Mobile, AL - Bellingrath Home & Gardens

Bellingrath Home & Gardens

In 1932, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bellingrath created this beautiful 65 acre gardens.  The public has always been welcome to tour the grounds.  Three years later they had a 15 room house built on the property where they lived.  Mr. Bellingrath survived his wife, but he died in 1955 at age 86.  The property and all furnishings were left to a foundation which opened the home to the public following Mr. Bellingrath's death.  Mrs. Bellingrath's collections of cyrstal, silver china and porcelin remain in the home for viewing.

Below is the Fowl River side of the house.  The paved paths lead one down to the docks.

In the center of those intense pink rows of flowers, is a pond.

 Below is Mirror Lake

A Lion Statue on the Estate

The Asian Garden



Fish in Mirror Lake



They decorate for Halloween and have a huge Magic Light display throughout the entire 65 acres for Christmas.

No photos are allowed inside the home, but you can see more at:

http://www.bellingrath.org/



Mobile Bay - Commercial Fishing Boat

All the commercial fishing boats attract flocks of birds.

If you look closely you can see the line trailing out the back of the boat.  Evidence that his fishing net is in service.

We believe this to be a where a cruise ship boards passengers.

Below we go out into the "Wild Blue".  What a change from our narrow rivers.

Below Wicket shows off her new haircut.  It was 84 degrees and she was getting shaggy.  Then the next day we woke to 38 degrees and she shivered & shivered everywhere we went.  So off we went clothes shopping for a sweater for Wicket.  This is the first clothing thing she's had, that she will come over and let you put it on her & she will walk with it on.  She likes it.

(notice the hair is still long on her front leg?  She ran out of patience & we haven't gotten back to trimming, yet.)

She needs to be leashed when in a strong wind or she'll go airborne with those big ears.

Mobile, AL - Entering Mobile Bay

One of the many impressively huge ships in the harbor at Mobile.  We arrived at the marina at Dog River on the west side of Mobile Bay on Thursday Oct. 27th.

Downtown waterfront area

We think this is where they board passengers onto cruise ships, but not sure about that. (below)

Mobile - Shipping Harbor Part I

This busy industrial  harbor is at the end of the Mobile River as we enter Mobile Bay. You might find it boring, but I was amazed at how big everything was.

Downtown Mobile, AL

Fishing vessel in the bay



Motoring thru Mile Marker 52 - 12

I took this footage on Wed. but I wasn't able to connect well enough to the internet until today. (maybe not even today, but will try). 
We found out just a few days before this section of river was to be closed that they pushed the closing date back a few days, but we didn't take any chances and went through on Wed Oct. 26th with no problems.

Petrified sand dollars & sharks teeth...

Our handy book from friend,  Fred Myers, called The Tenn-Tom Nitty-Gritty Cruise Guide, suggested that one might find pretrified sand dollars & sharks teeth at mile marker 107.0, so since we didn't have a long day of motoring on Monday, we stopped to try our luck.  We didn't find any petrified sand dollars & sharks teeth, but we found other interesting things to see.  The first few seconds are of the towboat named "Honest Bob".  Most appropriate.

Sorry, that I am just now posting video taken on Monday, but I haven't had a very good internet connection and this one isn't all that good, either, but will make do.

PART I



PART II

I am posting this on Wed. as we are heading for mile marker 12 today.  As we went past mile marker 21, we saw the new swing bridge which is to be set in place when they close this section of the river Sunday Oct. 30 thru Nov. 2. We had earlier heard that the river would be closed on Oct. 27 thru the 2nd for this project, but just a couple days ago we were hearing otherwise.  They said the closure wouldn't take place until Oct. 30th. Either way, we will be past this section of river by the end of today!  Hurrray! Sorry about the bridge video, I must have not been recording when I thought I was, but you get the idea.  Also, shot some video of a big alligator sunny himself along the bank. 

