Good-by Gulf Shores

Well, it's a wrap.

We left Gulf Shores yesterday morning at 9am and found that the trailer's exterior lights - breaks and turn signals were not working....and it began to rain - hard. Karl and Cookie followed us up the road about 30 miles to Camping World. They were booked solid and couldn't help me but did fix Karl's tire problem he had.

They sent my up the road to a mechanic who concluded that 1) it was broke and 2) he couldn't fix it. So we back tracked from whence we came: to Foley AL and it's Ford dealership.

These folks couldn't have been more helpful. (I've written a letter of appreciation to the dealership) The service manager bumped me in and had a Ford mechanic working on the truck 15 minutes later. After working on it for an hour, he located the short in the electrical connection from the truck to the trailer. At 3:30pm he got us on the road but we'll have to take the truck and get this issue resolved before we get back out on the road.

We ended up spending last night in Auburn at Chewacla Park again and hit the road this morning - got home at 1pm .

Problem: I don't know what kind of jinx is following us - but at the conclusion of the last two times we went camping we had significant issues upon packing up and getting on the road.

Resolution to problem: get out and do more camping...soon.

Until next time...

Pappy

day 8 at Gulf Shores

Grammy taking a lesson...

A funny thing happened today on the way to Naval Air Station, Pensacola.....

there we were minding our own business approaching an intersection when all of a sudden there was a LOUD screeching sound. I thought someone was about to rear end me. I looked in the mirror - nothing. I looked to my right then my left - nothing. We were all about to panic when we saw them... jets - low and over head. Blue Angels.

Little did we know that Tuesdays and Wednesdays were practice days. Very impressive. Even more so when you know whats happening. As we all broke into laughter, I began wishing I had brought an extra pair of shorts:)

The National Aeronautical Musuem is a must see if you're in this area. Very good idea to visit this impressive free attraction on the Navy Base.

day 7 at Gulf Shores

Last night a huge storm came through but today was beautiful. Spent some time at the beach to cook for a couple of hours.

Ate dinner at "The Hangout". This is kind of a take-off of what we remember at Panama City's old Hangout. Pretty neat place especially for the kids. Check out the giant sand box (hill).

Live band outside and a dj inside to keep things lively. Lots of opportunity for them to snag your pocketbook:0

Tomorrow, off to Pensacola Naval Air Station Museum...

day 6 at Gulf Shores

We had quite a storm last night that came in from the gulf. News reports say that south winds are pushing the oil toward the coast around this area... hope it will change directions and protect this beach.. too pretty.

We finally checked out the local gator that hangs around the drainage ditch across the street from where we are camped. Cookie Mamma saw it yesterday and came back with stories of a near death experience - some jerk had grabbed the gator by the tail and aggravated it.

This morning I went over there and sure enough there was a gator about 6' long guarding the foot bridge over the ditch. He made lots of hissing and aggressive moves ... so I'll give this one to Cookie.

You'll notice that we decide to pose with a much tamer one at the corner store:)

day 5 at Gulf Shores

He I am looking very interested in leaving early this morn.

After an early morning bike trek through the lovely wood (school kids made and decorated these bird boxes throughout the trails) we decided to head back over to the beach. The state park owns a very large track of beach front. On either side of the park boundary you'll find high rise condos and hotels. The beach and water was VERY crowded in front of them but the park beachfront was amazingly void of crowds. Pretty neat.

The afternoon delivered a little excitement (posted on face book) in that some swimmers had ventured out a little too far and a few bull sharks were sighted. Fortunately for the swimmers they made it back into shore without an attack. Unfortunate for the gawkers cause they were looking for some blood in the water.

This pavilion at the pier is where we have to go to hit wifi.

Day 4 at Gulf Shores

Last night was peaceful and breezy on the beach but there weren't many good shells on the shoreline so we decided to hit the beach early this morning for breakfast and beach-combing. Early came and went - so we arrived at the pier about 8a.m. and ate a light breakfast. We then began our quest for perfect sea shells. Since they weren't available we picked up the ones that suited Juilana. Last I saw of her she had found some fishing line and was stringing the shells for a neckless.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We drove down the beach a while and found a plethora of beach houses that were empty. Wonder if they will fill up this weekend since it's the beginning of the season? We'll have to check out some of these on the net for pricing. So far we've noted that this place isn't a mecca for vacationers like the FL coast is. It might be worth while to give this beach a try if the price is right and if the crowds stay away.

Day 3 at Gulf Shores

Another beautiful day in Gulf Shores.

We spent early this a.m. biking on a really cool trail for a couple of hours. Very quiet, very secluded. Came up on a glass lake (1st pic below) and a nice picnic cabin in the middle of the woods (2nd pic below). Loved that heron (3rd pic) so he's here as well.

BUT- Pic #4 below is a real find. A GOPHER TORTOISE! Over the years I taken a few treks into the woods and I've NEVER seen a Gopher Tortoise. We not only found this one off of our trail, he let us take pictures!!

These animals are VERY shy. You can find their holes - burrows- all over the place, but they lead very secretive lives. So, our day began a real winner.

We later went to the beach which is spectacular. Very clean, white sand. And the water is just as clean and clear. Juliana and Brenda went wading while Cookie Mama and I baked on the shore line. I'll send pics of the bathing beauties tomorrow since I can't download them to the computer right now.