Gulf Shores in Alabama had been suggested as a great place to visit ticking all the boxes for what we love - the beach, walking trails and shops close by, so 5 hours later we were pulling up at the gate of the State Park. As it was coming up to Christmas we decided to book in until the new year - something we had never done before. Being on a reasonably tight time frame we only tend to stay put in any one place for a week - it would be interesting to see how we coped.
There was also another reason for the long stay - I woke up one morning with a pinched nerve in my neck. We had been trying to fix it with heatpacks etc to no avail so decided to get some professional treatment while we were in the one location. So a visit to the doctor, an xray and some physio treatments have slowly helped fix the problem.
The site we booked was a "waterfront" site which we paid extra for but it was worth it, our big rear window gave us great views of the lake just a mere 3 metres away. The site was level and ashphalt so minimum dust and sand. We figured if we are here for a month then we may as well do it in style. The park has some 460 sites but well spaced and plenty of privacy.
As we were setting up we could hear Christmas carols being sung in the park auditorium just a short distance away - unfortunately (well for one of us at least!) we were a litle late checking in as they finished not long after we arrived. Just as we had finished the setting up ritual we heard a broad english accent say, "just trying to work out if thats an Australian flag or NZ". That was introduction enough - with the popping of the beer cans we invited them in to share our view and have a chat. John, who migrated from London over 40 years ago, and his wife Terry were from Canada and just recently became 'full timers' dividing their time between the USA and Canada. We enjoyed their company and obviously they did ours too so happy hours occurred most nights, some longer than others all depending on when the cold sent us skuttling inside to our warm living quarters.
Despite some pretty intensive treatment the pinched nerve in my neck prevented me from doing most things - including walking. Luckily this park had a number of 'planned activities' so Rose was able to fill in some time by going to the exercise classes and craft mornings. One of the many trips to the local Walmart saw her purchasing a cross stitch kit - something she hadnt done for many years but gave her a challenge while I was healing.
On our drive to Gulf Shores we noticed the signs for the battleship USS Alabama museum located just outside the town of Mobile - about 40 minutes from where we were staying. A visit was definitely on the cards!! We headed up later that week - as always we were in awe of the size of and the men who served on the ship. Every available space had bunks or hammocks ( slung from the ceiling) for sleeping - with each man being allocated a small steel cabinet for their personal belongings. The crew's main focus was to service the huge guns- comfortable sleeping quarters was obvioulsy a second thought in the design. The ship was built in 1942 and weighs in at 35,000 tons dry weight - fully loaded a massive 45,000 tons. It has nine 16" guns with the ability to shoot a 2700 lb (1224kg) shell 21 miles (33klm). On this particular ship they have cut an access point into the massive turrets below deck so that visitors can actually see how ammunition was moved up to the guns. Even after 4 hours we hadn't seen all there was to see.
Christmas time is always a little difficult (especially for a girl) and different when away from home, family and friends. So being the SNAG that I am I headed into Walmart, purchased several boxes of LED lights, a Norfolk Pine Christmas tree and some decorations. Took me about an hour and the lights were up and shinning brightly, almost as brightly as Rose's smile. A turkey and roast vegetables cooked in the weber shared with Terry and John - a merry Chirstmas eve was had by all.
As Terry and John were also 'Christmas Orphans' we all headed to a restaurant in the small town of Foley, called Ryans for Christmas lunch the following day - a $15 smorgasboard, all you can eat! (normal price is $6.95!!!) The food was amazing - turkey, ham, fried chicken ( only in the USA) steak cooked the way you like it plus so much more. We all waddled out, back to our respective 5th wheelers for a little 'post Christmas lunch snooze" before lining up again for our final happy hour as Terry and John were pulling out the next day, heading to Galveston. Saying goodbye to our new friends is always hard - thank you Terry and John - you made our time at Gulf Shores so much more fun and enjoyable.... Safe travels...
Even though it was cold while we were at Gulf Shores (it was winter after all!) we did brave the elements and headed down to the beach and the boardwalk - it is easy to see why this area is such a popular destination in the summer months, and obviously also in winter with the majority of the park residents being 'snowbirders' from Canada and Northern USA.
To totally appreciate our beautiful water front location we often had breakfast sitting outside overlooking the lake. Every morning we noticed 'something' poking it's head out of the water and then diving down out of site. Finally after many days of second guessing what it was, it came close enough to the shore for us to identify itself as an otter. Previous discussions with one of the park rangers, Dave, indicated that the since hurricane Katrina the eco system had changed substantially - trees had died from the salt water inundation, black bears had disappeared - so this was a positive sighting and would be reported back to the wildlife officers. One thing that had not changed however was the coyotes presence in the park, their howling resonated through the park every night. Interestingly USA park rangers have all the powers of the police, including a speed radar in their vehicles!
Our stay at Gulf Shores was an interesting experience for us. Staying more than our usual 5 - 7 days in any one place was a bit of a challenge given our journey is all about seeing as much as we can in the given time we have - this trip only 6 months.
I will finish this blog with some of the most beautiful sunsets we have seen, a great park and a great site for the month.
Looks like you had a good time at Gulf Shores, did you perchance get to Lamberts Home of the Throwed Rolls in Foley. A different kind of place but fun to try once.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Ron. I love this blog.
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