Meet the Neighbors!

It is about time you met my famous former neighbors. They don't live here anymore, and never did for very long, but they sure made an impression on Montgomery & the world.

Scott, Zelda, & Scottie lived on 819 Felder Ave (now 919 Felder) from October 1931 until April 1932. He worked on "Tender is the Night" during their stay, although the book wasn't published until 1934. Zelda, suffering from frequent mental collapses, had another one in early 1932 and went to a clinic in Baltimore, leaving husband and daughter in Montgomery. 

Being at the house, one of the many places they called home, was eerily fascinating. Their letters to each other were full of love & beautiful prose, while at the same time their lives were unfolding much like one of Scott's stories.The amount of foresight he gave us into their lives to come:  the rise to fame and notoriety, the travels around the world, the mental collapses, the loss of fortune and appeal, the affairs, then the resurgence of fame & money. One could think "The Beautiful and Damned" was an autobiography. 

Although the museum isn't very big - 3 rooms filled with various letters, paintings by Zelda, books by and of the Fitzgeralds - it offers a very intimate glimpse into their lives, almost like a snapshot. One can imagine Zelda sitting down on a couch to read a book, Scottie running down the stairs to show her parents a toy, Scott sitting at his desk, working on his next short story. The old record player providing music from the 20's adds a nice touch. 

Scott started a stamp collection for Scottie by clipping the stamps from all their postcards sent from Europe to various friends and family members in the US. Not only is it a fantastic variety, it also serves as kind of a travel journal from that time of their lives. 

This bookshelf contains works by Scott and Zelda in different languages. 

I did not have time to delve deeper into Scottie's journal, but be assured, that this wasn't my last visit to my neighbor's home. 

Thank you for taking a stroll down the street with me today!

Until next time,

Nadine

Old Alabama Town

This week I went time traveling. I didn't quite make it to the times of dinosaurs or the Roman empire, but to Montgomery, 100 years ago. Now, before you start saying I should get that machine checked, let me tell you, that Old Alabama Town was actually quite fascinating.

Let me introduce to you the cotton gin, which actually has nothing to do with gin and everything with cotton:

And here is the first ever bale of cotton produced in the United States:

Moving on to the printing press:

Closely followed by the old schoolhouse:

Just in case you forgot what not to do in or near a schoolhouse:

The potter is not always in her studio, but she arrived just as we were going to move on. That would have been a shame, because her work is very beautiful & she gave us a demonstration! You should visit Lisa Lenox in person or on Etsy. Her shop is called Bottletree Pottery.

 We also learned the story behind the bottle tree. The bottles serve to trap evil spirits inside, and if you hear the wind whistling on the neck, it is actually a spirit trying to escape. As an added bonus, it looks really beautiful!

I am very proud to present my best flower picture to date!

Contemplating whether I should return to the 21st Century...

I think I will! 

Thank you for traveling with me today!

Until next time,

Nadine

Discovering Montgomery

We've been living in Montgomery for a couple of months now, and it is finally time to introduce you to the cotton fields. They were everywhere during the summer, now we are nearing harvest, and I had to hurry to get a closer look.

Cotton as far as the eye could see. What surprised me most was the fact that it actually felt already like a cotton ball. I don't know what I was expecting, but except for the seed inside, it seemed these things were ready for packaging. 

I think I went a bit overboard with the cotton picking, but I managed to find a use for most of my bounty:

Our very own cotton ball tree!

We spent Columbus Day weekend in town, enjoying the area and exploring our neighborhood. There is an independent bookstore in walking distance, although it is way more fun to ride our bikes there!

You can't have fall season without pumpkins! I limited myself to only a couple during this time to the Farmer's Market, but fear not: I'll be bahck! (In a non-threatening way.)

Thank you for exploring with me today!

Until next time,

Nadine

Experiencing The Wind of Change in Florida

It has been 25 years since we watched the wall come down in Germany. I was only 8 years old, but with The Scorpions and David Hasselhoff singing about change and freedom, it sure felt like a magical moment.
What better way to celebrate German Reunification Day, than a trip to our favorite area along the Gulf Coast?!
The 3rd of October found us once again on I-65, heading south. Summer is officially over, which means we will be staying at the 4 Points Sheraton whenever we're in Fort Walton Beach...until Memorial Day comes around again.

I woke up at 6:30 Saturday morning. Normally, that would be ample reason for grumpiness. Not so this time. After opening my eyes to gauge if it was even worth it being awake already, I looked out over the balcony onto the ocean and spotted dolphins! Now, that's a reason any day to get me out of bed in a hurry! The morning sun painted the sand pink, while the dolphins were hunting fish and playing in the surf. I had never seen a pod of dolphins lingering in the same area for such a long time. We must have been watching them for over an hour. Amazing!

They are a bit hard to spot here, but you get the picture. 

Looking out at the horizon, my thoughts started to drift and I found myself contemplating a time when people thought that the horizon was the end of the earth. But really, if you're looking out onto the water from the beach, what else is there but wide open "nothingness"? The horizon also forms a pretty straight line, and the ships do "fall off" when they get far enough out at sea. 

Watching a pelican going from swimming to flying is a lot like watching a C-5 take off. You are never quite sure, how such a big thing could possibly get airborne. But they do, and they look majestic! 

One of our Fort Walton Beach discoveries is Props. A local brewery and pub with an awesome beer menu. I usually get the 4 Kings, but during autumn, it is all about the Oktoberfest! 

Before heading back up to Montgomery, we drove through the Gulf Islands National Seashore all the way to Pensacola Beach. It was well worth the "detour"! 

We even included a bit of a history lesson at Fort Pickens, which once defended Pensacola Bay, and is now part of the state park.

Thank you for traveling with me today!

Until next time,

Nadine