GLORY DAYS ON THE GREAT LOOP: AT EASTERN SHORE MARINA, FAIRHOPE, AL

DAYS 154 TO 161 NOV. 11 THRU 19, 2011

Fairhope, AL is not what you might expect of a small bay front city in Alabama. After travelling north to south down the Tombigbee WW along the MS/AL border, and seeing the surrounding areas, you come to expect more of the same. Small laid back towns that are very rural in character, mostly agricultural, and somewhat behind the times. Not so Fairhope! This city is beautiful. It was voted as one of the best cities in the country to retire in, and after seeing it we can understand why. It has found a way to thrive in spite of the outlying shopping centers and Wal-Mart’s. The streets are clean, the sidewalks mostly paved with bricks and lined with trees and flowers. The shops, of which there are many are very “upscale,” and attract a more affluent clientele than the local Wal-Mart. The Mayor and local merchants actively promote the city with events such as the one we attended one night to celebrate the lighting of the town’s trees for Christmas. The marina we stayed at, Eastern Shore Marina was a friendly, “working” marina. The employees were very friendly and helpful, but the facility did not match the city’s standards for cleanliness or beauty. It has the potential to be a really great boating destination, but needs a huge capital injection to get there. That said, we did have a great time there. The extended stop allowed Joe to catch up on some much needs maintenance and repairs. The first and most important was the repair of the bow thruster, without which docking the Glory Days would be next to impossible. It turns out the problem was self inflicted. A hose Joe used when he installed the anchor wash down outlet in the bow was the wrong kind and it sprung a leak causing water to spray all over the bow thruster motor and short out the controls. That was the loud unidentified noise heard coming down the Tombigbee WW. After replacing the hose he put a hair drier in the compartment praying the thruster would work after it dried out. VIOLA! It did. Joe also changed the oil and filters on the Yanmar diesel, the Kohler generator, and the ZF transmission. We cleaned the boat inside and out, and spent the last few days relaxing and having fun. On Nov. 13, Pat went downtown shopping, then we went out to dinner with Pam and Bill from Seabiscuit, and Beth and Dean from Kismet to Tamara’s Bar & Grill. It was Beth and Dean’s birthday, and we all enjoyed some great southern Alabama cooking, steamed oysters, crabs, and fresh gulf shrimp. On Sat. Nov. 19 we flew home to spend Thanksgiving with our family and friends.