Tales of the Traveling Totes, Spring Outings

{Fearless Friday posted early this week, you can see it here}

Welcome to the June Tales of the Traveling Totes!

It’s time to share what our totes have been up to this Spring

 

We have a wonderful giveaway for you from MacKenzie-Childs, details at the end of this post!

I must admit that Miss Coquille and I have been doing our usual “back and forthing” between the Gulf Coast and our “city” home

My fellow toters have been all over the place, Europe, Disney World, the Bahamas, and more!  You can find links to their adventures at the end of the post, you will want to see where they’ve been!

 

I also must tell you that Miss Coquille is very shy, she hates calling attention to herself in public,

I rarely get her to pose… she’s always with me somewhere, even if she’s not in a lot of photos

 

 

 

 

We traveled down to the coast early this Spring for the arrival of our new boat

 

 

 

 

A few days later the excitement escalated when the lift broke and it went shooting out into the water!

 

 

 

 

 

Luckily HHjr happened to be on the boat at the time, so he was able to get it back to the pier to be tied up until the lift was fixed

 

 

 

 

 

Miss Coquille loves a boat ride, and usually carries my camera so I can snap photos

 

 

 

 

 

We passed the favorite local hang-out, the Florabama “Yacht” Club on the Florida/Alabama state line

 

 

 

 

 

It’s an outdoor restaurant with picnic tables and sand for the floor, and you have to fight to get a “parking place”

 

 

 

 

We opted to go to the Sunset Grille, which has ample docking, shady tables and great food

 

 

 

 

 

On to Fairhope to visit a good friend

I always stop by the Fairhope park on the Eastern edge of Mobile Bay

 

 

 

 

It’s hazy, but you can see Mobile on the other side of the bay from the park

 

 

 

 

 

Fairhope is a charming town and has the most magnificent trees loaded with hanging Spanish Moss

 

 

 

Then it was on to my friends house for a tour

I wish I had before photos, it truly was just a tiny cabin, built by her uncle and her father back in the 1950s

Now it is a showplace, one large living/dining/kitchen area with bedroom wings off either side

There is a screened porch off the front and back, so many wonderful spaces in this house

 

 

 

 

She raised the ceilings and added beautiful crossbeams and built a gourmet kitchen off the back of the original house

 

 

 

 

This is the bar/butler’s pantry area joining the kitchen to the dining and living areas, perfect for entertaining!

My favorite part was the outdoor space in the backyard

 

 

 

 

 

A covered walkway joins the screen porch off the back of the kitchen to the detached garage

 

 

 

 

There is a table for outdoor dining under the roof, and a courtyard paved with beautiful salvaged old bricks

 

 

 

It’s gated and fenced, a totally private space with gorgeous landscaping and even an outdoor shower

 

 

 

 

I always drive the scenic route by the bay, and visit my favorite shop, the Garage Studio

 

 

 

 

It’s a treasure trove of original art and ceramics

 

 

 

 

Next it was back to the “city” for baseball games

 

 

 

 

A Spring Program

 

 

 

 

A violin solo

 

 

 

And 2 dance recitals

One of the dance recitals was at the historic Alabama Theatre, known as the “Showplace of the South” in downtown Birmingham.  It is such a fabulous place to experience. It is an old cinema house that has been restored now hosts a variety of cultural events.  We spent many years watching DD’s dance recitals here, so it was really special to see one of my grandchildren dancing here now

Look at that gold ticket booth!

 

 

 

 

2 Birthday Parties

 

 

 

 

And one very special ballet!

 

 

 

 

Then back to the beach for a quiet Memorial Day…

 

 

 

 

 

Which actually was very stressful as we braced for an early tropical storm, binge watching the weather channel, tying things down, bringing things inside, worrying ourselves sick…until it miraculously turned and missed us completely!

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed sunshine and just a few drops of rain…while our “city” home suffered Alberto’s wrath with high winds, torrential rains and power outages…

 

 

 

 

 

My life revolves around family and art, nothing very exciting, but it suits Miss Coquille and I just fine!

 

 

 

Please enjoy all the Tales of the Traveling Totes