say that we consider a Sunday afternoon at Big Daddy’s Grill is more to our liking. The Wolf Bay Lodge restaurant is now located at the Zeke's Marina, and it caused us to realized we had dined there before many, many years ago, but it was then called Zeke's.

We took nine photos you can view quickly in a slide show:

5th Annual Balloon Festival

WHEN? Saturday · June 19

WHERE? Foley, Alabama · find us on the map


We stopped in briefly Friday morning before all the booths and vendors were set up. Despite our early arrival, the hot air balloons had already come and gone by that time. A helpful vendor explained that they missed the soccer field where they were supposed to land after being blown off course by the prevailing southeasterly winds, and some ended up on the road and even in peoples' back yards. We looked around a bit and took a few antique tractor photos, then returned home in anticipation of seeing balloons on the following morning ...

And we weren't disappointed! Today was better, and we saw quite a few balloons land at the festival's correct destination site. We got photos of the balloons and met four friends there. I'm guessing that at least 30+ balloons were involved in this festival. By using the brochure/schedule for this year's festival, it seems like at least the following was true:

State of Origin / Number of Balloons

Alabama · 7

Florida · 3

Georgia · 5

Kentucky · 1

Louisiana · 6

Mississippi · 6

Missouri · 2

Tennessee · 1

Texas · 2

Total Identified: 33

There were at least two balloons we could not identify and possibly some we identified wrong.

After that, the six of us gathered at the Magnolia River Bar & Grill for a yummy breakfast cooked by Bob. Since we don't expect to return tomorrow for the festival's final day, we'll miss the Frisbee Dogs' scheduled performance.

See our photos on flickr:

5th Annual Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival

The website for the festival is very informative with a schedule of events and an audio that comes on after you are on the site for a little while.

Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival

Second Visit to Bahama Bob’s

WHEN? Friday · June 12

WHERE? Gulf Shores, Alabama · find us on the map


Along with good food, today's lupper at Bahama Bob's included a beautiful day to enjoy the beach out back of this beach cafe.

We pretty much covered what a relaxed dining experience it is to choose the back patio where one can look out on the beach and the Gulf. All ages were there on the patio with us on a gorgeous day. Our first visit was covered in a post in July of 2008 at Cay Key Quay.

This visit was mostly occupied with (besides eating) experimenting with shooting short videos:

Sunday Live Music

WHEN? Sunday · May 3

WHERE? Big Daddy's in Fairhope, Alabama

I was a little undecided about which blog to put this on. But I did want to mention a good choice for reasonably priced entertainment on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, particularly when the weather is nice.

We've only mentioned Big Daddy's on the Fish River once on this blog, along with quite a few other restaurants we had tried since we settled in Lower Alabama, on the post Sho'nuff fine dining on February 12 of last year.

We really did not go for the food on Sunday afternoon. We saw in a local publication that there was live music there. We had some adult beverage and mixed in some fried crab claws between us, but the live music was really good.

Randy Branch played the guitar and hormonica and sang. Some of the songs were written by him and are on the CD Long Black Car on his website at Poppaskeeter Music, while other songs he sang were written by other songwriters and musicians.

On Randy’s MySpace you can listen to three of the songs on the CD. It looks like he is really quite busy performing locally, and apparently he can also help you with your real estate needs.

Big Daddy's has a street address of 16542 Ferry Road, Fairhope, with access by boat from the Fish River. The Big Daddy's website gives good directions, but once you know where Ferry Road turns off of CR 32, you won’t have any trouble finding it the second time. Those with boats in the area don’t have any trouble finding it once they come into the Fish River out of Weeks Bay by just following the river upstream.

This Sunday afternoon, several people had brought their dogs, so it reminded us some of Pirates Cove in that respect.

We took a few photos you can view at Live Music at Big Daddy’s.

Tolstoy Park

WHEN? Monday · April 27

WHERE? Montrose, Alabama · find us on the map

Recently I sent a video on Turkey (the country) to a member of Wells United Methodist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. Earl Hill, Jr. replied, thanking me, and added this: "Be sure you read The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny Brewer and see his little house in Fairhope."

I purchased the book and read it and then started trying to find the little round house referred to in the book. It took a second day of searching with more specific directions to finally locate the house.

I recommend the book to you if you are one who likes to read books of a spiritual nature and about philosophy. It's very much like a journal of sorts and is based on a real person, Henry Stuart.

Excerpt from an interview with author Sonny Brewer:

THE POET OF TOLSTOY PARK is based on the true story of a 62-year old man, Henry Stuart, whose doctor in Idaho in 1923 told him he was dying of consumption. He moved here to Fairhope, left his shoes out west, and lived barefooted in a round concrete house he built by himself with his own two hands for twenty-two years! He had a divinity degree from Mount Union College and listed his occupation in the 1920 Census as “weaver of rugs.” Clarence Darrow befriended him and visited Henry a number of times in Fairhope. He was a writer and poet, a gardener, and a self-reliant man Thoreau would have loved.

That's probably enough to grab your interest without giving away the plot. The little round house was not easy to find, even though I had some photos of it from the internet. I think the house had become "bigger than life" in my mind by the time I finished the book because I was really surprised at how small it seemed when I stepped inside of it. It was a pleasure to visit it and take a few photos, which you can see here.

A Surprise Dance

WHEN? Probably never except by armchair

WHERE? Antwerp, Belgium

Several people have shared this video with me via email, and I think it's too good not to put up on our travelblog. Since I'm Hop-a-long Smith for awhile, real travel is out of the question anyway.

One of the most beautiful buildings of Antwerp is the building where this video took place, which is known as Centraal Statie, Railway Cathedral or simply Antwerp Central Station. One person who posted a video of this on YouTube described it thusly:

"We had a 45 minute gap between two trains and there was a school group performing the Do Re Mi! It took us a while to realize that this was a performace. It seemed like people were randomly joining the dance."