New Years Day in Alabama

Lola, our GPS, said it would take 7 hours and 49 minutes to drive from Houston to Point Clear. The distance was 489 miles. But we stopped a couple of times, once at a mall to look for a swimsuit for Patricia (which we didn’t find), then once at a Macdonald’s for something to eat. Then Lola told us we were at our destination a couple of miles before we got there so we drove around for a little while before finding the entrance to the hotel.

Eventually we arrived a little after one a.m. over nine hours after leaving downtown Houston and were given a small suite for Patricia and I connected to a regular guest room for Sofia. Dropped Sofia and Patricia at the Spa block, where our room was located, then went to look for a parking space. Eventually found a space in the area reserved for valet parking, several buildings away from the Spa block, on the other side of the large central pond. After I made it back to the Spa block we took the elevator to our floor and our room then pretty much all we could do was marvel at the room and the view before collapsing into bed.

We woke late on New Year’s Day, the skies were generally overcast, but the sun kept trying to come out as we looked at the view from our balcony overlooking the small hotel harbor. We could see Mobile in the distance across the bay.

Breakfast was delicious; an extravagant buffet of hot and cold foods, fruits, breads, omelet’s and waffles, so after eating enough for breakfast and lunch, Sofia went to the exercise room and Patricia and I went for a walk along the sea front on a path that ran along the property lines of the beautiful houses lining the beach. Many of the houses had wooden jetty’s leading out over the water to a boat dock. It looked as though most of the houses were unoccupied and we speculated that many of them, even though they were ornate and large with carefully manicured yards, were summer homes and not occupied all year round. Some of the houses may even be rental properties that were only occupied during vacation season.

After our walk we drove to Oak Hollow Farm so Sofia could take a trek on a horse. After arriving at the gathering point on the farm, we were taken for a hay ride to the stables. It was the first time Sofia had been on a horse and she enjoyed riding a pretty brown horse called Tater. While Sofia was on her trek, Patricia and I walked from the stables through the fields back to the gathering point, swung on a two person swing for a while then walked back to the stables after we saw the trail riders approaching.

We then drove into Fairhope and Lola found us a coffee shop called The Coffee Loft where we drank latte and hot chocolate and laughed at the posters promoting Willie Bean as mayor of Fairhope. Willie Bean is the owners Labrador dog and a quick search on the internet for The Coffee Loft turned up dozens of references to Willie Bean and his run for mayor and no sign of a web site for the coffee shop itself, though the coffee and hot chocolate were delicious and the place was very eclectic and comfortable.

After coffee we went on a search for a restaurant and though Lola found us several restaurants, unfortunately it appeared that this part of Alabama was closed on New Year’s Day. We drove to Mobile and back before spotting a Mexican restaurant called El Giro serving “authentic Mexican” on the road between Daphne and Fairhope. Since this was the only restaurant we had seen open in 30 miles of driving, it, by default, became our place to eat. Sofia tried beef fajitas, Patricia tried beef quesadilla and I tried Enchilada Verde, chicken enchiladas served with green salsa and refried beans. The food was plentiful and filling, and including a couple of Dos Equis and a frozen margarita – the first frozen margarita I’ve drank that was green colored – the bill was only $40 including tip.