Scott Fillmer » gulf

God, Wind, Surfers, and Some Photography

Scott Fillmer — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:45:00 +0000

There is nothing quite like the power of God as seen through an incoming storm on the ocean. This week we planned on spending a few days in-between our two fall semesters down at the gulf, and of course there was a strong remnant of a hurricane from the Pacific on its way over right to our little spot. The ocean is even limited in our mind by as far as we can see, and only from the tiny little spot on the sand we can stand. But it changes every day. I have been to the Pacific, Atlantic, and of course the Gulf and it never looks the same, the ocean, even from our small perspective. The surfers were quite thrilled to see the 35-40mph winds down there today, and I took a few shots of the local surfers.

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Photos From Gulf Shores State Park Beaches

Scott Fillmer — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:23:15 +0000

I finally got around to editing some of the photos from our camping trip last weekend. We stayed at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores Alabama, just down the road from where we use to live in Orange Beach at Bearpoint Marina. This state park is one of the larger ones, but a little less on the “camping” side and a little more on the RV side of camp grounds.

We have visited this park several times before and it is a very well developed area just on the other side of the main road from the beach. It does border the lake that is in the area and there is a golf course in the park as well, but if you are looking for a camping spot on the actual beach this is not it (nor were we expecting it to be). It does have great access to the Gulf State Park beaches which are starting to get a little crowded at this point. If you want an empty beach in the same area, same beautiful white sand, just take a short drive down to the National Seashore in Florida called the Gulf Islands National Seashore (though they don’t allow pets on the beach).

One thing about this area is the hurricane damage that is still present in the tree line. Several years ago a hurricane topped all the tress around here so if you look at what is normally a pretty full pine tree forest type area, you see sort of a tree trunk grave yard. Pretty weird looking but some of the photos below are a few trees that made it among all the ones that were topped, and the smaller ones that have emerged.

We have been to all these beaches and most of the restaurants in the area so many times that we will probably make our way east next time toward Panama City where we haven’t spent so much time. All in all it was wonderful and relaxing as always, and I did get to take a few photos while we were there. You can see the complete slideshow of photos here on flickr.

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On the Beach Again with the Whole Family :: Friday Feet

Scott Fillmer — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:00:12 +0000

Last weekend Deb and I went back down to Gulf Shores for a quick camping trip. Of course, being that we were camping we had no Internet access (at least non-cellular) which was weird, so I have some catching up to do on my blog. I haven’t missed a Friday Feet post since I started it last year so this post-dated version was from last Friday.

Always an interesting weather time weather wise down here where thunderstorms usually start to roll in and winter still tries to hang on. One day it is freezing and the next is it hot. Thursday we arrived to a blustering tornatic frontal system and Friday it was sunny and hot. It was still a great time to relax away from the computer and start thinking about Holy Week coming up.

I have several posts coming up on photos from that weekend, a few book reviews, and many more, stay tuned. Have a great Holy Week this week.

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Storms Arriving in Auburn as We Leave for Gulf Shores

Scott Fillmer — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:06:27 +0000

Last weekend we tried to go camping but the rain never really let up. Not only did it not let up, but the severe weather down in the gulf kept getting worse so we decided to give it a go this weekend. We are or were pretty avid campers in the day and we have camped in just about every state in the country but haven’t been in quite a while.

I am looking forward to a bit of relaxing on the beach with some time to read and write, hopefully we will see a bit of sun while we are down on the gulf this weekend. Below are some of the cloud formations we saw in the storms coming through this week. I love clouds, they are almost like snowflakes, day is different and they are constantly moving.

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Perdido Key National Seashore Photos :: Friday Feet

Scott Fillmer — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 03:49:40 +0000

Today was our first and last full day on the gulf coast. For January, the weather was beautiful but very very windy. We went to one of our most favorite places in the Perdido Key area, the Gulf Islands National Seashore. We never really stay for more than a day or two down here but you pay for a 7-day pass ($8) and have access to one of the most wonderful white sand beaches on the Alabama/Florida gulf coast shore lines.

Every time we have been here the 5-7 mile stretch of beach has only a handful of people (today almost no one) and it seems to be one of those few areas in the country that still has pristine beaches and little sign of city life. Our other favorite area like this is over on the Outter Banks of North Carolina which also has some of the most untouched beaches in the country. So for my Friday Feet post today, here is my feet image, and also a few more. Tomorrow is it back to Auburn and back to work.

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Gulf Shores Bike Trail to Beautiful Sunset Beach

Scott Fillmer — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:30:39 +0000

I would like to say that every day is filled with a bike ride and a walk on the beach, but at least, today, it was. We use to spend quite a bit of time in Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, and Perdido Key, but haven’t made it down here in the last 6 months. This is our absolutely favorite time of year to be down here. The beaches and parks are usually empty, the temperature is still pretty nice.

