Every since we became an Army family, we always talked about traveling and exploring the areas around us. We always say, “Oh, we would love to go there, or there or there or there.” But being away from our native home of STL, we always tend to just head back there for our vacation time. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am a STL girl and I love visiting our home town. But, we have missed out on so much in the South. Normally when we take trips home, John drives all day to take Char and I there and all day back the day after to come back to work. I like to stay longer than a week at a time and he doesn’t like to stay as long as I do (or doesn’t have enough leave days). So, he has always been kind enough to drive us there, drop us off, and come back for a week at the end of me and Charlotte’s trip. The down side? We are always in a hurry to get there and to get home. So, even if we wanted to stop and explore in between GA and MO, we never really leave time to do so.
On the way down to Destin, we passed a few places that I wanted to make a point to stop at on the way back. We passed a shop named Bonsai By Dori. It was a shop that sold only Bonsai Trees! Bonsais in the middle of FL? Weird right? Well, we ended up passing and saying we would hit it on the way back. John had even set aside cash to buy me a tree. However, on our trip home, our GPS had another route in mind. It took us on some crazy country backs road without service so we missed it! I am still butt hurt about missing the Bonsai Shop! Oh, and the Gator rest stop. Yes, welcome to the south, rest stops were you can view Gators! But we missed that on the way back too!
While we were driving down to Destin, we also passed through the little town of Eufaula, Alabama. Our friends Samantha and Zach were in Destin the week before us and passed through the town as well. Sam texted me a photo of the town and I thought it was beautiful. Eufaula is about an hour south from where we live, and I can’t believe I had never heard of it before. The town was founded in 1834 and has a population of 12,914. You can tell by all of the architecture how old this town is. The main street is lined with some of the largest and most beautiful homes I have ever seen. It’s like a scene from Gone With The Wind, over and over.
The first place we stopped was The Cajun Corner restaurant. Cajun it was, everything from the wall decor to the food and drinks was very Cajun. We ordered some fried pickles and a hurricane, you know, when it Rome, right? John ordered a Grouper Po’ Boy, Char had Cajun seafood pasta, and I had a burger. Both the food and service were amazing. Southern hospitality was in full effect there.
After lunch, we headed over to the main street with all the little shops. I popped in one of the antique stores while John let Char run the streets to get some energy out before we finished the drive home. I am always on the hunt for anything that is this blue and white pattern. They had a few little pieces so I picked this bowl up for $4.
After we had explored the shopping area, we headed down to check out some of the amazing old houses! Seriously Gone With The Wind fabulous!
I loved getting to explore a new place with my little family. I hope at our next post we can travel and explore the area a lot more! There is so much too see and do, you just have to make time to get out and do it!
Caitlin says
Eufaula is one of my favorite cities in Alabama. It’s the quintessential southern town with those large houses and Spanish moss. I’m so glad you got the opportunity to stop and explore!
Whitney says
I am so sad I didn’t discover it sooner!
Jasmine says
Beautiful pictures. Your daughter is precious.