It is Friday morning in Bessemer Alabama. We are getting around and enjoying our morning visiting with our sister Michelle at her mountain top estate. She has a beautiful view of the valley below from an overlook not far from her doorstep. Here my son and I like to climb the rocks around Thanksgiving when we visit. We snapped a few family photos before we hit the road. Her youngest still crashed on the couch! Get up lazy bones!
I called Doug so we could meet up and say our farewells and give him a few Dragon decals I had grabbed for his wife's helmet while we were at Deals Gap running the Tail of the Dragon. Here are some shots Doug sent me later, notice all the Dragon shirts! LOL
Doug had contacted Cecil from our motorcycle forum (www.hondashadow.net) and let him know I was on my way. Cecil and I had planned on meeting up at the beach in Pensacola for Saturday. Got to visit for a few minutes on the phone with Cecil before we hit the road.
So I have mapped out a few back highways through the kudzo of Alabama! We had a great ride this day. Again there was a huge storm forming in front of use but is seemed to be slow moving, perhaps back building. It started in front and wound up west of us and then came back in behind us. We rode through some old forgotten villages of po' folk and plantation leftovers. Hwy49 south was AWESOME! Lots of triple curves to be taken about 45-50mph. We came to areas that had already been wetted by the storm as it shifted back and forth across in front of us. There was steam coming off the road, so much in fact it looked almost foggy. The kudzo covered everything, freezing the forest in an eerie yet breathtaking moment in time I shall never forget.
As I approached 113 miles on my tank I started wondering where in the hell these people get their gas from? We hadn't passed a station in 45 miles! Finally we pulled into a town and filled up. Would have felt a bit out of place if I had stalled with no fuel out there on them deserted roads... at least we were armed with lots of firepower! I had three oversized clips with me for the .45. Anyhow I digress.... we stop at a gas station and decide to wait out the storm.... and with good timing too! It has a black wall cloud approaching us and then some straight-line winds hit that may have taken us off the road! We filled up on some pizza and ice cream and suited up. Again we did not hit any rain the rest of the trip into Florida. We made it to dad's house about 7p.m.
Saturday we head to the beach earlier than expected. I tried to contact Cecil but assumed he was already on the road as he has to drive a few hours to reach us. We wanted to get to the beach early because unbeknownst to us, the Blue Angels had planned an air show off the beach! Dad says it will be backed up for miles before we even get there.... We didn't get backed up until we hit the toll bridge...finding a parking spot was a bit of a chore but being on bikes gave us an advantage. An officer let us in a closed off lot saying "Yea! We can fit a couple bikes in here!" Shit yea! Right on the beach near the pier!
Cecil and I exchanged phone messages for the next hour and his last message informs me he will not be able to make it. He is stuck in bumper to bumper traffic miles away from the beach and it is unreal! He had to be back early to get to work anyhow and no way he would make it like this. Said adieu and headed home. Hope you had a nice ride anyhow Cecil! We will definitely hook up next time out!
The show began and they ran everyone out of the water. It was insane. It was over 100 degrees and we had no way to cool down for two hours! Avoiding a rebellion, they postponed the final portion of the show as they allowed everyone a 45 minute break into the water. Following are some MPEGs and JPEGS I took from the beach and the show. The waves were HUGE today as you can see in this first pic!! See the waves in action by clicking on the picture!
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| A-10 Warthog |
Vintage | Stunt Plane Stalls | Angels Near Miss | Blue Angels | SkyDivers | 5 Angel Loop | Angel Loop |
In this pic you can see the yellow flags on the pier that marked the path for the Blue Angels to fly over. The pier was closed during the event as well. I said LOOK AT THE PIER!!! Thank you..... Mmmmm mm mm Click on the arrows above to see some of the show.
Skydivers came down upon us! I don't think that gull was part of the show!
The Coast Guard had several patrols out to keep boats out of the flight path..... got this zoomed in shot I really liked! Can even read the name on the boat.... Bonita!
We had to hide out under the pier for shade as things were just getting too hot! When the water was opened back up you could see the sand turn dark as the swarm of people moved over it rushing for some relief.
You've heard of the gold rush? This was a blue (green) rush!!
A day on the beach and David had third degree burns on his legs! I just got darker! I make people sick sometimes! LOL We head into The Dock, a local beach bar/restaurant my brother worked in years ago when he lived with our Dad here. We had a burger and drinks and decided it was time to head back. Another storm was moving in... lets beat another one!...... nope.
So there we are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic getting pelted by the largest rain drops on the face of the planet! We are in swim suits so no big deal... got a little cool though and no place to go.... had to just sit there. Finally made it back to Dad's for a hot shower and a nap. Chinese food and ice cream for dinner, some TV and relaxation, and back to bed we go!
Tomorrow we head out to New Orleans! Everything is going exactly as planned! Click on Page 4 below to continue on our journey with us !