After getting some work done at home we drove down to a bike trail in Orange Beach that is easy to find but not on many maps or searches. The Hugh S Branyon Backcountry Trail, which starts and runs through Gulf State Park, is a paved trail that have several different 1-2 mile sections that runs through the sand dunes and some beautiful nature areas. We have driven by several times in the past but never stopped to ride the tail.

Of course no day would be complete down here without a walk on the beach. We made it over to the sand just in time to see the sun set. I walked a few miles down the beach and then we had dinner at a restraunt there on the beach, The Hangout.

I am always amazed at the beauty of the beach and the ocean. I have seen it so many times, in many different states and countries and it still has some magical, almost mystic quality. A place that for one reason or another allows you to remove the routine of life and the busy world around you and leaves you with sand and water… but a lot of sand, and an unreal amount of water.

I think people are attracted to the beach because it represents life. Water that is living, breathing, and a constantly changing yet every time you go to the same beach, it looks relatively the same. Taking a walk a few miles down a nice white sand beach (especially in January) is a spiritual thing, and I will take a walk any chance I get. Here are some photos from the day.

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Leave the Boat in Orange Beach to Sit in Traffic on I-65

Scott Fillmer — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:02:21 +0000

Well, we had to leave the boat and come back home. It was such a great weekend we didn’t want to leave but all good thing must come to an end I guess. It was nice to get back to the house though and take a nice shower and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. We left the boat around 9am and took our normal routine (which includes a stop for donuts) back up to North, LA. Along the way, unfortunately, we were stopped by a horrible accident on I-65 that was said to be a fatality. When we finally got up to the wreck, we could see only one car left, a black Chevy Suburban from Alabama, which obviously rolled at least once.

We thought we saw a careflight type helicopter, but we were only about 45 miles south of Montgomery so it would have gone north of us on takeoff. One of those things that makes you wonder why some of these drivers are so careless when this can be the outcome for more than just themselves. At least I had my camera but I wish the best of the family of that car, it was in horrible condition, unrecognizable.

While traffic in California may be bad, we rarely get stopped, but in this case we sat on I-65 for more than an hour with MANY other people. As a photographer, did I mention that I love head shots (and my wife), so, isn’t that a great shot of Deborah.

Update to This Blog

After I got back home I decided that “My Life in LA” needed to be complete. I imported, added, and re-posted all the blog entries from when we moved to LA, which was early 2006, up to this point. My apologies to those rss subscribers would are now spammed with all my previous blog posts. I am sorry, just want this to be an accurate historical record of our life in Alabama, which, at this point, began in January 2006. I did spend much of this weekend working on previous blog entries and updates to my other blogs for organizational purposes, hopefully that work is now done. Tomorrow and this week will be busy.

Nature in View

Once we got back home today we did find a female Red-Breasted Grosbeak at our feeder, along with two males. This was the first time we had seen any females and Deborah and I were both surprised to see them still here at our feeder.

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Walking on the Beach is My Favorite Exercise

Scott Fillmer — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:18:19 +0000

Saturday, April 26, 2008

All the bad weather stayed well north of us today and left us with the most beautiful Saturday we could have asked for. Partly cloudy, 82° with a slight breeze, and enough humidity to remind us we were actually on the coast. Probably the nicest weather we have had since Deborah and I started coming down here more than a year ago.

We had breakfast at one of our favorite morning diners, Waffle House, then went over to a local public beach access point so I could get in a good walk on the beach. I was going to walk to where I knew the beach was blocked by a pier construction, then walk back. The pier was about 4 miles away, with a nice state park beach about 2 miles from my starting location.

Walking is Great Exercise

I have walked on this beach many times before, and sometimes it can be a fast walk, sometimes, very slow. It depends on the tide and how deep you sink into the sand. Today it was a slow walk that really works the legs, especially since I was walking in my jeans for some dumb reason.

I walked the 4 miles to the pier, then back 2 miles to the state park pavilion and decided I had had enough at 6 miles. I text Deborah who was happily knitting at my starting point and she came and picked me up. It was a 6 miles walk that felt like 10, but it was good exercise and I enjoyed it very much. Nothing relaxes the mind like a beach, a walk, and an iPod.

Flipper’s is Now Opened

A new restaurant opened that we were hoping would be good, since it is right near the boat. It has been several other establishments prior to Flipper’s but it opened yesterday and today lunch was good. I had a grilled Mahi Mahi sandwich with sweet potato fries, both of which were GREAT. Deborah is going to try out their hamburger for dinner. Hard to mess up one of those but we have been to many places that did.

