Gulf Shores, AL

We’ve arrived on the Redneck Riviera, that stretch of white sand beaches along the Gulf Coast between Alabama and Florida. The weather is a temperate 67-77 degrees, and though the day was mostly cloudy, there’s no wind and threatened rain storms never materialized. Last night, we drove in to Foley to eat at the famous Lambert’s Cafe. I had the hog jowls (now, don’t look down your nose–it’s a real treat for bacon lovers!) and Cory had the pork chops–good, down-home cookin’ with plenty of pass-arounds, including sorghum molasses for the hot rolls. They’re the size of a twelve-inch softball, and that’s how they’re delivered, as well.

Every few minutes, a young man comes out of the kitchen with a cart, hollering "Hot rolls!" Give him the high sign, from ANYWHERE in the dining room, and he’ll lob one to you. Mmm-mmm. That’s why Lambert’s is known as "the only home of the throwed roll." Late today, we’re going down to the beach…and we’ll get some pictures.

Lafayette, LA

It's MARDI GRAS!

Lafayette, LA

Biloxi, MS

Mississippi does Mardi Gras, too!

We spent a week in the Biloxi-Gulfport area–found on arrival that this is an area where reservations are best made in advance this time of year. We arrived without any, naturally, but we found a spot in Gulfport. We were parked so close to I-10 that Abby (the nickname we gave to our new Garmin 2610 GPS) couldn’t direct us home properly. The coordinates for our site came up as ON the highway, so she informed us that we had ‘reached our destination’ when we drove by and waved to the trailer.

We hit our first Mardi Gras parade in Biloxi on January 29, where we collected more than 8 pounds of beads without even trying. Can’t wait for sister Susan to arrive next week in Louisiana–you can’t help but have a good time at Mardi Gras in Acadiana.

North Fort Myers, FL

Unfortunately, we caught some kind of nasty URI while in Orlando, and when we arrived in Ft. Myers, we were both laid low. We had Christmas dinner with friends Rose, Pam, Kathy and Mary Jane, three of whom used to drive school bus with Cory. All have since relocated to this area, and all of THEM got sick after we had dinner with them. So though we spent nearly a month in town, we only saw our friends one other time after Christmas--nobody was well enough to be up and visiting!

But we did get out a few times to see some of the sights. We took an airboat ride on the EverGlades, as well as a "jungle boat tour" out of Everglades City that, mostly, consisted of riding through the no-wake zone looking at the fabulous homes build on the waterfront. And we saw all the alligators we cared to see, right off the highway!

Orlando, FL

I can't imagine a better place to be with kids for Christmas than DisneyWorld. Michael brought the boys down for five nights. Naturally, the first couple of days, Orlando was having unseasonably cold weather, with highs in the 50s. That's mighty cold when the sun goes down and the parades and fireworks start. But before the boys went home, we finally got some highs in the 70s, and they could go home bragging about how warm it was, just as we had promised. Unfortunately, we never were able to find Joey a palm tree with coconuts in it. He couldn't believe they were really palm trees unless he could see coconuts!

Of course, Disney doesn't have a monopoly on Orlando (though it feels that way). We managed to squeeze in a helicopter ride, a nice drive to the beach, and on one of our exploratory drives, we came across BigFoot!

St. Augustine, FL

This little town may be the best-kept secret in Florida. Older than the Jamestown colony by nearly 50 years, St. Augustine was held alternately by the Spanish and the British. What the two left behind is a charming oceanside community of white sand beaches, old colonial architecture, and lush hotels built by and for America's elite of the 19th century. From wandering down the narrow streets full of eclectic shops to strolling through the museums and down the beaches, we had a great time.