Clear Point, Alabama

I took a very, very brief work trip to Clear Point, Alabama.

I'd only gotten home from South Africa four days before, but my company had an annual conference and wanted me to be there.

I flew into Pensacola through Atlanta (AGAIN) but this time had zero problems. My uber driver spent the entire hour and fifteen minute drive telling me about how he's going to Colombia in a month to marry a woman he met online. She called while we were in the car. He gave me a lot of details, and I wish them every happiness, even though I wished there was a little less conversation.

When we pulled up to the hotel, The Grand Hotel Resort & Spa, he told me that the hotel was the creme de la creme. There were beautiful Christmas lights covering the trees, (plus Spanish moss, which I love!) and it looked super pretty. The hotel desk guy was super nice, and he told me to go out to the bellhop stand and get a golf cart ride to my room, since it was pretty far away. At the bellhop stand a guy working was petting and feeding a stray cat right next to a sign that said 'Do not feed or pet the cats.' There were nice stray cats all over the property.

A kind man - southern charm everywhere - gave me a ride to my building and I slept in a wonderfully comfortable bed.

I got up in the morning eager to run around the property, and it didn't disappoint! Water surrounded it on three sides - sand and boardwalk. In the middle of the hotel there was a little lake with lit up fountains, and everywhere the trees were lit with additional balls of light. It was lovely. I spent an hour and a half outside, running and waiting for sunrise, which was pink and gorgeous. 

My meeting had great food, really nice people, and everything went well. We had an outdoor reception on the water at night. We ate dinner at the restaurant in the hotel - the Lakewood Club House - and they had a man playing piano and that odd golf tour where they're playing in a simulator on the TV. 

I scheduled with the hotel to get a ride for 3:00 a.m. so I could make it to my 5:20 a.m. flight. I asked the driver if he minded if I slept, and so I reclined my seat and slept the entire way. (My coworker told me he didn't schedule with the hotel, waited 30 minutes for an uber, driver was slow, and he missed his flight!) 

It was a part of Alabama I've never seen, and I can definitely see exploring it in the future.