Mexico Beach Restaurants

"If you are in your sunset-years of your life, remember this,
there is no fishing after sun-set." - Capt. Bruce

We've been visiting the local restaurants in Mexico Beach, Florida. Usually restaurants in a beach town center around the local catch or seafood. There aren't a lot of restaurants here but we have certainly found some gems. If folks are looking for chain restaurants, there are none to be found. They are all locally owned. In less than a week we've visited a few. There are a few more to visit and we plan on doing just that.

Our first night in town we visited the Fish House. Sounds like a seafood restaurant, huh? Well, it's not entirely fish. As a matter of fact, this restaurant serves just about everything. The Thursday night special is shrimp but the Wednesday special we missed was prime rib. Service was great and food was excellent. I'm sure we'll be visiting this place often.

The next morning Lee suggested we eat breakfast at Sharon's. It's a small diner in town only open for breakfast and lunch. There was only one other couple in the restaurant but this isn't exactly busy season either. We enjoyed a great breakfast and I'm sure they'll see us again.

Beach Pizza is on the main drag (the one without any stoplights). We have had pizza and we have had pizza but this is really PIZZA! We ordered a large half and half specialty pizza and have never had a pizza with so much on top. It was loaded! It was three meals in one and the absolute best we have ever had. Needless to say, the large was way too much and we took home most of it for breakfast the following day.

Sunday morning it was Toucan's turn. Toucan's is the biggest restaurant in town and it sits right on the beach. They offer a breakfast buffet for $9.95. When you consider you get great food and great ambiance, this is a fabulous place to go. We sat on the outside patio and watched the waves roll in. The waiter was fabulous even though the picture he took of us was slightly out of focus ... at least he tried.

We are also hoping to visit Marley Mangos and Ruby's Rum. Then, we may even start into Panama City to see what they have to offer. Even though we much prefer to dine in the small ones, there are also many chain restaurants we are not familiar with. We're going to have to try those out too. We ate at a Charley's in Foley, Alabama and wondered if it was a chain. It must be because we saw one in Panama City on our way through. That was another one where we had a marvelous meal, marvelous waiter and an overall marvelous experience. Then we saw a Bonefish Grill and that one we discovered in Biloxi, MS on our way through. They had a fabulous salad dressing and another great waiter and great experience. We haven't eaten at PoFolks and would like to just because we've never done it.

Isn't it amazing how food and eating out always play a big part of the entertainment. And, chain restaurants in one location are entirely different in another location. Well, my birthday is Saturday so I get to pick the place and there are just so many to choose from. Several restaurants offer birthday coupons .... I have one from Red Robin but need to register at a few more very fast. Anyone know of some? (Bri???)

<------------ And, here we are getting ready to watch another sunset over the gulf!

We're on Vacation!

The dogs were romping in the sand and the dolphins entertained us in the water. What a great time!

The Forgotten Coast - Florida Gulf

"I love to go to Washington - if only to be near my money." Bob Hope

Thursday we pulled out of the Ft. Walton Beach area of Florida. Our destination was about 90 miles southeast so we knew it wasn't going to be a long day. Well, as the best laid plains go, we were wrong. We figured we averaged about 20 mph and even for us that's pretty slow. About five hours later we pulled into Mexico Beach.

Why did it take so long? Well, along the route is an outlet mall that had some very unique stores. It seems in most of these malls today the stores are all similar carrying the same name brand stuff. This particular mall was huge with a very different selection of shops and best of all, they were all open and appeared to be thriving. We had to stop. After all, Christmas is just around the corner. That's just about all I can talk about because some of those we buy gifts for read this blog. So, 'nuf said.

Mexico Beach is a pure delight. The park we are at is nice -- not super elegant -- but nice. It is absolutely perfect for us though. Since we're here for a few months, getting satellite set up and internet service was a must. As a matter of fact, we didn't even pay for the site until we were sure of our reception. We did have to change from one spot to another because of all the very tall pine trees. So, here we are getting settled in and thrilled that we are here. We even found a screen room and got it set up.

