Grandaddy's Pink Cabin

Every summer, I think of all the wonderful memories my family made at my Grandaddy's pink cabin in Gulf Shores. My Daddy told me that Grandaddy purchased the property in the mid to late 1940's for approximately $1500! They began building in the mid 1950's, my Daddy was about Maggie's age! The building process took a long time and to be honest, I don't remember a time that Grandaddy wasn't working on it! The picture above was taken in September 1969. My sister had just turned 7 and I was almost 1. Our beach trips were very different than they are now. Then we had no TV, no air conditioning, sometimes no hot water, and always a home cooked meal by my sweet Grandmother. I can remember walking through the kitchen with my bathing suit on and her giving me pat on my behind while she was frying up chicken for dinner. Our days would start with a home cooked breakfast as well. All the grand kids would suit up and head to the beach. On the path to the beach, there was an area of sand that was a reddish orange color that I always remember thinking, "we are almost there"! We never wore sandals or flip flops, so most of the time we ran because the sand was so hot! Once there, we played in the ocean, built sand castles, hunted for seashells and sometimes go on really long walks. My Grandmother liked to go the beach early and look for seashells with us. She would usually go back in until it cooled of a little. She would emerge later in the day with her bathing suit on for an afternoon swim. Grandaddy would come to the beach fully dressed in shorts, shirt, black socks and tennis shoes just to check on all his kids and grand kids. I guess that is where my Daddy gets the black sock thing from! When I was about 3 or 4, we started bringing our dog, Prissy. She was an Eskimo Spitz and loved the beach. My cousin's dog, Coconut, was her mother. They loved swimming in the ocean and taking naps under the cabin! At night, we would play continental gin with all the cousins, Grandaddy and Grandmother. Those are the memories I will cherish forever.

Me and Cindy

When I was around 8 or 9, we went to the beach with The Reynolds (Terry, Charlotte, Emily and Jarret). They rented a condo and we decided to stay at the cabin. One night during our vacation, I asked Emily to spend the night with me. A storm was brewing in the gulf which caused some pretty bad thunderstorms and high winds. I will never forget the two of us lying in that bed and feeling the cabin sway from side to side! We were so scared! We both had the covers pulled up over our head! I don't think we slept at all that night! If you are reading this Emily, remember how you could swim and how I had to wear that styrofoam floatie around my waist?????

September 12, 1979 Hurricane Frederick struck the gulf coast with winds gusting up to 145mph and causing 2.3 billion dollars worth of damage. Our cabin was destroyed. My Grandaddy died on December 4, 1980. My Grandmother decided to sell the property for close to $100,000.00. Each year as we drive by the property where Grandaddy's pink cabin stood, I think of all that our family was able to experience because of the love he had for his family. I would love more than anything to go back just for a day and soak it all in.

Our Beach!