Our first encounter with a gator was Monday night as we took Wicket to shore for her 9:00p.m. potty walk.  We dinghied over to the boat ramp in the dark, as I held the flashlight on the shore.  There was something reflecting in the water near shore. As we got near we could tell it was a 3' gator within about 9' of the boat ramp.  The camp host, Don Johnson, later told us that the little cove we were anchored in was infested with the criters.

  I'm sure we will see many more alligators, so will try to get some better footage of them.



Crazy Bob - Chapter 2

Houses had thatched roofs - thick straw- piled high, with no wood underneath.  It was the only place for animals to get warm so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof.  When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs." 
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.  This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed.  Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection.  That's how canopy beds came into existence.  The floor was dirt.  Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.  Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." 
The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing.  As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.  Hence: "A thresh hold."

Demopolis Thursday, left Sat.

Thursday Oct. 20 we pulled into the marina at Demopolis, AL. We stayed at the marina Thursday night and Friday night.  On Friday, we did a load of laundry and ran to the local Wal-Mart with the courtesy car.  The bathrooms at the marina were really nice and very clean.  They have a nice big lounge with t.v., sofa, chairs, book exchange, etc.  Really nice & comfortable.  Everybody was very friendly, too.

We woke up early on Sat. to take advantage of the early rising sun.  The fog was so thick, we waited around until 6:15 and made our way toward the lock about 1 mile downstream. We had to wait and it was about 8:30 before we got through the lock and on our way.  It was, also, very cold.  Only about 39 degrees or so.  The movie shows Wicket shivering, but I'm not sure you can tell.  It warmed up to about 70 in the afternoon and the sun was shining beautifully.

The morning fog, which we have had every morning the past 2 days.

The following photo is what they call a "floating bollard" which is used to secure our boat while we are in the lock.  The bollard is recessed in this cut in the wall (there are about 5 on both sides of the lock) and they float on the water inside this recess.  Those 2 lines are ours.  The one on the bottom, is the one I looped over as the front of the boat passed the bollard and then Bob at the rear of our boat, loops his line over and we both tie the ends to the cleats on the boat.

The next 3 photos are to show the palm trees we have seen since before Columbus, MS.  With the sun on the camera, I couldn't tell if I actually got one of the palm trees in the picture, but I see that I did.

We often saw sandbars and sandy shorelines on the Mississippi, but haven't seen many since.  The sand is getting more white.

Lots of Spanish Moss around here, too.



The end of the Tenn Tom Waterway -

Here is a video taken as we motored toward Tom Bevill Lock at mile marker 307 which was just before all the problems with our anchorage Tuesday night.

The white cliffs of Alabama are interesting and as you will see just before entering the Bevill Lock is the Tom Bevill Visitor Center.  The US Snagboat Motgomery is kept here.  It was the last steam-powered sternwheeler to work the inland waterways of the south.  The Montgomery labored for nearly sex decades to keep seven of the South's major rivers navigable.  It was built in 1926 in Charleston, SC.  (same year my Dad was born).

Turkeys along the shore

A phone booth out in the middle of nowhere.

Freezing in the morning. It is about 39 degrees when we start out but by 1:00 it is in the lower to mid- 70's.

Tenn Tom Waterway - 2 idiots on the river

Things went better than planned Tuesday a.m.  The rental car was returned at 8:00, payment was made at the marina office and we were locked through Stennis Lock by 9:00 a.m.  We had a pretty uneventful trip down the river all day. Our goal was to get through Bevill Lock 28 miles down river.  Not a problem.  The lockmaster gave us a "heads up" that a barge was northbound but he didn't know where.

Wicket got a little anxious about 3:00 and needed a potty break, so Bob went to shore at a boat ramp with her in the dinghy.

Above is the cove which "Skipper Bob's Navigation Book said would be a good anchorage.  NOT!

All was fine, until we pulled into a small cove about 5:00 p.m., which was described in our "Skipper Bob" book as a possible overnight anchorage.  Not so.  It was way too shallow and we were stuck.  Bob got into the dinghy, tied a rope onto Heron and tried to pull us out as I tried to steer.  No luck.  Bob called for me to run up to the front of the boat so my weight would get off the back.  That worked, but only for a instant.  Wicket was suppose to stay in the back and steer when we got unstuck, but she let us down and the boat headed right back into the shallow area. 

