Our last morning on Pensacola Beach... =(
I had hoped to wake up in time (around 6:30 this morning) to watch the sunrise from the balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico but it was far too comfortable resting in the cozy clean bed. I was up around 8:30 to wake Derek up with a friendly reminder we had to hit the beach and catch some waves! Derek didn't last too long in the waves today because he got all squeamish just because he saw a baby fish. I toughed it out with my trusty new boogie board, and found some decent waves to ride. I was hoping Derek would come back out after a bit, so I didn't mention to him the fish I saw that was larger than Oscar. Regardless, Derek never made it back into the waves as our time to play at the beach was running out quickly...
We visited the hotel pool and lazy river one more time before we had to run upstairs to pack up. What an awesome pool that was ... we both had so much fun floating with the inner tubes down the lazy river and under the waterfall.
Leaving ourselves 15 minutes before check-out at 11am, we hurrie back up to our room to shower and pack up. Another awesome thing about this hotel was the provided luggage racks for hauling our bags between car and room. A nice perk.
Shortly after 11am, we started our trek back north. Over the first bridge, we were pleasantly surprised to learn the toll is only to get onto the island. It appears it was only $1, but still nice to be free! Because of our drive to Destin the other day, we happened to come onto the island from the east and so we avoided the toll all together .. not bad, considering we didn't know what we were doing! Through Gulf Breeze, and over the 2nd bridge, and we were back in Pensacola.
We stopped for breakfast at another Waffle House just north of Pensacola, on US-29. We had stopped at one a couple days ago, and felt it worthy another visit. They again did not disappoint - very tasty and filling ... enough to fuel us for a day of driving.
We opted to take US-29 N to AL-110 because this route cut straight north, as opposed to going back to Mobile, Alabama on I-10 and then up I-65. Our route appeared more direct but there were some traffic lights and small towns along the way. Overall, I think we saved some time (at least an hour ..).
Crossing into Alabama, we stopped briefly in the small town of Flomation so I could run in to check out the tourist centre. This was a unique stop, as it was in a tiny, old style house. The lady there was very friendly and happy to see me, so we chatted for a bit. Signing the visitor log, I noticed the last visitors were the 19th. I thought today's date was the 21st, and she said that was close enough.
We continued up I-65 to Montgomery, where we took a quick side-tour into the city and checked out Hank William Sr.'s memorial. He and his wife Audrey are buried there. Thanks to Nuvi for directing us there, no issues finding our way there or back to the interstate.
One thing that stood out about Montgomery is the number of Bail Bond businesses. It might have just been the area we drove through there (near what appeared to be a major police headquarters), but seriously ... I've never even heard of bail bond before today.
Another couple hours up I-65 and we reached Birmingham. For a city that claims only about 450,000 population, this place was crazy. Up to 6 lanes of traffic at some points. I had scoped out a couple highlights in my travel books which would take us into the city, so I punched the coordinates into Nuvi and off we went. Our first waypoint was Vulcan Park to see a pretty awesome view of Birmingham. They also have Vulcan statue which sits on the summit of Red Mountain.
Next drive-by attraction was Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens. Like Vulcan Park, this also had a diamond rating in the CAA guide book; however, Arlington Antebellum was a bit of a miss for us and it wasn't actually open (we were just planning to view from outside and keep going), and it appeared to be on the edge of the projects. We got out of Birmingham very quickly after this.
We drove for another couple hours and reached Athens, Alabama. It was almost 8pm, getting dark and we were both hungry so we decided to stop for the night. We found a decent room at the Best Western Athens Inn (no Holiday Inn Resort on Pensacola Beach, but that's a tough act to follow), and settled in. We walked over to a nearby Ruby Tuesday for some grub - Derek had the Barbecue Grilled Chicken and I had the Parmesan Chicken Pasta, both with a visit to the Fresh Garden Bar. I also tried a Ruby Relaxer cocktail, pretty yummy!
Back at the hotel, we had a quick swim in the outdoor pool before retiring for the evening.
Plan for tomorrow is to check out Nashville, and continue northbound .. even further from the awesome white sands of Pensacola Beach.
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