We are in the Florida panhandle near DeFuniak Springs waiting for a major storm system to pass through! There is a tornado watch. It looks like the worst will be north of us, but we are paying attention. Our storm alert radio is on and we are watching the Dopler! Its raining.
Spent several days driving around the panhandle gulf area and saw many beautiful beaches and coastal scenes. The azaleas are really outstanding and the magnolia trees are beginning to bloom. There are lots of pine forests here with very tall, skinny trees. We have seen pulp mills and some logging (Bob calls it "twigging" as the trees are so narrow).
The coastal areas definitely have a depressed housing market - everything is for sale. There are many gated housing areas that have beautiful entrances, streets in and not one house under construction! The storm threats, insurance companies leaving and "global warming" are taking their toll. Should you want to move to Florida, you would be able to have your pick and pay very little.
We have driven up into Alabama and find the more hilly terrain very comfortable. The area is not as poor as rural Georgia. We decided to go to the Boll Wevil monument in Alabama - it seemed a good example of "Americana". We found ourselves in the city of Enterprise and all of a sudden noticed significant damage. Then it dawned on us that this was the town that had the tragic tornado recently that hit the local high school and killed several. The neighborhood around the school is full of brick ramblers and is a nice area. Many of the houses have significant damage and about a dozen have already been dozed away. There are piles of matching bricks around that may be waiting for new homes. The school complex has a lot of damage to the elementary, Jr. High, sports stadium, and part of the High School is just missing. It is very sobering to see such devistation. It is fenced off with guards while decisions are made if anything can be saved.
On a cheerier note, we enjoyed driving around on Easter. We saw so many families together in their best Spring clothes. We expected to see the ladies and girls all dressed up - and we sure did. The surprising thing was how dressed up the men were. Many had white or pastel suits. We even saw a bright turquoise suit!
Spent several days driving around the panhandle gulf area and saw many beautiful beaches and coastal scenes. The azaleas are really outstanding and the magnolia trees are beginning to bloom. There are lots of pine forests here with very tall, skinny trees. We have seen pulp mills and some logging (Bob calls it "twigging" as the trees are so narrow).
The coastal areas definitely have a depressed housing market - everything is for sale. There are many gated housing areas that have beautiful entrances, streets in and not one house under construction! The storm threats, insurance companies leaving and "global warming" are taking their toll. Should you want to move to Florida, you would be able to have your pick and pay very little.
We have driven up into Alabama and find the more hilly terrain very comfortable. The area is not as poor as rural Georgia. We decided to go to the Boll Wevil monument in Alabama - it seemed a good example of "Americana". We found ourselves in the city of Enterprise and all of a sudden noticed significant damage. Then it dawned on us that this was the town that had the tragic tornado recently that hit the local high school and killed several. The neighborhood around the school is full of brick ramblers and is a nice area. Many of the houses have significant damage and about a dozen have already been dozed away. There are piles of matching bricks around that may be waiting for new homes. The school complex has a lot of damage to the elementary, Jr. High, sports stadium, and part of the High School is just missing. It is very sobering to see such devistation. It is fenced off with guards while decisions are made if anything can be saved.
On a cheerier note, we enjoyed driving around on Easter. We saw so many families together in their best Spring clothes. We expected to see the ladies and girls all dressed up - and we sure did. The surprising thing was how dressed up the men were. Many had white or pastel suits. We even saw a bright turquoise suit!
posted by Bob and Linda at
3:48 PM
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