The town isn't very large as it's only about 1 1/2 miles long. There isn't even one stoplight. Most of the beachfront is open for public access in town. At both edges of town the beaches are dog friendly. Duchess is going to love this as much as we are. Friday, Lee and MaryJane took us for a tour. We visited several different beaches, collected shells, waded in the water and sat on the beach. Just before the sun went down, MaryJane and I went down to the beach with glasses in hand and toasted as we watched the beautiful colors glimmer across the gulf at sunset. What a fabulous day!

My phone is playing havoc with changing the time on it. We are within about a block of the two time zones - central time and eastern time zones. The only way to know really what time it is we need to check the one in the motorhome or the car and not the automatic one on the phone. However, we're not really sure it matters what the time is anyway. The park is in central time zone and the half mile away beach is in eastern time zone. But, come dark no matter the time, we're zombies. And, dark certainly comes early.

On Saturdays Panama City has an open Swap Market (i.e., Flea Market) and on this Saturday there was also a Christmas Craft Bazaar just across the road at the Fairgrounds. We had to check it out, along with the Mall, Walmart and Tyndall AFB. What a day!

We also discovered dove season was upon us. How did we discover that? We discovered it when all the gunfire started at the ponds which border the RV park. And, of course, the local police were called. They talked to the hunters persuading them to point their rifles the other direction and informed us it was entirely legal. Ugh! We aren't sure when dove season ends but we do know that deer season starts next week!

Air Force Armament Museum

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. Mark Twain

The plan was to head to the beach today. Duchess and I were thinking that would be a great thing to do. However, we woke up this morning to rain and more rain. Thus, it turned out to be laundry day and grocery shopping instead. We did take quite a few walks but not on the beach. By afternoon the blue skies were showing through and the rain had stopped.

I had been wanting to visit the Air Force Armament Museum so did just that. It's quite a fascinating place. And, best of all, it's free! Of course, donations are accepted. The museum is huge with many aircraft parked on the outside "tarmack". It is located just around the corner from the West Gate of Eglin Air Force Base at Fort Walton Beach, FL. Here are just a few of my favorites.

The SR-71 Blackbird was a long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft capable of flying at mach 3.3 speeds (2,510 mph) at an elevation of 85,000 feet! It flew it's first mission over Vietnam in 1968. Just think instead of driving a motorhome across country, you could jump in one of these and be there in a little over a hour ... phenomenal!

The MIG-21 is a short range fighter interceptor. It's considered to be the most outstanding Soviet aircraft designed since the end of WWII and has been active in every conflict since then.

F-4 Phantom II was first flown in 1958. It has a maximum speed of 1,459 mph and can fly a total of 1,375 miles. There were over 5,000 of these planes built and many of these were flown out of Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam during the Vietnam conflict.

This is the CGM Mace Missle -- check it out.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact fighter aircraft. It has a relatively low cost with high performance and has flown many missions including in Iraq. It has a maximum speed ability of 1,500 miles with a distance of 2000 miles.

What else is fascinating about this museum is they have on display many types of guns and bombs used in the wars as well as missles including those that can carry chemical warfare. It is an amazing museum.

Here are three bombs. Notice one indicates it's a "general purpose" bomb! I never realized there were general purpose bombs.

And, if you decide to go for a ride in one of these planes, read the red sign and do as it says and remove before flight.

Pets Without Homes

"To the world you are a rescue person.... to the rescued dog, you are the world"

Terry has commented several times recently about an ad that has been running on TV. It's one that asks you to donate to the humane society and gives the story of abused, neglected and abandoned pets. It is heart-wrenching. I'm not sure of the website or I would include it here. What I do know is that sometimes pets are abandoned in RV parks. We've seen them. Unless some kind-hearted RV'er decides to take the pets in, they are left to run the streets and fend for themselves looking for food and shelter.

When we were in Texas, we discovered a wild mixed-dachshund. The dog had been abandoned and was afraid of humans. It was actually a "wild" animal. The park ranger indicated this happened quite often. It was an easy place for some people to ditch their unwanted pets without feeling too guilty as they justified their actions by thinking some kind soul would take the puppies home. This isn't always the case. Some die from hunger and others feed the hunger of the larger animals. It's so sad.

When at the SKP park in Summerdale we discovered another fairly young puppy that had been abandoned. Our RV neighbors fed it and tried to find a home for the puppy. Alas, to no avail. They had already "adopted" three abandoned dogs and could not take a fourth. Finally the Humane Society was called and the puppy went to the shelter. We all hoped a new home could be found but with so many dogs and cats being without a home and so few people actually adopting, the outlook isn't real promising.

