We decided to drive down to Magnolia Springs for the day...
First, we drove through the historic neighborhood. What a beautiful quaint little town.
Then, we checked out St. Paul's Episcopal Church, which was built in 1901. Such a picturesque little white chapel and a beautiful sitting garden on the side.
Then we took the board walk out to the Magnolia River. It was pretty swampy, but the river was nice.
We ate at Jesse's Restaurant, which is in the old Moore's Grocery building. I had the pesto salmon over spinach risotto with lemon creme fraiche on the side. It was wonderful! Matthew had the smoked duck melt with prosciutto, provolone, jalapenos, and Dijon mustard on a baguette with a side of Parmesan fries. Very delish as well! They had their herb garden outside on the front patio.
Then we drove over the bridge to see where one of the last neighborhoods in the US gets their mail by boat year round. Magnolia Springs Bed and Breakfast is right down the street. It was booked for the holiday weekend and also doesn't allow babies under the age of 6, but would be a nice place to stay in the future.
After that, we drove East through Foley about 15 min over to Sweet Home Farms in Elberta, AL.
This was the first cheese operation in the state of Alabama. What a fantastical couple that runs this dairy farm and they make a large assortment of cheeses. We left with Gouda, asiago, and some feta!
Also, they have a HUGE garden! The structures on the farm were built with all kinds of random found architectural treasures. Very creative and a little whimsical. Especially the chicken coop!
On this hot southern day, the animals were all pretty lazy. Graham loved seeing the chickens and the dairy cows. Bawk, bawk, and moooo!
We drove about 5 minutes over to Hillcrest Farms. Another fabulous farm! They have honey bees, but we were about a week too early for a large selection of honey. There were a few left from the last batch. They also sold preserves, fresh eggs, vegetables, and much more! They have a beautiful muscadine vineyard and blueberries too.
Graham was not quite up to the task of feeding the guinea hens, but he like to watch them. He also would rather try to eat their food for himself.
He had his first taste of ice cream and it was homemade vanilla bean. I guess he will have high standards for ice cream from now on. We left with homemade marmalade, strawberry preserves, honey, and pecan brittle. I can't wait to try them all!
We passed a home with a pecan grove too, but it didn't seem to be open to the public. If you are ever headed to the Gulf Shores/ Pensacola area, you should definitely stop by these farms and pick up some home made goodies to take to the beach with you.
We traveled back from Magnolia Springs to Weeks Bay Reserve to explore through the pitcher plant bogs.
Pretty interesting.
The area was getting pretty overgrown with vines that were choking out the pitcher plants. Unfortunately, we didn't see any of the plants eating the insects.
Lots of wild natural fern everywhere.
We heard many of birds, but didn't see much wildlife to our dismay.
We then traveled back up to Fairhope to go into a few of our favorite shops before they closed. We love the toy store. They, of course, had the small wooden sail boats I have been on the hunt for to go with Graham's sand/ water/ sensory table. Also, a few little goodies for a few soon-to-be big brothers an big sisters I know of. Luckily, we made it into the favorite fishing store even after it was time for it to close. Graham got a fishing shirt like the one we got cousin Jack for his birthday. So, the boys will have to go fishing together soon I suppose.
We drove over to Daphne to eat at Manci's Antique Club. I won't spoil the fun here. Just check it out for yourself! We drove around Old Town Daphne and headed home to get one tired little boy to bed.
Sunday we went to church and the Mwangaza Children's Choir from Uganda was there to perform. We took Graham to big church thinking he would really enjoy seeing the kids sing and dance. He loves watching other children, but he was just very loud and talkative during the times he was supposed to be quiet, so I had to take him back to the nursery. He was clapping and trying to get people to look at him during their video portion on Africa. It was NOT appropriate to clap during that video.
The little slides were too hot for Graham to sit on, so daddy took Graham down on the big slide with him.
The little swings were too hot too, so Graham got to ride with daddy on the big swing. You can tell Graham is ready for his nap in this picture.
Later in the afternoon when it was cooler, Graham went swimming in his pool from Aunt Meg!
Sunday we went to church and the Mwangaza Children's Choir from Uganda was there to perform. We took Graham to big church thinking he would really enjoy seeing the kids sing and dance. He loves watching other children, but he was just very loud and talkative during the times he was supposed to be quiet, so I had to take him back to the nursery. He was clapping and trying to get people to look at him during their video portion on Africa. It was NOT appropriate to clap during that video.
Monday we went to our favorite park for a picnic. It was pretty hot!
He is watching some of the other kids. He loves watching other kids.
The little swings were too hot too, so Graham got to ride with daddy on the big swing. You can tell Graham is ready for his nap in this picture.
Later in the afternoon when it was cooler, Graham went swimming in his pool from Aunt Meg!
We brought out all the bath toys.
Then we had breakfast for dinner and Graham had a taste of his first pancake! We had a GREAT weekend! I got to spend a lot of time with Graham and we managed to get some housework and yard work done as well.
