Fairhope, Alabama (and lots of Gaby, of course)

Fairhope, Alabama is a small town on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Lovely and "quaint" (in its own especially contrived way), it's home to artists and artisans, has boutique shops, an old-fashioned village air about it, and gorgeous cottage homes. Of course, along the bay front, some of those gorgeous homes are not cottagey at all. It was established about 1908 as an early planned community designed for outdoor areas and devoted to progressive education. Corey and Candy moved here from California last March when Corey started his new job. In June, they moved into their new house (the first pic on snapfish). In August, we visited from Mexico and arranged to rent a townhouse here for two months. We knew Fairhope from many years ago when Bob was stationed at Whiting Field in Milton, FL, about an hour or so east of here (and where Corey was born). We met Bob and Evelyn Young at Whiting, who are both from Fairhope. We visited here over 30 years ago and since then several times when we would visit the Youngs.

When we first got here from KY the end of October, we babysat for Gaby at her house for several days while Corey and Candy attended a wedding. Then we moved into the townhouse here in a condo complex by the bay. The townhouse is quite large--3 levels, 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, carport, etc., and very comfortable. There's a big pool and a beautiful deck right on the bay where we try to catch the sunset as often as possible. The setting here along the bay is spectacular. The Fairhope pier is less than a mile walk along the avenue with sidewalks and parks between here and there. From the pier it's just about 4 blocks east to the village shops.
www.city-data.com/city/Fairhope-Alabama.html

Since we've been here, we've spent a lot of time with Corey, Candy, and Gaby, hung out with the Youngs, entertained family for Thanksgiving, taken walks with the dogs, read a lot, and I don't know what else. We though we would take some day trips in the area, but other than a visit to the Gulf Shores Zoo with Candy and Gaby, we haven't really explored that much so far. Oh yeah, we spent the night in Pensacola early in November and went to the Gulf Coast Art Festival with the Youngs. That was phenomenal. The weather has ranged from gloriously beautiful to chilly and rainy. Some days we wear shorts and t-shirts, other days long sleeves, even jackets. Some days all of the above--just not at the same time.

For more pics, click here.