Nature in View

Today with the walk on the beach I had an hawk or eagle fly over head, dive in the water and catch a fish with its talons. It flew within about 50 feet of me, I could almost see what kind of fish the bird caught. He flew off across the beach, road, and back to his nest I guess. Beautiful bird. No dolphins yet today, but there are some really loud party goers two slips over and if I was a fish I wouldn’t be anywhere near this place right now. Maybe later.

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Dinner at LuLu's Homeport and the Bama Breeze

Scott Fillmer — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:29:49 +0000

We drove down to the coast today. We try to come down to the gulf coast as often as we can since this is where our sailboat is located (see this blog under the category coastal or tagged under sailboat). This is actually getting more of a challenge with the price of gas now close to $4.00/gallon down here, but it is still reachable, just would be nice in some gas friendly car.

Who knows, I may look back at this post in 6 months and the price may be $5.00/gallon by then. Makes our trip to Colorado in late summer a load of fun, gas wise. Either way, we love it down here and we try to come as often as we can (which seems to never be enough). Our favorite time to come down to the gulf coast is in the off season, you never have to wait for a table and the beaches are always clean and empty. Of course one thing we love to do while we are down here on the coast is eat, and Orange Beach and Gulf Shores has no shortage of good places to eat.

There is Some Great Food Down Here

There are several restaurants we love eating at down here. Tonight are going to LuLu’s at Homeport, which is a localish restaurant (meaning it is half touristy and half locals) and tonight should be a great set by John Reno and The Half-Fast Creekers.

The band played longer than we stuck around but they played a nice mix of their own music and the usual known pop most bands play for the tourists. I guess those here for their vacation expect to hear Cheese Burger in Paradise at some point when they come down here. Deborah and I enjoy hearing songs we know, but we do like hearing the original music each band creates, they all have their own flavor.

His music can be defined as trop rock – a mixture of rock-n-roll with an island theme. John Reno and the Half-Fast Creekers have been described as Hoagy Carmichael meets Toby Keith in Margaritaville! -LuLu’s

One reason we love to go to LuLu’s when we are down here is for the live music. It isn’t the most quiet place in the world for sure, and probably not the cheapest, but if you are in Alabama’s gulf coast, stop by and have their open faced crab melt sandwich and enjoy some local music.

Nature in View

Down here there is always something going on. When we got back from dinner we had a nice pod of dolphins that were having a feast on the fish they had pushed into the cove across from our sailboat. We watched them jump, play, and eat for about 30 minutes and then sat in the cockpit of our boat and listened to them until we went to sleep.

There is always the Pelican, Sea Gull, and all the other water birds constantly flying around but we also have a pesky Gray Heron that seems to think our slip is his domain. He squawked at me several times trying to get on the boat and then again as he reclaimed his territory. The dolphins were kicking up so many fish that he was just waiting to pounce and he several nice dinners.

Other Images

A few other images from LuLu’s last night. The Bama Breeze (from the song of the same name, but I am pretty sure this is not the original) is just off the sand mound from LuLu’s and for the previous year we had been coming to this restaurant we didn’t even know it was out there. There was also another photographer there last night, she was shooting some private party but we shot her shooting them (really cool dreds too).

The wait for a table in the summer time is supposed to be very very long, but we have never had to wait for a table, not once. Of course we have been there mostly in the winter and early dinner in summer but, still, no wait at all.

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From Sunset on the Coast to Rainbows at Home

Scott's Misc — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:17:56 +0000

This week’s trip to the coast was very short, but oh so sweet. The weather was not cooperative enough to sit on the beach and knit, but the views the approaching storm gave us were absolutely wonderful. The image below was taken by Scott while he was walking on the beach, with his phone. Camera phones have come a long way, but he took out his phone while he was walking and snapped this shot of the sun going down.

I sat in the car and knitted while Scott did his daily beach walking. The wind was blowing very hard and although the temperature was not too bad, the wind was bone chilling. We took a lovely drive down streets we had not ventured down before and stumbled upon a community cemetery. Some of you may think this odd, but I love cemeteries. It is just so fascinating wandering through them looking at the headstones, with the dates and sometimes the epitaphs on them. Some of them can be quite amusing since they are placed there by those left behind.

During our drive we stumbled upon these guys (gals) and I just wanted to jump right out of the car and join them in the fun! This is called Powered Para gliding and I think this would be such a cool hobby!!

Although the trip was short this time, we were greeted by this when we arrived back at our house. Beautiful, no?

This rainbow came right over the property and the sun lit up the house across the pond. This rainbow, which turned into a double and triple rainbow lasted for a good 5-10 minutes, longest and brightest we have seen in a long time.