Randomville via Margaritaville, Huntsville and Nashville
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE: ROAD TRIPPING THROUGH ALABAMA AND TENNESSEE
I recently had an opportunity to take a trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama and Nashville, Tennessee. Struggling in Seattle where we’ve had nothing but rain and gray weather for almost nine months, I was ready for some 90 degree heat and humidity and a chance to see some live music along the way. My husband’s home office is in Madison, Alabama near Huntsville and the Tennessee border. He was already there on business, so my son and I joined him later in the month. I also had a chance to report on the music scene for Randomville.
PART I: GULF SHORES, ALABAMA
Day 1: Seattle to Atlanta, GA, then West to Smith Lake, AL
My son and I were up and out of the house by 6:25, and headed to my parents’ house. Dad drove us to the airport without incident. Traffic was easy. I’d printed out my airline tix the night before, so we went right to the short security line.
I let the boy lead the way through the line, making sure I took off my shoes and had my little clear baggie of liquids (sun screen, shampoo, lotion, etc.) ready for the X-ray machine. I looked up to see my 15 1/2 year old boy getting a pat-down. WTF. Then the TSA agents asked me to step inside the big blue X-ray box. WTF again?! I then entered the pat-down area. A short woman, probably in her early twenties, told me she was going to pat me down. “Do you feel comfortable with my patting you down?”
I could feel my eyes narrow, as I sarcastically said, “Uhh, sure.”
She paused. “Would you prefer we go into a private location for the pat-down?”
“No, just get ‘er done.”
Did I really just say that?? Anyway, I let her pat me down there in front of god and everyone.
“I’m now touching your sensitive area…” A quick swipe with the fingers around my bra. I was wearing a tight t-shirt and jeans. I don’t know what I possibly could have been hiding in either location.
I was pretty pissed, but decided to stay calm so we could make our flight on time. I had to choose my battles, and right now, I wanted to get to our gate. End of story.
A young man outside the screening area thought he was being singled out and profiled because of his his tattoos. I told him both my son and I were patted down, too.
The boy and I got some great bagels and found our gate with about 1/2 hour to spare. We called P and told him about our pat-down and X-ray adventure. He laughed because after all his flying this past year, he’s never been subjected to that humiliation…Fer Freedom. Yeah, right.
Our plane was very full. We pulled out of the gate a little early, though, and made our way to the runway, and waited for 3 other planes to take off. We were almost to the runway, when an interior ceiling panel came loose and drooped into the aisleway! The flight attendant tried to quickly push it back, but then had to call ahead and ask a mechanic to meet them back at the gate. We had to turn around! Aargh. Everyone groaned, then got out their cameras and phones and snapped pictures. The lady next to me had it posted on her Facebook within two minutes!
Two mechanics and 45 minutes later, they got it fixed, which amounted to tucking the panel back in around the lip of the frame (a kid yelled, “I coulda done that!) and we were on our way again. Because they had to go back to the gate, the flight attendants were required by law to run through the exit/seatbelt/oxygen routine all over again. How stupid. Sometimes one just needs to use the Common Sense Law. Gawd.
After a smooth flight and no further incidents, we landed in Atlanta. P was there to pick us up in the work van and we headed west to Smith Lake, Alabama to spend a quick night before our long drive to the Gulf. Smith Lake is a beautiful, tree-lined lake that sprawls out with hundreds of miles of shoreline. We were invited to stay in the company president’s home in a gesture of true Southern hospitality. The home was beautiful with lake views from each window, large decks and screened porch, and patio areas suited for giant parties. We had the whole place to ourselves that night, and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The loud chirping and hissing of cicadas were replaced with bird songs in the early morning. I stepped out on the deck and felt the moist air hit my skin. I felt like I’d just stepped out of the shower. Steam was rising from the lake. It was going to be hot, humid day today.
