Kingston Road Tripping

We are packing up this morning and will head home around noon. As per usual, I am behaving like a petulant child who has had her favorite toy taken away. I do this every time I have to leave a beach. Doesn’t matter if it is Orange Beach, Hilton Head, Seagrove, or even La Jolla in San Diego, I am depressed at having to leave. Keep in mind that one of those beaches came with a threat of a third earthquake in four days. Doesn’t matter, I hate leaving the beach. The only beach I can remember being more than ready to leave was Sanibel. I loved the island and Captivating was even more beautiful, but that beach in the Summer was miserable. They have these bugs that will bite without remorse and there is no bug spray on earth to keep them away. I did collect some beautiful shells there, so it was not a total loss. Here is how it goes with us when we have to leave. We pretty much say goodbye to the water’s edge the night before because going down there the morning we have to leave is just too...

No, I am not about to break into the song from Fiddler On The Roof, although I did hum it as I was typing the title. I actually wanted to acknowledge that I got up for a sunrise!!  If you take photos of sunrises, you know that you have to take about 10 in progression to get just the right one, and that if there is the absence of clouds, you will lose some beauty, although at my age, every sunrise is beautiful. Orange Beach is beautiful at sunrise, and while the beach side is the most photographed, I love the bayside as well, and we get a glimpse of that when we stay at the Perdido.  After viewing the sunrise, I got back into bed for more sleep, but then got up and got dressed to head out and do some exploring. I drove down to the end of the road in Gulf Shores, which I like to do from time to time so I can see what has been added, what has been taken away, and what has had a name change. I also like to look at all the rental houses we can never afford to rent because t...

Today only has 8 hours left in it as I begin this post, and I have not left the hotel room and/or balcony all day.  I failed again to get a sunrise photo, which is really sad since all I have to do is roll out of bed, walk onto the balcony and watch it come up.  We are on the East side of the hotel for pete's sake! Have I mentioned that the beds in this room are very comfortable?  The A/C is aggressive, which I appreciate when I am going to sleep, but if you are just sitting around in here, it can get a little chilly.  If you turn it down, however, it goes from chilly to stuffy in about 60 seconds.  Today is the first day of Fall and I don't want to talk about it.  I looked at the long range forecast for home (both of my homes to be exact), and there is nothing even resembling Fall.  I do see Fall in my personal forecast, however, because in 16 days, my mom and I are driving to NYC to see our working girl, and I will have jackets in tow.  I mean t...

I was going to begin this post with a beautiful sunrise photo, and I had my phone set to wake me up and everything. I was going to get up, take a stroll on the beach and wait for the sun to join me. Here’s what happened. I heard the alarm go off, I hit the stop button, and the next time I opened my eyes, the sun had clearly jumped the gun. Maybe tomorrow. We did get up in time to head downstairs for the breakfast buffet, and as we rounded the corner in the lobby, there was an encounter that did not escape either Anthony or me. I was a couple of steps in front of him, but when the female concierge passed by, she was laser focused on Anthony only, and promptly said “good morning sir.” Not “good morning ma’am,” or even “good morning” as a general greeting that would include us both. Nope, she said “good morning SIR.” I glanced back at Anthony and knew immediately that he recognized what she did. I am not a jealous wife by any means, so that is not what got me. What got me was the complete...

First of all, I am at the Gulf and not at sea, but the title was too cute to pass up, so I am going with it. It has been over a year since we have been to the Gulf, which is unheard of for the Kingston’s since we average two trips down here per year. Side bar here, but I am not sure if I should be capitalizing Gulf, but since it an important place to me, I am going to let that slide.  Sorry teachers if I am incorrect.  I have been coming here since I was a year old, except on those occasions when my dad would take us to Calloway Gardens. There was one year when we had a “stay”cation, but I don’t remember anymore of those because it was NOT well received. This has always seemed like a second home for us, and I take pride in my dad bringing us here while everyone else was going to PCB. We dared to be different, and I appreciate that now. We were coming to Gulf Shores before it was cool to do so, and before Orange Beach became the conference capital of Alabama. That is actually w...

Anthony and I are heading out this morning for Jackson, MS to watch Cole Gaddy play college football for Belhaven University. We have known Cole since birth and he and his family are dear to us, so we are anxious to support him. I even brought out his schools’colors to wear.  When I go all in, I go all in. Not sure if you can see it, but I am wearing a sleeveless top, because it is mid-September, and we are in the Deep South, and this is what happens, and I don’t like it one bit.   I generally complain about the heat from June until October because I don’t like to be hot. I never complain about winter temps and you will never hear me complain about the rain, unless I am having to drive in it.  Football season in the South is spent trying to figure out what to wear. Jeans or shorts, team sweatshirt or tank top, flip flops or cute booties, a scarf or a bucket of ice.  It is a miserable time, but we do it because we love the game and the people who are playing. ...