Bama

Yet another state added to our list.  This makes 30 for Raggie and I think 39 for me.  Not sure about himself.


We have been hanging out at the Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL, (not Gulfport, MS).  We made a stop on the way in in Mobile to see the USS Alabama and also the submarine USS Drum.  Raggie and I had some reading to do but himself thoroughly enjoyed the stop, particularly the submarine which was the best naval vessel display he had seen, well maintained and full of helpful self-guided information.

The park is the best laid out and maintained park I have ever been in.  It is largely populated this time of year by snowbirds, who are able to rent spots by the month, and they do.  There is tennis, golf, a pool and of course miles of white sand beach.  One restriction on long term visitors is that they can't have waterfront spots, so we scored.  There is no need for shades on the front and side that look out at a bay and then on to the gulf.

The town is somewhat touristy but doesn't have the endless casinos and the high rise structures are not as prevalent.  It does have the shops that we have seen in such places as South Padre Island, Gulfport and Biloxi.  I may have to go in one to find a really schlocky magnet.

Carnival Triumph

We were thinking of a cruise but found our "dream boat" in for repairs.  Per a local, they have already cut a hole in the boat to remove the engine.

We are surprised by the number of thunderstorms we have experienced so far on the gulf.  Rockport, Galveston, Grand Isle and now Gulf Shores.  It is lovely this morning but we had a day and a half of thunderstorms with US Weather Bureau flash flood warnings.  And we thought we would get out of Seattle weather!!!  Yesterday was so wet and rainy that we canceled touring and I got my taxes done-almost.  I still have to pick up the documents from our mail service in Florida but with the internet I got most all the info I need.  It was nice to look out at the water during such a boring task.

Raggie helping with taxes

Fried clams and a shrimp mixture over rice

The seafood selection is good and we will venture out some more now that the rain has stopped.  I am going to report on "fried cheesecake."