Well, back to my story. Terry has wanted to donate to the on-line Humane Society but how do we know that these charities on-line actually put most of the money received into finding homes for unwanted or abandoned animals? And, is that really the Humane Society we know of? After all, this one advertises on TV. TV stations do donate time for selected charitable organizations but we don't know if this one is free or if payment is coming out of the donations. And, why does this one also publish a magazine for the contributors? The expense of the magazine must be taken out of the funds you donate for the care of the animals. Thus, I've drug my feet and he's not been happy with me.

Yesterday, Duchess and I were visiting Petsmart in Destin, FL. A pet rescue organization was out front with a few dogs and cats. They were hoping to find folks wanting to adopt these animals or willing to contribute something to help. They weren't just asking for $$ but also supplies. I spoke to one of the volunteers -- they are all volunteers. This is a no-kill facility and some of their animals have been abandoned, abused or just need a home after their owner was deployed overseas with the military. They have volunteers that offer foster homes for the animals until they are placed. In addition, if they have space they will search out other animals in other facilities that may be killed and bring them to their place. It truly is an all-volunteer organization with everything donated going for the animals. Pet Welfare -- Check it out.

I donated and we will continue to do so. Terry was happy. I feel good that we have decided to help.

Kickin' Around

Cleverness is not wisdom.

The RV park we are in has a total of 60 sites in about 5 uneven rows. The sites are large, some are pull-thrus and some are back-ins. All sites have trees. Some have very few and others against the back make satellite reception something you have to work at. When we first pulled in here a couple days ago, we had to continue moving our RV forward one foot, two feet, three feet until we finally got our satellite to lock on for reception. We were almost out to the roadway but the good thing was that we did have reception!

Yesterday another site opened up. It was another back-in end site. It wasn't a big site. It was a HUGE site. We quickly moved our vehicle into it until we could move the motorhome. We were just in time because one 5th wheel pulled into the park and then a pickup camper came in right behind it. Whee!

Satellite is perfect ... we have a long, long driveway. Not only can we park our car in the driveway, we could also park another rig there. Or, we could park the two boats we still have in Washington here. Hmmm. All we need is someone to drive them down because we certainly can't pack them and ship via FEDEX like we do other things. Our son has already refused to ship. We'd probably have to sneak one out anyway because our son and grandson would probably chain themselves to it. However, have to admit that it sure would be nice to have a boat down here. It sure would be nice! (hint hint)

We didn't realize how close to the water we are. After all, you know the saying .. you can't see the trees through the forest. Well, that's kind of how it is here. We couldn't see the marina or the bay through the vegetation. We're not complaining. We discovered a couple of trails and within 5 minutes we were actually walking down the steps to the sand! WOW and for about $16 a night -- weekly rate. Duchess loves to run in the sand. When we head for the beach it's hard to hold her back. She knows the way and she's on a mission .........

Friday the park had a Mexican potluck for lunch. Now remember there are 60 sites here ..... but only about 18 people showed up! Don't know the deal with that but there are a lot of nice people here and very easy to meet them.

Today we've been searching for a screen room to put up outside. After all, the Finlay's have one so we must have one. (Kind of like keeping up with the Jones'.) We bought one at KMart but ended up taking it back because cheap meant really cheap. We weren't sure it'd even hold up. We want a great one at a cheap price.

There are some great buys out there and even though we didn't end up with a screen room we ended up with a few other things. Terry is addicted to diet cola. His absolute favorite is the Sam's Diet Cola. Well, we found it .... the price ... under 5 cents a can! Normally, we pay about 20 cents a can. Needless to say, we loaded up. Boy, did we load up. Just how much did we get? Let's put it this way --- they had no more to sell.

The other great bargain we found was 12 roll packages of toilet tissue for 63 cents!! I'm thinking of buying everyone toilet paper for Christmas. Look at this way -- it's cheap and would be very light to ship!

Either way, we're settled in for a while and just a short distance from the airport .... which is why we're actually in the area. Terry's hopping a jet plane for Phoenix on Sunday ... so, we need to be put for a few days. Well, at least until he comes back!!

South for the Winter

Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions.

