“My God, we’re still here!!”  Showing up in early July instead of our usual and customary winter arrival time of October or November has upset both of our migratory clocks to the point that we feel as if we should be gearing up and planning our departure from the southern heat and our subsequent arrival at the northern fishing grounds in time for the spring salmon run.  My feline companion has been diligently checking our refrigerator each morning in hopes of finding the previous days catch slowly marinating in some delectable blend of herbs and spices in preparation for some quality time on a cedar plank en-route to a pairing with an exquisite two dollar bottle of Moscato.  But that just ain’t gonna happen any time soon cuz…WE’RE STILL HERE!!

And now, as Paul Harvey would say, for the rest of the story…

Several months back my brother-in-law, feeling that we lacked a sense of stability in our lives and intending to rectify that situation by sharing the joys of home ownership with us, forwarded a real estate listing to my then deliriously content traveling companion of a home for sale on Fish River in Fairhope, Alabama.  My Bride, always a sucker for a house on any body of water, took this as a sign that it must be time to lower the Jolly Roger, shred the sails and set anchor hard and fast on Fish River…permanently.   Living but to fulfill the every desire of my traveling companion, I suggested that we actually spend a summer in LA (Lower Alabama) investigating several different waterfront abodes before mothballing our land yacht and exchanging a life of piracy and high adventure for the doldrums of wall-to-wall carpet surrounded by warped wood and cracked stucco.

We proceeded by visiting the various bodies of water in the area and deciding which we found of mutual interest.  We soon discovered that the homes with which we were impressed were in this category…

The blossoms are initially creamy white in color and turn pink after pollination.  The blossoms will soon be replaced by long strands of cotton which will then be harvested, baled and hauled to a processor…

All e-mail from the brother-in-law is now run through a spam filter and I get up every morning at 4am to intercept and carefully screen and edit anything that worms its way past the filter and into our computer to prevent exposing my Bride to any more hare-brained ideas that might once again disrupt my domestic peace and tranquility.

Having actually survived the summertime heat and humidity of the south, we have decided to hang around here for the winter and enjoy some of the weather that draws so many snowbirds to the area.  We have been here on several occasions over the last ten years and always stay, along with many of our fellow olde farts, at the Escapee’s RV Park in Summerdale…

With her Schwinn Classic Cruiser, all she needs now is a pinwheeled beanie to complete the look. See y’all next time.  Hugs, Chuck & Pee-wee

Lacking any real 4-wheeling Jeep challenges to entertain my thrill seeking bunkie, we bought her a new 2-wheeled death defying conveyance to terrorize any of our unfortunate neighbors confined to a slow moving wheelchair or walker…

Rainbow Plantation is surrounded by fields of cotton which are currently in the blossom phase…

While the homes we could actually afford were a wee bit more modest…

And so, after a grueling summer of methodically working our way through the entirety of the LA Multiple Listing Service, we find ourselves back to square one and completely purged of the “grass is always greener” syndrome…

The park is replete with many of the amenities that appeal to those of us coasting through the Golden Years including a swimming pool and a large clubhouse containing a library, crafts room, workout room, kitchen and a large dining room where potluck dinners are occasionally held as are ice cream socials every Sunday evening.  In spite of all the mind numbing action available for the amusement of this group of geriatric gadflies, some still find other outlets to occupy idle hands and enjoy a rather unique method of welcoming back the “usual crowd” to their winter lairs…

 Southern Living                                                    September 24, 2011