Gulf Shores, AL (1st Month)

Sun., Dec. 12, 2021 thru Tues., Jan. 11, 2022

On Sunday, December 12th, we traveled a whopping 90 miles along scenic Hwy 98 from Henderson Beach State Park in Destin, FL to Luxury RV Resort in Gulf Shores, AL.  A pretty ride through several small beach towns, plus we passed scenic views of the Gulf Islands National Seashore along the way. We’re excited to be here for 2 months and explore this beautiful area! We’re fortunate that we’ll be joined by various family and friends during our time here… even connecting with Lisa & Paul from Old Stage Campground in NH. We’re feeling blessed! 

Since I’m behind on blogging… this post will cover our first month’s stay in Gulf Shores. I will share the highlights of our month with you, and hopefully spare you the minutia. Although I can’t guarantee that. Hee hee. 

A consequence of our being on the road for the last three months and moving regularly is that we now have several chore/maintenance RV issues to tackle. A fun “chore” was Gary hanging both indoor and outdoor Christmas lights to make our tiny home more festive. We enjoyed our first campfire in Gulf Shores a few days after our arrival and hosted Cheryl & Joe for dinner before their trip up north to NH the following day to visit family. After driving them to Pensacola Airport the next day, we started on our variety of chores… which included the installation of a new fireplace (our old one died), cleaning windows, working on getting Christmas cards out, and finding a way to get rid of our old loveseat before the new one arrives in a few days. After attempting to “recycle” it or give it away (neither is easy to do when on the road), I called “College Hunks Hauling Junk.” Sounds good to me! Unfortunately, they ended up having a broken truck the day they were supposed to arrive to haul off our sofa. By then Gary had realized that the old love seat came apart and we could actually handle it ourselves. Soooo we ended up canceling the hunks (rats!) and brought the old love seat to a landfill about 30 minutes away. That was an experience. We drive the truck up on the weighing contraption then drive off before realizing we were supposed to head into the office to get the weight written down on a piece of paper. Oh-kay… we circle back around and drive up one more time for the weighing, head into the office for the magic piece of paper then follow a hand drawn map showing where to go dump the sofa. I feel like we’ll need breadcrumbs to find our way back out of this maze. The spot where we are supposed to drop the sofa off is full of broken glass and other lovely things that don’t react well to tires. This could be a very costly dump if we end up with tire damage. We dump the sofa…. which really no one would take because of the cracking faux leather, and head back to get re-weighed. Total cost? $7. The hunks would have been way more money… although it may have been worth it. 😛

After several days of chores it was finally time to take a break and walk to the beach. Four blocks from our campground. Love it! The Gulf Shores beaches are beautiful with sugar sand and a wide beach area.  We walked a few miles on the beach and then on the way back checked out Wade Ward Nature Park which is next to our campground. It’s got a boardwalk and we’ve seen a heron hanging out for days in a dead tree. It’s his favorite spot. Today we saw a Gator sunning himself… or herself. While Gary headed back to our tiny home, I took a walk through a shortcut at the campground that takes you to Gulf State Park. Looking forward to getting bikes out and exploring over there! 

Sat., December 18th, we planned a day with dear friends Lisa & Paul, camping neighbors at Old Stage Campground in NH. They, too, are full-time RVers and have wintered in Gulf Shores the last few years. Today we visited the Palafox Market in Pensacola FL. We enjoyed seeing all the vendors set up for the market, walking the downtown area, admiring the Christmas decorations, and eating a late lunch outside on the pier. Lisa & Paul also shared a lot of information about the area. We’ll look forward to visiting with them much more once they are back from their trip up north to see family for Christmas! 

We picked up Cheryl & Joe from Pensacola Airport on Monday, Dec. 20th. Yay! Gary brought along snacks, wine, and warm towels for the official “limousine” experience from the airport. Of course most limousines aren’t dually trucks.  Hee hee. Wednesday, Dec. 22nd, Gary & I visited Bellingrath Gardens in Theodore, AL. Since it was about a 90-minute ride from Gulf Shores, we decided to spend the night at a hotel in nearby Tillmans Corner. Bellingrath is a 65-acre garden and former estate home of Walter & Bessie Bellingrath. They first opened the gardens to the public in 1932. Upon their deaths, a foundation was formed to keep the home and gardens open to the public. We toured the gardens during the daylight and were pleasantly surprised at how many plants were still in bloom this late in the season. So beautiful! After visiting during the day, we did a late lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant, relaxed at the hotel for a bit and then went back in the evening to enjoy the Christmas lights. Their annual “Magic Christmas in Lights” features 3 million lights, 1,100 set pieces, and 16 scenes. Just beautiful, and they change it up every year. 3 staff employees work exclusively on the Christmas display. Since Mr. Bellingrath was a Coca-Cola franchise owner, there are some “cola” references in the lights display. Bellingrath Gardens was ranked one of the “10 Best Botanical Garden Holiday Light Displays” in USA Today for 2020. A terrific experience!

Thursday, December 23rd, on the way back from Bellingrath Gardens we visited Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island. It was one of the key sites in the Battle of Mobile Bay where the famous words “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” were shouted. Worth visiting for sure! We walked around the grounds, checked out the buildings, admired the views of Mobile Bay and the Gulf, and read some of the soldiers letters in the small museum. Turns out Mobile was quite the party town… even days before it fell in the Civil War, a party was happening every night. It was considered “The Paris of the Confederacy.” After exploring Fort Gaines, we came back to Gulf Shores via the ferry from Dauphin Island. Fun day.

