We zipped over to the US Rocket and Space Center to get our space on.
Ryan and I have always geeked out about space travel. We started with an IMAX film from the Space Station, then wandered on to learn about the engineering and physics behind making rockets work. I really enjoyed walking through the "Rocket Park," where de-comissioned missiles were retired, but the highlight was probably Saturn V.
After soaking up all we could about rocket science, we tailgated in the parking lot with some delicious sandwiches (turkey and avocado, if you care), then headed off in a Southwardly direction towards Cheaha National Park.
The road we wanted was closed, so we wandered the back roads for awhile. At one point, we were fairly certain we were in the actual middle of nowhere, and then I saw a sign that piqued my interest: COVERED BRIDGE AHEAD. Since that's what this trip is made for, we veered off the road and took a bunch of pictures. There was a little trail leading down the bank, so of course I was bouncing from rock to rock in my flip flops like a moron, trying to get a good shot. Peril does not make me any better of a photographer.
Monday night was the night we got to stay in a hotel, as Ryan had to work half a day Tuesday. I was so excited about indoor plumbing, I actually got goosebumps. We found a nearby BBQ/Wing joint, and had our first Fried Green Tomatoes of the trip.
That night, we watched TELEVISION in an actual BED, and when I got up for my 3am potty break, I did not have to put on shoes and fumble around in the dark.
The next day, we left once Ryan was done with work, and we spent most of the day driving. But first, a brewery. Cheaha Brewery is in an old railway station, and it is a very cool place to look at, but a hard place to find. We walked in the wrong door, completely missed the tap list (which took up an entire wall), and took forever deciding what we wanted. I was so ashamed. But the pimento sandwich was amazing, and the cheesy grits were covered with a molten gouda that made my heart sing.
Ryan was intent on making it to the summit of Alabama's highest point, Cheaha. I personally don't care for long treks uphill, so I fussed the whole way- even the part that was paved roadway, because there is no direct trail there. But hey, I made my first summit, and we found a friend at the top!
Ryan had to take another work call, so I wandered off on my own for a bit.
Then it was time to hop back in Vincent and get to the beach!
Along the way, we got the hunger bug, bad. We haven't been doing a great job of remembering to eat, but when we do eat, we make it memorable. I found a place called Southern Comfort that was lauded all over the internet for Soul Food, so we had to stop. I have a thing for black eyed peas, and Ryan now has a thing for chicken fried ribs. You read that right. They smoked ribs for nine hours, then dipped them in batter and fried them.
After dinner, we drove through hours of pine nothingness until we could drive no more. We found a campground far, far, far off the beaten path. With no breeze that night, Vincent quickly heated up, and I had my very first van panic attack (vanic attack?) Needless to say, there wasn't much sleep that night.
The next morning, we awoke to the sounds of lawn maintenance equipment. Despite thinking we were far from anything, helpful ranger Frank came by to share his memories of Vanagons gone by, and to give us some helpful suggestions (such as: don't step on snakes). There was more pine nothingness, and then finally we arrived at Gulf Shores.
It was getting dark already, and Ryan still had some residual work to do, so we did not get to see the ocean that night, much to my dismay. We did, however, check out a brewery- Big Beach. After a long day of driving and not much sleep, we were both pretty cranky, so having a tasty brew in the salt breeze was just what we needed.
Thus starving, we headed to a po-boy joint recommended to us by the locals. The Flying Harpoon is small. The Flying Harpoon is dark. The Flying Harpoon makes a helluva Bloody Mary, and the crab and crawdad cake po-boy was amazing. Amazing. It was too dark to get a good picture of it, so just trust me.
We met some awesome people here. Ryan started chatting with the guy next to him, who was a roadie and drum tech for some top heavy metal bands back in the day. Ryan happens to be a huge metal nerd, so they chatted for hours, getting more and more animated as the beer flowed on and on. If only I had slept the night before, I'm certain we would've closed the place down.
The next day was beach or bust, and we fully beached. Apparently locals have the sense to not get in the water when it's only April and the water is still cold, but we're from Ohio and have a rather different definition of "cold."
We popped back to the campground to make use of the shower facilities before we left. One thing I will say about van life is that the best three words are "Shower Facilities Available." Sitting in a van for long stretches makes me feel a little stale, even with the windows down and the music turned up. We then departed, with a detour for crab-stuffed, bacon-wrapped shrimp and more black eyed peas at a delicious spot called DeSotos. I didn't grab a pictures 'cos I thought I was eating solo while Ryan was on a conference call in the parking lot, but he surprised me by turning up at the last minute.
Then it was on to Mississippi!
We're going to spend more time in Mississippi on the way back to Ohio, so for now, we stopped at two breweries as we passed through.
The first was Biloxi Brewing, which is located in what used to be a pharmaceutical warehouse. We were a little wary of the bars over the windows, but the gents inside assured us that was a holdover from the warehouse days. Upon learning where we were from, the bartender said, "Do that weird Ohio thing you guys do!" and I obliged with a hearty "O-H!" From a back room I heard "I-O." Turns out the main guy is an Ohioan. Even better, the doors opened, and in walked a guy from Cincinnati. So, a bar full of Ohioans drank beer at a local spot in Mississippi. Wild, huh?
The guy from Cincinnati recommended we head up the road on a little detour to Chandeleur Brewing, so we did. Walked in the door, and would you believe it? There he was, waiting for us! We ended up chatting until close about cats and traveling and what constitutes fun, the philosophy flowing as freely as the suds.
We realized then that we hadn't eaten for... a good while, and everything was closed. Except Taco Bell. Breaking our own rules, we chowed down on burritos while we navigated our way to Buccaneer Park for the night.
I'm not 100% sure we were at an actual campsite, so much as parked on a service road, but I woke up around 2 in the morning, heard a train very, very close, and had a brief fear that we had parked on train tracks. Obviously we did not, but living in a van can be very, very disorienting at night, when things are dark and you're not sure where you are.
The next morning, it was up-and-at-em, on to that crazy city- New Orleans!
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