Day 2: Smith Lake to Gulf Shores
We cleared out about 9:00 and stopped in the small town of Jasper for a quick breakfast. We stepped in a little local diner called Gabby’s. We were looked up and down as we timidly took our seats at a small booth. It was so obvious we were not locals. P, who has been traveling back in forth to Alabama for the last 10 months, knew how to order. How Y’All Doin? Sweet or unsweet tea, or half-n-half. Turnip greens and chicken-fried steak. I stuck to an iceberg lettuce salad with sweet tomatoes and shredded cheddar cheese and a thin turkey sandwich. The boy had his first taste of southern BBQ. He loved his smoky, chopped BBQ pork sandwich.
The rural road that led from Jasper to the Interstate was gorgeous. We passed through corridors of 50 foot green trees of different varieties; the most recognizable being the beautiful pines. Little farms and distant houses dotted the horizon. Cemeteries were laden with a rainbow of flowers, which P pointed out are made of silk or plastic. Each cemetery we saw was full of color.
Once we got to the Intestate, there were more small towns and churches lining each side of the highway. The boy couldn’t believe how many churches there were and wondered why. I didn’t really have an answer to that. It’s just how it is in the South–the Bible Belt. Many highways, bridges and side streets and buildings were all named after some famous and not-so-famous dead people: James K. Polk Memorial Highway, etc.
The buildings had a Roman/colonial look, down to the smallest farm house, with white columns, a triangular entry way over the door, brick facade. Red clay was prominent in Alabama, so it was no wonder why so many buildings and homes were made of brick. The highway had a reddish tint in parts.
We drove for hours, south to Gulf Shores. It seemed to make a decent recovery from the horrible oil spill last year, although the spring tornado damage all along the interstate was enough to take my breath away. People seem to move slowly forward here, though; some businesses re-opened, and damaged areas were getting cleaned up. The devastation was phenomenal, and not just located in Tuscaloosa; we found pockets of damage all over the state. I really don’t know how families fully recover, if at all, from such sudden and violent destruction. We could only hope we helped out the economy a little by paying a visit to the local restaurants, gas stations and shops along the way.
Gulf Shores and its sister town Orange Beach, are family-friendly, laid-back vacation havens. This is not the place to be if you want to have a jet-set high-class experience in swanky nightclubs and posh restaurants. You can head for Malibu or Miami for that. We stayed in a little hotel suite in Gulf Shores. Most condos and hotels we noticed were pretty much the same, with hotels being a bit better deal because of the small living room, kitchen, and no added condo fees.
We arrived late in the afternoon and hauled a vanload of crap up to the ninth floor. I immediately opened our sliding door to check out the spectacular view from our deck. It was so warm and perfect. I could hear the waves hit the beach and terns call each other. Pelicans flew right by our window. Little blue umbrellas and lounge chairs were set up in perfect rows. The sand was white and went on for miles in each direction.
We were hungry, and it was already getting dark, so we thought we’d grab a bite before hitting the beach. We crossed the street to Tequila West, located inside a hotel. Although the atmosphere outside on the patio wasn’t so pleasant (smokers and lots of little kids running around and crying, cars driving by) the food was delicious, and the margaritas and tequila sunrises were strong.
We took a walk in the soft sand and stuck our toes in the warm Gulf water before heading to our room to finish unpacking. Not a hint of a chill in the water.
Day 3-5: At the Beach
After a restless sleep, we woke ourselves up with strong coffee, pancakes and ham cooked in our little kitchen. We ate out on the deck and took in the humid, salt air. We let the boy sleep in and finally hit the beach around 10:30. We rented a couple of lounge chairs and umbrella from the quietly friendly beach attendant. He informed us we’d get the use of them all day.
We played in the calm gulf surf for hours. It took a long time for me to even get a little bit chilled. I would simply step out of the surf and hang out on the lounge for a few minutes before jumping back in the green-blue water. Little finger-length fish swam around our legs, larger foot-long fish wove their way through the small groups of people. We saw dolphins earlier in the morning. Kids were playing with hermit crabs and a dad caught a jelly fish in a bucket. Life was returning to The Gulf.
