Sunday, March 2, 2014

Friends Arrive!

Friday, February 28, 2014       
Foley, Ala

    The week has flown by with us doing nothing special but enjoying the days.  There was another rainy day and night, but we seem to enjoy being in our iHome and doing nothing!  Getting together in the evening with friends and playing cards passes the time.




    Al and Dan played golf when the course dried out enough to play.  That day I took several walks and rode my bike around.  It was a great day.
    Seems we are always going to a grocery store.  As our friends were arriving Wednesday afternoon, we decided we had better go get supplies.  Our cart was full of beer, wine, coffee, moon pies, and a king cake.  That should cover all bases of what we might need.
     Wednesday morning Al swept out the iHome, and picked up all the stuff that has been collecting and prepared the iHome for visitors.  I also got a much needed hair cut.
Sue and Linus arrived about 3 p.m. (I even had time for a little nap).  We chatted for awhile then they left to meet our other friends, Keith and Peggy, at the condo they have rented on the beach at Gulf Shores.  We got the dogs walked and fed and drove over to the condo.  After drinks and snacks we decided on The Hangout for dinner.  It was close and as we had been there for lunch one day, we knew what to expect.
   


 This was my chicken salad sandwich.  I had to take it all apart and eat it with a fork.


There is a great lunch box collection on the walls of the restaurant.  Many trips down memory lane.

Thursday morning Al had signed everyone up for a dunes walk and talk at the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge.  We had decided that I had better not try it as the sand we had been walking on was very deep and loose and was hard on my ankle.  As it was predicted to be below freezing Wednesday night, I really wasn't sorry I was not going to be on the windy beach at 9 a.m.   I had decided I would just take my iPad and sit at their condo while they all trooped out into the wilds of the dunes.
    We loaded up the dogs at 7:30 in the morning and took them to the kennel we had checked out earlier.  We decided we would just leave them for the day, picking them up before 6pm and see how things went.  A retired vet owns and runs the kennel.  They have suites, with couches and chairs and tvs, or just regular kennels.  We decided on two regular kennels as I am not sure how Babe would do with Beau if he barked alot and got excited about all the noises.  She can get bossy with him and sometimes will get him down with lots of growling and biting.
     I had a few reservations about the place:
    1:  First thing the retired vet told me was that it has been proven that "blonde" female cockers are the most viscous dogs around.
    2:  The vet's personal dogs (3 of them) were running loose in the building.
    3:  He tried to make friends with Babe by sticking his hand out so she could "smell" him.
All she sees is a hand that must be going to hit her, so she snapped at him.   We try to tell people not to do this, but they are always just sure that "dogs just love me".

    We got them to put the dogs that were running loose into another area, and Babe went willingly into the kennel.  We asked to have their nails clipped, but if Babe gave them trouble not to bother.
     Babe is just fine with people if you let her make friends with you.  As she is a rescue, we have no idea why she is so unfriendly to people and other dogs, but we do our best to control the environment so we don't put people or dogs at risk.
    I figured that it was only for a day, and she would be just fine if she just stayed in the kennel all day.

   When we arrived at the condo, Sue and Peggy had decided to wimp out on the walk.  Their good excuse was they needed to make a trip to the grocery store.  I thought it was a very logical excuse.  So we kissed our bundled up hubbies goodbye and settled back in with a cup of coffee.  We eventually did get to Walmart and then made a stop at Al's 5 and 10.  I knew that Sue would have fun looking at all the yarn, netting, etc.
     The guys got home about 11 a.m. with lots of information about the dunes hike.  The leader was in her 80's and was of course, very knowledgeable.  These are some of the pictures Al took.





     That afternoon we drove out to Fort Morgan.  When we went through the gate to pay, she asked if we got the senior discount for 65 and over for $5 instead of the regular $7.
We said not quite yet, then she asked if we were veterans.  Al got to say yes.  His entrance fee was free and I was only $3, so I guess those years in the Army have finally paid off.  We enjoyed the walk around the Fort, but it was a little chilly when we were out in the wind.





Beers on the balcony after the tour!

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