< ----Where we're at now

I don't think snowbirding is as easy as some folks make it seem to be. The questions are .... where to go? and, when to get there? Then, how do you actually pick out a great place to spend the winter? That's hard, isn't it? Well, maybe it's not so hard depending on how you define the winter and how long you actually plan on staying in one place? We've read folks' opinion when it comes to spending your first winter out. They say to visit several different resorts just so you don't miss the real gem. What's a real gem? I guess it's some place that meets your criteria for a wonderful stay. Is it for one month or is it for six months?

We don't know where the perfect place to spend the winter for us is. We just don't want to miss out. It would be so much easier if we could be like Samantha on Bewitched and just wiggle our nose and be there. Then, we could also wiggle it again and move on if we didn't like it. We have seen a few places we really thought were nice but not so sure any would be the perfect place ..... yet.

The perfect place for us may not be the perfect place for someone else. We did see one place that certainly wouldn't be difficult to return to. It was on Navarre Beach on the Gulf of Florida. You could actually back right up to the sand barrier. Everything was clean, concrete, small trees and a gorgeous beach view. It was a WOW park. We also have a park in Yuma we like and there are a few Thousand Trails parks in Texas we like.

Even though we never expect every park to have everything we want, we hope to be able to have a few things and, of course, some are more important than others. We need good internet, good Dish Network reception and good weather. Those three items are definite musts. We'd like to have a palm tree or two .. just to remind us where we are but suppose we could bring our own if necessary. And, we don't want to be next to an RV that catches on fire ... we knew someone that just went through that (ouch!).

Being close to a beach, shopping and friends are a big plus. Large clean sites with concrete slabs are also a plus but not necessarily a requirement. There are a lot of RV resorts in Arizona, southern Texas and Florida that really are resorts. They have just about every type of amenity you can imagine. And, of course, they have the price to go with it. However, many of these parks are huge .. huge .. huge. We like the small parks. The rental for a slab to park your RV on for a month can range from $225 to $1,500!!! Some of these include electricity and others have a meter and charge you for it.

It'll be interesting how this winter plays out. We've been on the move the last couple of months and now we're ready to slow the horses for a while ... but we don't know how long until we're ready to move again.

Do we know the perfect place? No, we don't know the perfect place. And, actually, the perfect place just might not be as important as the people are ... and we already know that. The people actually make the park. And, we're looking forward to our next park ... because of the people.

Like all RV'ers .. if we don't like one place, we do have wheels.

Aftermath of the Hurricane

The storm is over

Yep, we survived Hurricane Ida. Or, was it Tropical Storm, Ida. By the time the hurricane hit the shores of Alabama, the wind velocity had decreased tremendously. Thank goodness! The inches and inches of rain that had been forecast actually drenched the area prior to the "disturbance" hitting the coast. The prediction had been for any where up to 8 inches. So, our little rain measuring glass went out and we collected rain ... about 3 inches of it.

Sure it got windy and sure the winds made a lot of noise. If you're in an RV, it's much more noticeable than in a home planted on a solid foundation. Overall .. it wasn't bad. We've been in much worse and then it was just called a front. So, yep, now we can get out a little bumper sticker that says we survived it. Actually, there wasn't much to surviving it. By the time it reached inland .. not much of it was left.

Yesterday we made the rounds as far as the Outback Steak house. Water was running down the road and rivers flowed along the sides. You could see lakes in fields where there shouldn't be any but we didn't notice any damage. It's a little windy this morning but that's about it.

It was a day to stay in mostly though. The temperature was cool and we were going to play "catch-up". With an internet antenna connection issue, what a good day to work on it. I did but didn't accomplish anything. We spent the afternoon with Joanna and Dave. Great folks from Connecticut. They just departed that state about a week before fleeing an incoming bad weather system and where did they land ... smack in the middle of a tropical storm..

It was a good day -- much better than expected -- now our thoughts are today that we will probably move on south towards Ft. Walton. We'll see.

Happy Veteran's Day! It's a Holiday -- we get the day off!

Hunkering Down With Hurricane Ida

Monday Evening - Awaiting Ida

Sunday night we filled the motorhome with water just in case we needed fresh water. We also emptied the tanks and checked the fuel. We were good. However, the car was near empty. Thus, we felt it best to fill up last night instead of waiting in the lines today at the gas station. That we did.

