The Querrey's QUEST: 10/30/2010 ABERDEEN AND THE ARCHITECTURAL DRIVING TOUR

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 0 NM
TOTAL LOCKS: 0

Talk about “frost on the pumpkins”!! When I peeked out the windows this morning I found the fog dragging across the water and Dan found ICE on the top deck. Yes ice! Yikes!!

THE FOG CLOAKS OUR LITTLE COVE

AND THE NEXT INSTANT---IT SLOWLY BEGINS TO LIFT

We chatted with David and Mary of Ganymede before they took off for Columbus then we took the courtesy car into the old town of Aberdeen. We made a stop at the local auto parts for some tubing for the generator then stopped at the town’s visitor’s center for some local info and a map of the architectural tour.

YEP, THIS MUST BE THE WAY

Aberdeen was founded in 1837 by Robert Gordon and named for his beloved Aberdeen, Scotland. The proximity to the Tombigbee River was instrumental in the prosperity of the town. The area’s cotton crop could be shipped fast and cheaply to ports along the coast as well as to locations in the northeast. Due to the continued positive economic influence, Aberdeen is host to impressive examples of almost very period and style of Southern Architecture. From the columned Antebellum to the gingerbread Victorians to the turn-of-the–century neoclassical styling and, finally, to the bungalows that I love so much, they are all represented here. Unfortunately, now the community is facing difficulty in maintaining the integrity of these magnificent examples of the past. Here, like many other places, times are hard and it is an expensive proposition to support these old buildings. Here are a few examples of what we saw.

HOLIDAY HAVEN
THIS BEAUTIFUL 1850 GREEK REVIVAL MANSION
WITH DORIC COLUMNS

EVERGREEN WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITES
THIS 1848 HOME WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT IN THE
GREEK REVIVAL STYLE BUT WAS RENOVATED IN
1910 WITH CRAFTSMAN AND BUNGALOW INFLUENCE

THE ADAM FRENCH HOUSE WAS RESTORED IN 2007
AFTER A DEVASTATING FIRE. NOTE THE LION GUARDING
THE ENTRY AND THE SLENDER IONIC COLUMNS

A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A GOTHIC STYLE BARN

MY OTHER FAVORITE, WATKIN HILL, STARTED OUT AS
QUEEN ANNE STYLE BUT RENOVATED IN1924 IN THE
SERENE PRAIRIE STYLE

After finishing our driving tour we headed back to Hot Toddy’s street-corner BBQ and grabbed some take-home pork BBQ and ribs. I got to tell you, they were mighty good!

CAN YOU SAY BBQ???

HOT TODDY, AS GOOD AS IT GETS!

Returning to the marina we pulled off to get a preview of our next lock, the Aberdeen Lock, just in time to watch Ganymede finish the lock down and exit. We also found this old, abandoned train station on the river’s banks and old road bridge leading to nowhere.

GANEMEDE JUST LOCKED DOWN THE ABERDEEN LOCK

YOU THINK THERE WAS MAYBE A LITTLE WIND INVOLVED
WITH THE DESTRUCTION ON THE ROOF OF THIS OLD STATION?

Image by cmh2315fl via Flickr

ANOTHER BRIDGE TO NOWHERE
THE OLD HIGHWAY 45 BRIDGE THAT ENDS RIGHT AT THE CHANNEL

Dan worked hard at insulating the mechanical room that houses our noisy generator (aka: the basement). He did some research and came upon a solution that seems to at least reduce the noise to a lesser rumble.

QUEST, HAPPILY DOCKED

As we were heading out for an afternoon walk, Sleeping Bear tied up for the night and we were waylaid a bit with chatting. Once we did get to our walk, Dan found this rather decrepit little barge and, of course, he had to climb aboard and check it out. He just wouldn’t be Dan if he didn’t! We wandered among homes and little branches of the river, thinking what a nice winter home this would be for a boat. As the sun slipped behind the trees we wandered back to our snug home on the water.