Beautiful Easter Weekend Weather

I feel like Bill Murray this evening because I'm posting to the Blog from a far away location - well, not actually too far away - just Destin, FL. And what a lovely day it has been. After posting the web video map discussion, my wife and I finished loading the car and headed down the road.

We took a route from Helena to Montgomery where we picked up US 331 for a leisurely drive through southern Alabama. The rolling hills and pasture land were beautiful along with a bright blue sky with only a few patches of very thin, wispy cirrus clouds. If you've never taken that route, it is a combination of four-lane and two-lane roads with a good deal of construction where it will soon be a four-lane highway. But there was not much traffic once we left Montgomery. Every time I come south on this route, I'm amazed at how quickly you leave the congestion of the city once you make that turn onto US 331 from the southern by-pass just a couple of miles east of I-65.

Once we reached the beach area and US 98, traffic returned - not terribly but enough to be noticed. We found our rental company and the condo which is just across Old 98 from the beach. In fact, we have a clear view of the beach from our condo. My wife really loves the beach, but the dog, on the other hand, is not too sure about it.

Weather at the beach this afternoon was gorgeous. Not sure what the high was, but one of the first tasks was to take a short walk on the sand and watch the Gulf. There is still a lot of evidence of damage from the hurricanes of the last couple of years. One of the biggest signs is how much sand has been removed. It appeared to us that a beach reclamation project was underway just east of where we are. We could see a bulldozer in the distance pushing sand toward the Gulf. A large ship was anchored just offshore of the point where the bulldozer was working, so we figured the sand was being pumped from there to the beach area to widen the beach. It's obvious when you walk along the beach and look at some of the structures that cement foundations are a good two to three feet above the sand level.

Walking the dog just a few minutes ago, there is still a stiff breeze out of the southwest which actually put a bit of a chill in the air despite the temperature being 71 degrees. The breeze kicks up the sand and the sea spray, so I'm glad I did not have time to wash the car before the trip - it will surely need it after the trip.

So what are we going to do down here? As little as possible and just enjoy the sand and surf and nap and read and check the Blog and nap and read and walk on the beach and eat seafood and read and nap. Gads, I'm exhausted thinking about all I have to do!!

Happy Easter to everyone.
Posted by John T.  
on April 15, 2006, 9:34 pm
I understand completely Brian , sounds like my kind of plans if I went down there . Hope you , your wife & dog have a teriffic trip . Thats the way to enjoy it , I'm assuming hardly anyone down there and before hurricane season starts .

HAPPY & BLESSED EASTER

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Posted by Derek  
on April 15, 2006, 10:07 pm
Hope you have a great time down there. Sounds like you have plenty to do with all of that napping and walking in the sand, lol. My last Gulf trip was back in March when I went to Dauphin Island for a marine biology class. The damage on the west side of the island was absolutely incredible, as I'm sure you know. I'll never forget it.

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