Bob didn't give up and as I jumped from the port side to the starboard side, back and forth, the boat broke loose. I don't know how, but 20 minutes or so after first pulling into the cove, we busted free and I steered us out into the main channel. This all happened at Mile Marker 304.4.  Now it is 5:20 and the next possible anchorage listed in any navigation books is 14 miles down river.  It takes us 2.5 hours to go 14 miles and it is already getting dark, so we looked for our own anchorage.  We decided to anchor into a really tiny cut near a boat ramp about 5 miles down river.  Boaters are not suppose to anchor in these areas but we were getting desparate.  We motored toward the boat ramp in the dark for at least 30 minutes.  The overcast skies made it that much darker & the headwind and chilly temps were brutal.  After runny over a green channel marker, we decided that it'd be best for me to sit on the foredeck with a flashlight to light the way.  Brrrr!

We finally spotted the boat ramp but around the bend ahead, we could see the spotlight of that northbound barge heading our way.  Bob radioed to the tow captain that we were there, but we'd be well out of his way.  He was good with that. 

Bob had trouble getting the front of the boat tucked into the cut because the current in the main channel kept pulling it out, but he quickly threw in the anchor before the current dragged us too far into the channel.  Then he got in the dinghy, gave me one end of a line while he pulled the rear of Heron over to a post on shore where he was going to tie off the back of the boat.

Just as the front of that northbound barge came around the corner, our anchor let loose and the current pulled the front of the boat out into the channel.  As the front went swinging toward the barge, I hung onto the line as Bob tied his end to the post.  That barge was only about 20 feet from the front of Heron as it rounded the corner. Once the barge was past and the wake settled down, Bob pulled the anchor and dinghyied it into the cut and dropped it once again nosed into the cut.  We watched to see if it would hold this time and it did.  Now it was safe to dinghy over to land where Wicket got her nighttime walk. Needless to say, we didn't sleep too sound that night.

After Wicket's morning walk, we headed down river to our next destination 41 miles downstream, just through Heflin Lock, near Gainsville, AL.  We had a 20 mph tailwind so we made good time.  We locked right through and anchored just 1/8 mile from the lock at 3:00p.m.  Much more relaxing than the day before.

The AMAZING RACE begins...

Sorry there have been no new posts for some time, but we had to make a trip back to Iowa last Wed.  and arrived back at the boat in Columbus, MS at 6:30 this evening. (Oct. 17th)  We will return our rental car at when they open at 8:00 tomorrow morning and head out.  We are at mile marker 335 so that is the number of miles to Mobile(mile marker 0).  One little snag... a bridge at mm 12 (I think) will be under construction starting Oct. 27 and will be closed until Nov. 2.  We will be racing to get past mm 12 before the 27th.  It will be close.  It gets dark so early that we don't have as many motoring hours as we used to.  It is forcast to have winds of 21 - 24 the next couple of days so if they are in the right direction we may try putting up a sail as we motor.

Another worry... alligators eating Wicket. Okay, so this worry may be unfounded but we will be see alligators within a few days sunny on the shores & sandbars and that is the only place the dog will go bathroom.  For all our trying, we have not been able to get her to go on the boat. You name it, we tried it.  So things could get scary for me.

Crazy Bob's page...

Okay, here are some little know facts about how some common phrases came into existence. Bob will be adding periodically to this page so check back on it occasionally. He just had to share with everybody.

Q...Where did piss poor come from?
A... They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot and then once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery... if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor".  but worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot... they "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.