Monday morning the winds were calm with intermittent breezy conditions. The skies were gray. This is the first day we've not had the sun shining through while we've been in the Gulf Shores area of Alabama. Many folks started moving out including Dave & Linda and Joe. Dave & Linda went north. Joe went southeast. When asked where they were going most folks said they weren't sure. On the other hand, we've had a few move in from other locations especially from places right on the beach. Many of the fifth wheels are secured to their pulling vehicles. Everyone is getting ready ... for what, we don't know. The deal with a hurricane is that even though they predict it will hit during the night, strong winds are ahead of it and torment the areas in the way even before it's actually supposed to arrive.

I was in a hurricane when in high school. I remember all the rooftops, shingles, timber, tree branches and parts of many unrecognizable items being hurled down the middle of the streets. At that time it was exciting because I had no idea of the real damage a storm could do.

Our DVR was busy recording movies and half-hour game shows. We knew we'd be bringing our antenna down or lose it. In addition our slides would also be brought in. The storm is due to hit overnight but the winds were expected to be strong from afternoon on. Rain should bring some flooding to our park but other than have a muddy site, we shouldn't float away.

We had neighbors pull out a couple days ago for a beach side location. They just pulled back in. At least they aren't sitting in the sand and being sandblasted. They said the graders were out and they figured it was time to go when they saw them pull in.

As of 10:00 this morning the rains just started but it was very light. The forecast called for amounts up to 8 inches. This is more rain than some places receive in two years. We're going to get it in less than a day. And, have you heard that this is a rare storm as hurricanes are very rare in November. As a matter of fact, only three have hit this area in this degree at this time of the year. My daughter-in-law keeps saying that there have been many signs that we should have stayed in Washington. We'll let you know Wednesday morning if she's right. We're hoping none of us here have any regrets.

By 2:00 you could see the trees starting to sway. However, the winds would come and go. It started getting dark around 5:00 and the winds were again picking up. By 6:00 you could hear the rain and wind hammering outside a bit. It was quite noisy but just for a little while. In order to hear TV over the storm brewing outside, we had to turn up the volume. What were we watching? The Weather Channel since it was concentrated on Alabama Gulf area and the center where they expected Ida to hit ..... just exactly where we are. We knew this was calm compared to what the night would bring at least according to the forecast. It's kind of like living in Texas and being under a tornado watch. However, in those cases we would actually hear the sirens warning of an approaching tornado. Here, we know it's going to hit but we're still watching and hoping nothing will be catastrophic.

Actually, staying put was an understatement. We didn't even plan on leaving the park. As a matter of fact, Betty Crocker got to work. She started cleaning out cabinets and ended up finding all sorts of food that would be fun to eat starting with brownies. After all, we're all going to need to eat no matter the situation.

Tuesday the roads will probably be flooded around the area even after the storm passes through. Electricity may be out in places and many business may not be open. Thus, we'll still be hunkering in. The winds come and go but nothing real strong yet. We're hoping it'll subside and weaken even more. Who knows about any winds. Now it's peaceful -- not much rain and not much wind. With luck ... it'll stay this way.

Late Monday Night - Still Awaiting Ida

We're still sitting and waiting.

Stay tuned ......

Gulf Shores

"I was born in Alabama, but I only lived there for a month before I'd done everything there was to do." Paula Poundstone

We've been terribly busy since the last post so here goes in very short form ... well, kind of. I want it all to fit in one post. And, we've done a lot recently.

Our drive into Pensacola was interesting. Actually, we're currently at a park in the gulf of Alabama only a few miles from the Florida panhandle. The Blue Angels are having their homecoming next weekend and we wanted to visit their home base. To celebrate the homecoming there will be a big celebration at the base while they display their flying skills. We had originally hoped to be able to watch it but now we may be running from the incoming hurricane so be displaced. Who knows where we'll be next weekend? We certainly don't.

Friday meant more food and more "new" friends. We didn't actually go anyplace but just ate at our place. We had originally planned on having a big-time BBQ. Those things you have to plan. We spent so much time not planning it that it ended up just being food. It was a great evening and we topped it off with a Wii challenge in bowling. And, as usual, the women folks wiped the men folks. As usual, I said.

