Southern trees and my first glimpses of the Gulf Coast

I've been enjoying the unfamiliar trees as I approach the Gulf Coast. I had always pictured broadleaf deciduous trees in the South. Peach trees, perhaps. And pecan. I really wasn't expecting so many pine trees! The thing that seems most common everywhere is something called a longleaf pine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longleaf_pine_ecosystem There are also a lot of slash pine trees that have long, straight trunks and an umbrella-like top: https://www.thoughtco.com/slash-pine-tree-1343377

My very first glimpse of the Gulf Coast was at Biloxi, Mississippi. I drove over the Biloxi Bay Bridge on highway 90 and caught a glimpse of Deer Island just off the coast before reaching the massive wall of casinos between me and the Gulf of Mexico. I tried to picture what the area looked like before developers and visitors created the resort atmosphere. I'll bet it was amazing. (Sighs while imagining a coastline of unspoiled beauty.) To bring myself back to reality, there were probably too many mosquitos for me, though. 😊

From Biloxi, I drove to Fairhope, Alabama to visit a friend and stay put for a couple of days. There was a big storm forecast, and its scheduled arrival time kept changing, which made planning to do anything a bit tricky. When the forecast arrival finally slipped late enough, we decided to squeeze in a visit to a beautiful old hotel and resort nearby on the coast.

When I saw the trees at the Grand Hotel near Fairhope, Alabama, I was reminded of the live oak trees in California, but they weren't quite the same so I asked at the hotel and was told they were Southern live oak. It turns out there are several species of live oak that grow in different regions. Here's a photo of one of the more spectacular trees at the hotel:


In California, live oaks are a signature part of the landscape. In the summer, golden hills are dotted with green oak trees with twisty branches. If you aren't familiar with the image I'm referring to, you can see an example here: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/northern-california-oak-woodlands-and-golden-hills-gm172307434-3515379

The Grand Hotel has history that goes back to before the Civil War. It has been rebuilt or refurbished several times, most recently after damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. We walked all around, enjoying the soft, warm air and wind, and how deserted the property was. I don't know what it's usually like there in January, but the predicted severe weather undoubtedly helped. There were shorebirds enjoying the day too, including this great blue heron with its head tucked:


On a personal note, it was fun getting to know Mary, my host in southern Alabama, better. We were in the same high school at the same time, but traveled in different circles. I didn't really start to get to know her until about 40 years later. 

During my visit, we did a bunch of low-key stuff together and talked a lot. We also both watched the movie "Frozen" for the first time so now we know why Olaf thinks some people are worth melting for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et4oUMuBvoQ  and what Elsa wanted to let go of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MK7qz13bU but neither of us understood why the folks at Disney decided to turn Elsa into Dolly Parton at the end of that scene... 😊






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