Q... Why are most weddings in June?
A... Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.  However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.  Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Natchez, MS - Rhythm Night Club Memorial

There are many blues songs written about the night club fire in Natchez, MS in 1940.  One was by Howlin' Wolf called "The Natchez Burnin". So we found the memorial at the corner of MLK and St. Catherine St. The  fire is among the ten deadliest public assembly fires in the history of the United States.  There were 209 death that night.

http://www.americanbluesscene.com/2011/04/natchez-burning-anniversary-of-the-rhythm-club-fire/

Columbus, MS - Touring town

Tennessee Williams, famous playwright, was born in Columbus, Mississippi in 1911.  His mother's maiden name was Dakin.  My brother-in-law, Steve's name is Dakin.  Hmmmm?  I got busy on ancestry.com and found that Steve's dad and Tennessee Williams were 4th cousins. Some guy, named Timothy Dakin born in 1723, was their great, great, great, great grandfather.

Tennessee was born in Columbus and lived in this house with his Mother, sister Rose, and maternal grandparents until he was three.  His father traveled as a shoe salesman.  The house was the rectory of St. Paul's Episcopal Church where his grandfather, Reverend Walter Dakin, was the minister.

The parlor

The dining room

A small bedroom believed to be Tennessee's

Rev. Walter Dakin, his maternal grandfather

http://www.columbus-ms.info/

We were, also, lucky enough to tour "Whitehall".  It is currently the private residence of Joe & Carol.  Joe's parents bought the house from the granddaughter of the original owner.

Built 1843

Joe & Carol currently live in Whitehall with their son. Joe's family is the second owners of the home and he knows all the interesting stories about furniture pieces, rooms, odd bathroom fixtures, etc. The basement served as a hospital for confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Very fun informative tour.  We are fortunate to have people like this preserve our history and to share it with us.

http://www.columbus-ms.info/visitors/attractions/daily-home-tours/whitehall.aspx

The house above & below are just blocks from "Whitehall", but not open for tour.

Built 1852. This property is for sale - $1,250,000

See interior photos here http://www.crye-leike.com/main/browsedetail.php?region=Middle+Mississippi&low=1000000&high=2000000&miny=1820&maxy=1860&min_year_built=1820&max_year_built=1860&description_search_type=3&mgrp=4&ln=1&tid=goldentriangle&mlsnum=11-1648&ltb=1&cid[0]=1062

Natchez, MS - The Reception

The Reception

Ray & Danielle visiting with my cousin, Jeff.

Cutting the cake.

Reception Video

Natchez, MS - The Wedding Ceremony

The Wedding Ceremony

Bride Danielle awaits in the carriage while the wedding party takes their places.

The Vows

The Scripture

Video of the Wedding Ceremony of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Bietry.

Natchez, MS - Lunch & Rosalie

We felt honored that Bride Danielle would be able to make time for us on "her" big day.  She met us for lunch at "Magnolia Grill" overlooking the Mississippi River.

http://www.magnoliagrill.com/

Natchez, MS - The Wedding

We finally got the rental car from Enterprise at 11:00 Friday morning, and hit the road for Natchez, MS. The trip was about 5 hours.  Friday happened to be my Aunt Mavis and Uncle Dale's 60th wedding anniversary so their son, Jeff & wife, Barb took my Mom and Bob and I out for supper at a fancy historical home called Monmouth to celebrate.

Standing is my cousin, Jeff & his wife, Barb.  They live in Enterprise, AL so they drove over to Natchez for the wedding.  Sitting is Uncle Dale & Aunt Mavis.  Mavis is my Mom's little sister.

My Mom, looking gorgeous.

Our table at the Monmouth.

Above is my cousin, Dana, his youngest son, Taylor and wife, Jennifer.

Dana is the bride's father.  They live in Apollo Beach, FL.

And Saturday morning the bride made time to meet all of us for lunch. She was very excited.

Cousin Barb & Aunt Mavis.

After lunch with Bride Danielle, we had time to go tour this beautiful Antebellum home.  It is only one of  19 Antebellum homes in Natchez, MS.  The day we were there, was the "Fall Pilgrimage" where the homes are open to tour. (Bob & I will be going back to Natchez when we have more time)

http://www.natchezpilgrimage.com/

http://www.rosaliemansion.com/

Sister's - my mom and Aunt Mavis on the second floor balcony.

Looking at the detached kitchen at Rosalie Plantation from the upstairs balcony.