On Saturday we did a little alligator hunting out of Meaher State Park which sits on Mobile Bay. The park has walkways across the swamps and alligators live in the marshes. Folks indicate that the alligators are common visitors to the grassy areas of the parks. Our thought was we'd rather view them than have them unknowingly view us. Terry did indicate he and the alligators had an agreement. He wouldn't eat them if they wouldn't eat him. We did see an alligator but not at close range ... thank goodness. Folks in the park said that many times the gators will come up on the grass by the RV sites. We thought the park was nice until we heard that. The last thing that interested us was having a gator as a neighbor! We also had a lesson from Rich (Spiker's friend) on how to tell the difference between dog poop and coyote poop. I'm sure that's more than everything we needed to know. Nope ... no picture on that stuff.

Later that day we made a trip to Battleship National Park and two Navy vessels -- the USS Alabama and the USS Drum. Both of these have been designated as historic monuments and are open for tourists to view. And, this we did. The USS Drum is a submarine. Neither of us had been in a submarine so that's where our main interest was. In addition to the two Naval ships there was also a naval museum and a Navy simulator. The aircraft in the museum were older spy planes and war planes. It was very interesting to read the history of the actual planes. In true Disney fashion, there was also a Navy simulator you could ride for $4.75. I wanted to do this. I've been in a real training simulator so I thought it might be similar. All I did in that one was crash so I figured I could do nothing but improve. Well, it was more like the Star Wars ride at Disneyland than a real flight simulator. The flags were for Veterans day.

After the touring we went with Joe and Miz Holly along with Rich and his wife for dinner at Ed's Seafood house. What a great setting. It's right on the bay with tropical palm tree huts and gorgeous views of the bay.

On Sunday we discovered the most gorgeous beaches we've ever seen. Now you've got to realize we've seen beaches! We've seen them along the east coast, in the gulf, the pacific coast, all over the Caribbean, Mexico, Galapagos, Hawaii, Mediterranean and Aegean Seas.... I think you get the point -- we've seen beaches! The beaches at the Gulf Islands National Seashore are drop-dead gorgeous. The sand is pure white, soft powder. The beaches go for miles. Of course, the winds were churning up -- after all, a hurricane is coming. And, we even discovered several RVs boondocking on one of the beaches! Staying here would be a little bit of heaven. With storms heading this direction, they were pulling up and pulling out. The National Seashore Island was being closed down as of 10 PM Sunday as the hurricane can dangerously toss the waves across the beaches and the roads. The island is just a very narrow strip of land between the ocean and the bay.

Currently -- we're watching our options. Being close to the center of where Hurricane Ida is predicted to hit land .... should we hunker down and hope for the best? Or, should we run for it? Or, is it possible to run for it?

Stay tuned ......

Throwed Rolls

"We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey." John Hope Franklin

Wednesday was party day at Lambert's. Lambert's is famous for throwed rolls. Normally a restaurant will hand you dinner rolls. This one throws them to you. If you haven't visited a Lambert's, put it on the schedule. There were twelve of us at the dinner party and orange was the theme. Well, it was the theme because we made it the theme. And, why is orange the theme, you ask? That's because we thought Joe only owned orange shirts! However, he did have another but it still had orange writing on it. So, if you don't see folks in the group picture wearing orange, you just don't see it. They were really wearing an orange band ... someplace. Good friends, good time, good food.

Remember when you were in school and then when you held down a full-time job? Time went so slow. It seemed the weekend would fly by and then, you'd start counting the days until it was Friday just so you'd have the weekend off again. Now it seems like the week goes so fast. First, Monday is here and next you know it... the week is gone. Heck, most of the time we have trouble following even what day of the week it is.

This is Joe >

Just like now -- we moved in to this park on Monday and today is Thursday already. What happened to all the days in between? We'll probably move again on Monday. That'll be a whole week in one place. We haven't done that willingly since Washington. Oh, we did it in Arizona but it certainly wasn't willingly. We could stay if we wanted to but we're thinking we could move down the road a little bit south ... just because we want to.

It's nice here. The spaces are large and grassy. The people are nice but moving is kind of what we're into right now. Thus, Thursday will be spent exploring down around the Pensacola area. I think we like doing this best -- exploring, that is. I could just hold off and post this after Pensacola but it's getting long enough as it is .... so, here goes.

