Yesterday John and I spent the day doing some hiking and birding.  We went north of Pensacola to a great nature trail and a few sites on the Panhandle Birding Trail.  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being out in the country exploring.   We then stopped in Pensacola for a nice dinner.

Yesterday we went to Mobile to meet up with John’s birding group on the grounds of the University of Mobile.  After birding most of the morning we headed to Rodgers Bar B Que for a buffet of southern food.  We then went to downtown Mobile to take the Azalea Tour.  The flowers are  beautiful this time of year.   We ended up at the Historic District of Mobile and drove up some of the streets which has homes that have been preserved.   It was a very interesting and fun day.

The Birding Group

Azalea Tour

Tonight we are having dinner with Shaws on Ono Island.  Barb Shaw is a college friend of Nancy Romant’s sister and they were kind enough to invite John and I as well.  They have a lovely home on this private island.    When we visited them last winter we recognized some of her chairs as they were like our chairs.  We learned that Barb’s father was  a furniture manufacturer in  Big Rapids where John bought the furniture.

Shaw's home

The chairs in Shaw's home like our dining chairs.

Every day we usually walk on the National Seashore to start our day.  John usually walks along the Big Lagoon coastline looking for birds (Snowy Pluver) and I walk the road … trying to get exercise out of it.

This afternoon we went to Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge for a walk and a little bird watching.  You can see who is looking for birds, but I enjoy the walk and the beautiful weather.

Today is brother Jim’s birthday.  Have a great birthday Jim

It has been a quiet week here in Perdido Key.  Lots of walks on the beach as well as a few hiking trails, and the State Park.   We had dinner at the Romants with their grandson and sister visiting from Michigan .  Other than that we are checking our bucket list for activities before going home the end of March.

Thursday John and I drove to Panama City Beach to see my brother Gary and sister in law Carol where they are spending their winter.  We had a nice time exploring their area and John gave them a lesson in bird watching.   On Friday we went to a small town north to  DeFuniak Springs.  We walked the historic neighborhood which is built around a small lake.  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed spending time with them.

Our Mt. Pleasant friends Bob and Dee Kohrman’s came on Wednesday.    They enjoy walking the beach and searching for birds so we went to then national seashore and spent some time there.  On Thursday we went to the State Park and had a nice time there before returning home to host  the  local Mt Pleasant friends  so they could see Bob and Dee.  We then all went out to dinner.     We enjoyed their visit.

Dee, Bob and John searching for birds

Lunch at the State Park

Today my brother Gary and wife Carol along with Carol’s sister  Sondra and husband Bob drove over from Panama City Beach to visit us.  After having coffee and muffins we went to the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola.  It was good to see family and we all had a  nice time visiting the displays and having lunch.    

Having Lunch at the Museum

We took a trip to the Ft Walton Beach area where John met friends for a morning bird walk.  Though cold and windy birding was productive.  The most unusual siting was a beautiful male Vermillion Flycatcher well east of it’s normal range.

Vermillion Flycatcher

While in the area we had lunch (dinner) at one of the nations finest restraurants  Commanders Palace  that has just opened in the East Pass in Destin.    It was fine dining at its best.  We had a great time.  Thanks to a gift from the kids.

Dining at Commanders Palace