In the afternoon, we showered, had a light lunch and decided to take a drive along the long spit that paralleled The Gulf, from Pensacola, Florida to the east to Fort Morgan to the west. We went east to say we made it to Pensacola. Hotels lined the roadway, with a few public beaches in between.
We started back through Orange Beach toward Gulf Shores.
A big fire started in the pine trees of a state park near Orange Beach that created a huge cloud of smoke over the town. Luckily for us, the wind blew it away from Gulf Shores. We could see the cloud throughout our drive, and later found out the fire had burned over 500 acres before being contained and doused.
We were back in Gulf Shores and were starting to get hungry again. We decided to check out Lulu’s, Jimmy Buffett’s “Crazy Sistah’s” restaurant. It sits back on the canal in Gulf Shores, next to Homeport Marina. It has open-air seating, live music, a couple of bars, and a sand lot for the kids. There are also original arts and crafts booths and a souvenir shop. The food was great. We ordered an appetizer of smoked tuna and crackers, then had blackened fish sandwiches, oysters and shrimp. We listened to a nice Jamaican steel drum band while we ate.
The next morning, we went back to Orange Beach and checked out a really nice Italian restaurant called Villaggio Grille. Although the air had a smoky smell from the fire, we were so glad we decided to eat here. It was Sunday Brunch, and the waiters were so happy to see us. I’m pretty sure the smoke caused a lot of people to drive elsewhere that weekend. The staff bent over backwards to serve us, and the food was out of this world. There was a bakery next door, and Villaggio coordinated with it for biscuits and desserts. These biscuits were my favorite of the trip. They were small, but flaky, buttery and sweet. We then settled in for some amazing brunch food: The boy had mussels (the waiter kept asking him questions to make sure he knew what he was getting! We informed him that the boy knows how to eat, and is pretty much an omnivore!), giant shrimp, perfectly cooked and resting on a bed of homemade flat pasta. I had eggs Benedict with sweet potato hash, country style, in big chunks. OMG. It also came with a blueberry muffin, that I saved for later. P had seared Ahi tuna, and it was perfectly done. We also shared a nice spring mix salad and two crab cakes–a feast! We savored every bite. We will definitely go back here someday, and I felt a little sad when we left, knowing that we wouldn’t be back on this trip.
We then drove west to Fort Morgan and toured the old Civil War-era fort. It was interesting, and reminded us the local forts on the Washington coast. The boy enjoyed the tunnels and exploring the little brick alcoves. It was really hot that day, though, probably close to 98 degrees. We then drove around the neighboring village and saw some beautiful pastel vacation houses.
I assume Spring Breakers were at Gulf Shores earlier in the year; but when we were there in late June, most of the visitors were young families. Although most of the activities offered were for young kids (putt-putt golf, small amusement parks and zoo), we managed to find some quality entertainment for us and our teenage son.
The best venue in Gulf Shores is The Hangout, located right on the beach. Over Memorial Day weekend, the place gets hopping, and the stage and crowds move to the beach for a big music festival hosting a variety of artists like Foo Fighters, Widespread Panic, Paul Simon, Grace Potter, My Morning Jacket and Cee Lo Green.
The Hangout includes an indoor dining area with large bay doors that open up to the beach. A small stage on the premises hosts cover bands nightly. There are a couple of outside bars, and a giant bar next to the dining area. Kids are allowed to sit at the bar with their adults. That’s how they roll in The South!
Nashville, Day 1
First, a stop at the Loveless Cafe, just outside the city of Nashville. We settled in for some authentic Southern food, complete with biscuits, home-made preserves, country ham and gravy. Not only does this famous cafe fill up the stomach and the soul, they also host Music City Roots concert and radio show in the Loveless barn every Wednesday. We were there for an early lunch, so we weren’t able to stay for the show. At $10 a ticket, it would be worth a trip back.
I was excited and admittedly a little anxious about this leg of the journey. I had so much to see and so little time. Although Nashville, known as “Music City,” is home to The Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium,
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