Gulf Shores

If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand. - Milton Friedman

Our days are full again. We're running from sun-up to sun-down. That's kind of like the saying that a woman's work is never done .... and you know how the rest goes. The sun sets early in Alabama. It sets very early as a matter of fact. By 5:30 PM you'd actually think it's time to go to bed but you can't because it's too early.

Yesterday we ventured down to the town of Gulf Shores - about 10 miles away. We discovered it's not really a town but more like a major resort area. Most of the beach is lined with hotels and condominiums. There are some private beach homes but the large buildings dominate. The good part is that Gulf Shores had the foresight to limit some of this building right on the beach and left great areas for the public to access the soft white sand. The sand is like talcum powder and just swallows your toes up. I know. I just had to walk in it. It's so different from the sands of the Hawaiian beaches. There the sand is more gritty and coarse. Here in Alabama it's just like the Caribbean -- baby powder soft.

We also discovered the Gulf Shores State Park. If we had discovered that first, that's where we would be parked right now. Many of the sites are water-front. Some with drive-thru circles and others with back-ins. Of course, you have to watch out for the alligators but that's exciting too. And, to top it off, you're just a short distance (hop, skip and a jump) from the Gulf. We're actually thinking of moving there next week. It all depends on how the "jello" sets.

We also had to locate the local AT&T store. Why? Terry lost his phone. Well, we know it's lost in the motorhome ... someplace but we can't find it. Last week we replaced all his keys because they were lost too. This week we replaced his phone. We also visited the local outlet mall. The outlet mall in Foley is like outlet malls used to be -- huge without a lot of empty store fronts. We spent the afternoon walking through the outlets. Once our feet got tired we headed back to take care of laundry. We'll finish our browsing another day.

Weather is great. We're on vacation and loving it!

I really hate to say what a fantastic time we're having. Why? Because I'll get an email or a phone call from our daughter-in-law telling me I need to get back to Washington because we can find beaches there and trees or she'll concoct some crazy excuse why we shouldn't be here but should be there. She's a gem .... and we'll keep her!

Alabama -- We Are Here!

Camping: the art of getting closer to nature while getting farther away from the nearest cold beverage, hot shower and flush toilet. - unknown

< Welcome to Alabama

As usual, we are way ahead of schedule ... whatever a schedule is. I think I'm going to have to switch from putting all of our plans in chalk to jello (really squiggly jello) like others use. It's not that we had a schedule but it was our tentative dates of arrival ... even though we didn't even have reservations. This is confusing, huh?

Traveling from the Lake Charles casino was a beautiful drive. It was amazing the bridge work required to move traffic above the bayous for miles and miles. That was some work. The terrain changed drastically from the deserts of California, then those of Arizona and through West Texas. That's a long route of not a lot of greenery. We were so thrilled to be in country where there were actual trees. What a difference!

We stopped in Biloxi, Mississippi for the night. It was a short day but there was a beautiful beach we needed to visit. Years ago (20 years ago??) we spent some time in Biloxi. I just remembered the beautiful white sand beaches. Yep ... they were still there. The Elks Lodge was just across the street from the beach. What a location!! There were only 3 RV sites at the back of the parking lot but it was perfect and especially because we were the only ones there. The only issue (and, a big one at that) was very lousy internet and phone. Actually, I think it was more the power lines since once we left the park, the service was fine.

We took Duchess to the beach and let her romp in the sand. She loved it. We loved it and the sunset was amazing.

If you're ever traveling through Biloxi, stop at the Bonefish Grill for dinner. They have a fantastic dinner salad ... not to mention the other enticing items on their menu.

The following morning we headed towards Alabama and our destination for a few days, a week or maybe two before we head to Destin, Florida --- where we actually have reservations for about 10 days. The area here is beautiful, the weather is gorgeous and we're currently, happy campers. They even have a Piggly Wiggly grocery store here. We haven't seen one of those in years and years so even had to include this little snapshot.

We're at an RV park not far from the Gulf, have met friends we haven't seen in a year so let the good times roll! We're already making dinner plans ... ever notice how food is always at the top of the list!!

We feel like we're on vacation! As Finlay would say ... Things are good.