Faith, Folklore, and Friends

The 360 Grille, part of the Shoals Marriott,     has Alabama's only revolving restaurant at the top of the Renaissance tower. Monday was Hub's birthday, so we went to dinner there to celebrate.  The food was good, but we came for the view. With the exception of the first and last, all these photos were shot through the windows of the restaurant. There are  reflections in some of the photos. I had been told that being there during a thunderstorm was quite exciting, and the weatherman said we might get one.  However, the storm had passed to the other side of the river by the time we were seated. We did get to see a rainbow from the thunderstorm.  Singing River Bridge. The restaurant revolves slowly, and the sun was still high on the horizon when it first came into view.  We were there for more than an hour, and the restaurant made a complete revolution before we left. Going down. Almost gone. ...

Saturday afternoon, we stopped at Wilson Dam, wondering if we could see some white pelicans. Because of all the rain we have had, several spillways were open, churning up the water beneath, and the birds were loving it. There were many birds fishing, and lots resting on the rocks below the dam. The white pelicans were everywhere. They are beautiful birds, and we are happy that they have decided to make our area their home.  We were at the Visitor Center, a long way from the dam. I was concentrating on getting a close-up shot of this pelican when Hub told me to look up. A bald eagle was soaring right over us.  Needless to say, he was gone before I could get the camera focused.  I'll keep trying.

It always makes me nervous when there is fishing too close to the dam, but these white pelicans seem to be enjoying it immensely. White pelicans usually winter farther south than we are, but they seem to like it just fine here.  Their numbers have increased greatly in the past year, and they can be spotted just about any time near the dam and other spots along the river. Could be that they love the fishing here. They are beautiful.  We welcome them to our part of the state.

They say the best fish are caught near the dam, but this is a little too close for comfort to me. I wonder if the people in the boat saw all the danger signs and thought they were for other people. Then again, maybe they never looked up.