On my annual December retreat to the Grand Hotel in Point Clear on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, I leave the interstate at the Stockton exit just before the interstate crosses the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. That exit feeds onto Alabama Route 225 and runs about twenty miles through coastal plain from Stockton to Spanish Fort.

Over the years, that short stretch of Baldwin County road has become one of my favorite roads to drive. There’s nothing spectacular going on, and that’s the point. For the first few miles, the road runs through pine forests and the distinctive December low angle light brushes the trees with a graceful autumnal glow. The fact that you are now “below the Salt Line” is unmistakable. Even on a chilly day, I must roll down the window to catch the air. The road frequently crosses small streams, creeks, and branches and glimpses of water shine through the trees. I frequently feel my body relax. I exhale.

Houses are sparse at first, and the landscape is dotted with mobile homes, ancient farmsteads, and the occasional new construction. Small business districts pop up occasionally and I could swear I spotted two Dollar General stores within a mile of each other. There’s one traffic light at a crossroads.

On my most recent trip, I decided to turn off the main road to see some of the boat launches on the nearby Tensaw River. A short drive on a narrow road on a slow nippy day and suddenly there’s a river rolling softly toward the bay.Back on AL225, I must check out the churches along the way. A small Catholic church in the woods has grown and been renovated since I last photographed it. Steps away is a sweet white Presbyterian chapel. Christmas decorations adorn most houses. A mobile home has a straight row of inflatables proclaiming insistent Christmas cheer; I do not normally approve of inflatables, but the determined neatness of this display makes me smile, as does the bundled-up toddler joyfully dashing in and out between the cheerful Christmas icons. I stop to take a photograph, but I see a fretful mother staring out the door and I think maybe not.

As AL225 gets closer to Spanish Fort and its southern terminus, Buzbee boat launch and fish camp appears to the east. It’s a landmark on this highway. Look to your west from the bridge that goes across at Buzbee and you get a glimpse of Mobile’s skyline across brackish waters. Look back east to the fish camp and you go back in time.

After passing Buzbee and the veterans cemetery, suburban communities begin to appear and Spanish Fort is not far now. Manicured lawns become more prominent and, this time of year, the camellias are in full bloom.  I know, camellias are not native to Alabama. But they are the state flower, like it or not, and I do get a bit of a rush seeing a bush drooping with camellia blooms on a brisk December day. It is traditional, it is expected, and I’m okay with it. In fact, it makes me happy.

AL225 ends at U.S. Highway 31 in Spanish Fort. Take a quick right turn, crossing three lanes of traffic, and there is Mobile Bay, choppy today, before you turn left at the next traffic light and head due south toward Daphne and Fairhope. The prize at the end is a brilliant sunset from my balcony at Point Clear.

I think about that turn all year. It still sends a gush of energy through my soul.