Christmas Eve Day began with eggnog waffles and mimosas at the Hannafords. Yum. We spoke with various friends and family via phone then enjoyed Happy Hour with Cheryl & Joe, a campfire, and playing cards after dinner.  On Christmas Day we had a long video chat with Ellen & Wayne and hosted Cheryl & Joe for dinner. Temps were mild enough that we could dine al fresco. After dinner we all walked to the beach to catch sunset, which was gorgeous. Afterwards we enjoyed Cheryl’s Broken Glass cake for dessert and played cards. A lovely day! 

Monday, December 27th, dear friends Diane & Mike arrived to camp with us for a week. We’ve known each other for over 35 years. On Tuesday we headed out later in the afternoon to The Wharf in Orange Beach to walk around and check out the high-end shops and the yachts docked on the waterfront. We also enjoyed an early dinner and the holiday laser light show. The laser light show was forgettable but still an interesting experience. Such a treat to spend time with these two!

Wednesday, Dec. 29th, we visited the lovely town of Fairhope, AL. Delightful small town with a 1,448 ft. waterfront pier, several parks, charming homes, small gardens located throughout the town, and a thriving downtown shopping/restaurant district. The pièce de résistance were little white lights on all the trees on Fairhope Avenue that came on after dark. The lights are a signature of the town and stay on throughout the year. Just gorgeous! We all loved this small town, and would go back in a heartbeat as we ran out of time to finish exploring. Fun “linner” at the Bone & Barrel on their patio. We had a campfire to finish out the day, and the six of us played Blank Slate. Great day with friends!

Thursday, Dec. 30th, the six of us visited Lambert’s Cafe in Foley, AL. A fun experience! Their tagline is “Home of Throwed Rolls.” It was a hoot! They offer traditional Southern cooking and then have additional sides that get ladled on after you receive your entree. And, of course, the “throwed” rolls, which they toss at you from nearby or across the room. Your choice. Typically it’s the teenage boys who want the rolls thrown from across the room, or the grown men who think they’re teenaged boys. 99% end up in the hands of the intended guest. The staff person who is doing the throwing (with gloves on) has a pitch perfect throwing arm. Did I mention the rolls are about the size of your hand and they are hot out of the oven? Just a hoot! Gary did a video.  I’ll let the video tell the story! 

Additionally that day, Mike & Gary were problem solving a water issue on our rig. Mike has a Mobile RV Repair business back home so he was hugely helpful to Gary. At one point during the day Gary replaced an anode that goes on the hot water tank. He hadn’t released the pressure first and the anode let loose and it came flying across and hit Mike & Diane’s trailer! Luckily no body and nothing was hurt. Gary got soaked. The whole thing was pretty funny.

Friday, Dec. 31st, New Year’s Eve, we spent the afternoon/evening playing cornhole, eating more appetizers than we needed, sharing stories around a campfire, playing several games and enjoying lots of laughter. We actually made it past midnight and celebrated twice… once on East Coast time and then Central time.

May the New Year bring happiness and good health to each and every one of you, and finally an end to Covid 19. New Year’s Day we did a fun walk to the beach with Diane & Mike… the sun was partially out and temps were comfortable. What more could you ask for?! We played cornhole in the afternoon, enjoyed dinner at D&M’s, and then played Mexican Train back at our house. The next day we headed to breakfast with D&M at the Sunliner Diner which is a block up from the campground and then walked to the beach again. Hard to believe we have to say goodbye to these two tomorrow. We will miss them terribly! 

Wed., Jan. 5th, Gary & I finally got to Gulf State Park. It covers 6,500 acres, has 3.5 miles of beautiful pristine white sandy beaches, a 1,540 ft. fishing pier that’s the longest pier on the gulf, a few nesting bald eagles, a few gators, a 5,000 sq. ft. swimming pool, and 28 miles of bike trails to explore including long sections of boardwalks. It is special! Plus it has a large 490+ site campground with beautiful sites. Tough to get camping reservations as it’s very popular! Today we drove over and saw their beach area and walked on some of the beautiful boardwalks. We’re looking forward to exploring this gorgeous state park more over the coming weeks! 

Thursday, Jan. 6th, we visited Fort Morgan. Completed in 1833, it housed over 1,000 soldiers and played a significant role in the Battle for Mobile Bay during the Civil War. Over 12,000,000 bricks were used to build it. So amazing to wander through this almost 200-year old structure. The brick archways and flooring were incredible. Definitely had to watch your step. The fort was still used for awhile in WWII before finally being shut down. Among other items of interest, the museum displayed letters from Civil War soldiers back to their families. Touching. A great experience. We enjoyed a campfire last night with Cheryl & Joe and Sue, Cheryl’s cousin visiting from Massachusetts. Another great day!

Friday, Jan. 7th, we walked the Pine Beach Trail at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. A 3.5 mile trail that brings you to a private beach. Sweet! It was tough going the last 1/2 mile walking on the soft sand. 

Saturday, Jan. 8th was Sue’s birthday. The original plan was to go mini golfing but it was SO windy and cool, that we all decided it was best to stay put. Sue, Cheryl, and Joe joined us for playing UNO Flip in the afternoon in our tiny home. The final game lasted 4 1/2 hours (O.M.G.)! We started later in the afternoon and then broke for dinner, re-convened, had dessert to celebrate Sue’s birthday and then finished the game. Phew! It wouldn’t have lasted so long except we cheat! Anytime anybody got close to going out, we’d gang up on them so they couldn’t. That’ll teach us not to cheat! I don’t even remember who won! 

Sue left the following morning to return home to Massachusetts. She is delightful! We will miss her. And that concludes our first month in Gulf Shores! In just a few days we have more family and friends arriving. That will be covered in the Jan. 12th to Feb. 12th (2nd month’s) Gulf Shores Blog post which I hope to get out in a much more timely fashion than this one!