A Break from Physical Therapy...A Quick Trip

Mike has been doing very well with his physical therapy...in fact so good the physical therapist gave him a couple weeks off.  She can't take him to another level until he reaches 17 weeks.  So with two weeks free we decided to see if the wheels on our Oliver still roll.  They do!!!!!! 

We didn't have long and so we decided to head to one of our favorite places...Rainbow Plantation (Escapee Park in Summerdale, Alabama) to have a little Mardi Gras fun with our friends. 
This was the first time in about 9 months that we have been able to go anywhere and it sure felt great!!! 
We left on Wednesday the 19th and arrived just in time for an early dinner or what is fondly referred to as lupper.  Since we haven't been in this area for awhile we decided we wanted to visit all our favorite places.  One of those would be The Fairhope Pier.  

We love sunsets, water on the bay and that awesome pier to walk to the end and see Mobile in the distance.  It was a overcast day and quite chilly and definitely no sunset this evening but that didn't stop us. 

 We got a few good pics before heading to one of our favorite places to eat....Big Daddy's Grill sits on the Fish River in Fairhope.  We enjoyed a delicious lupper!!

A view of the Fish River from Big Daddy's Grill

Thursday we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at our "special to us" restaurant...Jesse's Restaurant in Magnolia Springs.  We have managed to celebrate several important family moments there. 

Friday was the kick off for Mardi Gras at Rainbow Plantation.  We arrived
and met up with our friends Don and Gloria Martin.  We ate a nice dinner chatting with Don and Gloria and the others at our table.  After dinner the fun began.  The eating of the cupcakes to see who has the little baby inside which determines who the king and queen are for this year's Mardi Gras.  So the king and queen were crowned and then the skits began.   The theme this year was "down on the farm" so all skits centered around this theme.  They sure were fun and really done very well.  Rainbow Plantation sure has lots of hidden talent!!

The Queen

The King

Plenty of talented skits to enjoy

Down on the Farm theme wouldn't be complete without a scarecrow!

The weather was pretty decent while we were there.  It rained a little and was overcast most of the first three days but on Saturday we saw the sun peeking out and we both decided this might be a good sunset!!  We were "free" from Mardi Gras activity so we headed to the pier around 5:00 for the 5:45 sunset.  We were not disappointed at all.  It turned out to be a gorgeous sunset.  We sat on a bench and braved the chilly temperatures and wind coming off the bay and managed to capture some nice sunsets.  We have always loved coming to the pier and watching sunsets and were so grateful God put on such a beautiful show this evening. 

Another favorite place for us was this really neat little ice cream parlor named Mr. Green Bean.  It is on a side street in downtown Fairhope.  We ordered our cup that we always share (you save calories that way) and sat down and enjoyed a nice cup of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.  What a nice day!!

Mr. Green Bean

Sunday took us to church...3 Circle in Fairhope.  After a very nice worship service we ate lunch at Saracinos.  This is truly a hometown place to eat.  It is southern cuisine buffet and it is always and I mean always crowded. 
It wasn't exactly a sunny day but we only have so many days here so we decided to head to the beach.  We didn't stay too long but we did enjoy walking a short way along the beach and getting sand in our toes.  We both love the ocean!! 

Monday and Tuesday found us participating in the fun and frolick around Rainbow Plantation.  More food, more fellowship and more laughter watching fun skits.  I can't tell you how much Mike and I needed this fun and laughter after going through two major surgeries since June.  It really felt good.

Fat Tuesday saw the the king and queen de-throwned.  They were such a good king and queen but alas their reign was over. 

We hooked up and pulled out of Rainbow Plantation Thursday morning and returned to our woodsy site at Chewacla State Park that afternoon.  Mike sees the orthopedic surgeon March 12th and this should mark the beginning of phase III and the end of being tied down with physical therapy.  We've been told he will be given exercises but he can do those on his own.  Yay!!  This should free us up so we can do more, see more and enjoy more adventures.