We left Fort Pickens really early, stopping at the Pensacola Beach Dog Park for a quick playtime on the beach, despite another cold, blustery morning. It was so chilly, Pippa was extra frisky, doing zoomies all over the beach. She does not typically do that, so it was so cute. I was glad to get a short video of her in action. Nigel did his regular ball fetching with Wiley, which makes him a happy puppy. We left after a little bit to head to the Alabama Coast, just over an hour away.
On our way to the next campground in Gulf Shores, AL, we stopped at the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach. We had gone there, because they had a dog friendly beach. Gulf State Park, where we were headed, had a no dogs on the beach policy. We worked in the van in the parking lot until lunch, then went on a quick walk down to the tiny Bay beach and through the gorgeous grounds of the very impressive Arts Center. Nigel played ball. At almost 50 degrees, he got in the water a little bit, even though I did not want him to. Pippa hunted under some tree roots on the shore. Wiley and the puppies returned to the van for a phone conference. I toured the beautiful, mansion art gallery then popped into the first studio building, where there was a painting class going on. The second building was a pottery studio, where some folks were also working. The final building, called “The Hot Shop” was a glass blowing studio. There, I met the artist and his high school senior apprentice, who had been training with him for four years. They were working together to create a stamen and petals for a glass flower. They made two of them while I watched. The artist told me they were to be part of a larger piece that would be a vine with these flowers along it. I enjoyed talking to him and watching his process. He was a great guy!
