Gulf Shores Arrival
We arrived safely in Gulf Shores on Wednesday after a leisurely 195 mile drive from the Prairie Creek Campground. With the directions from the RV Resort and our GPS systems we were able to drive right to the Gulf Breeze RV Resort without any difficulty. Tippy got us signed up while I unhooked the car. The park is very nice but the pads and driveways are pretty narrow. Our spot had a tree adjacent to the right side of the entrance and it was definitely in my way. I stopped the coach and broke off a limb that was protruding, almost to the pavement. After removing the limb I started into the drive again and was concentrating on the left side so that my tires didn’t go off the almost 6 inch drop-off. Unfortunately as I was concentrating on the left side my awning support got caught on a tree branch at the top of the tree and ripped it off before I knew what was happening.
Even though the awning remained rolled up and was not torn at all, the support was entirely off the coach and one of the end caps was off the awning. In short the entire assembly would have to be replaced. Fortunately there is a good RV repair facility only a few miles away and they came out to look at it and assess the extent of the damage. They have ordered a new awning which will be here around May 6th and they will install it prior to our scheduled departure on May 12th. I guess it was a good thing we had planned some extended time in this area.
We had great weather on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Today, Saturday it has rained all day and very hard earlier this morning. We didn’t even get up until after 9:00 this morning because it was so dark out we didn’t know it was morning. The rain began about 10:00 and it is now 3:10 and it hasn’t stopped. Yesterday Mike and I played golf at The Woodlands golf course, which is a Craft Farms property. They have three courses in the area and they are all supposed to be pretty good. The Woodlands is a Larry Nelson design and is a great course for us older guys. It plays less than 6500 yards from the back tees with a slope of 123 and a rating of 70.8. We played any par four that was over 400 yards from the white tee, four altogether, and had a great day. I missed a short putt on the last hole that would have won me $2 and ended up losing $2 to Mike. Next time I will get an extra shot so the $2 is like an investment.
We ate out at Lulu’s restaurant on Wednesday and again last night. The owner, Lulu Buffet, is Jimmy Buffet’s sister. They have live music and the restaurant is right on the intercoastal waterway. The food is also excellent and the atmosphere pretty upbeat. It was so busy last night that after having two drinks at the bar we discovered that it would take 30 minutes to get a beeper and then probably another hour before we could get a table. We decided to just eat at the bar, so we ordered and enjoyed another excellent meal.
Wednesday afternoon Tippy and I drove around a bit getting the lay of the land. We drove down highway 182, the road along the Gulf of Mexico, and we were amazed at the evidence of hurricane Ivan that still remained. Beach houses, hotels, condos, restaurants all in some state of repair or, in some cases, just sitting as if the hurricane was the day before. The damage was extensive and must be devastating to the folks that own the property.
On Thursday Mike, Patty and I drove around to look at other RV parks that we might want to visit while we are in this area. We visited about six different parks but didn’t find one that was nicer than ours or closer to the action then we are now. We came back and picked up Tippy and went to lunch before going to one more ownership park that was in Orange Beach, another small town just east of here. The park was very nice and we have decided to stay there for a week beginning tomorrow and then return here to Gulf Breeze to get the awning replaced before heading to Lafayette, LA to enjoy some Cajun food and music.
My friend Rick Arnold sent me a few pictures from our Alabama River trip and I will post them on the Blog as well. I have contacted a charter boat and will do at least one day of fishing next week. I will hopefully get some good pictures from this adventure. Be safe.
Even though the awning remained rolled up and was not torn at all, the support was entirely off the coach and one of the end caps was off the awning. In short the entire assembly would have to be replaced. Fortunately there is a good RV repair facility only a few miles away and they came out to look at it and assess the extent of the damage. They have ordered a new awning which will be here around May 6th and they will install it prior to our scheduled departure on May 12th. I guess it was a good thing we had planned some extended time in this area.
We had great weather on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Today, Saturday it has rained all day and very hard earlier this morning. We didn’t even get up until after 9:00 this morning because it was so dark out we didn’t know it was morning. The rain began about 10:00 and it is now 3:10 and it hasn’t stopped. Yesterday Mike and I played golf at The Woodlands golf course, which is a Craft Farms property. They have three courses in the area and they are all supposed to be pretty good. The Woodlands is a Larry Nelson design and is a great course for us older guys. It plays less than 6500 yards from the back tees with a slope of 123 and a rating of 70.8. We played any par four that was over 400 yards from the white tee, four altogether, and had a great day. I missed a short putt on the last hole that would have won me $2 and ended up losing $2 to Mike. Next time I will get an extra shot so the $2 is like an investment.
We ate out at Lulu’s restaurant on Wednesday and again last night. The owner, Lulu Buffet, is Jimmy Buffet’s sister. They have live music and the restaurant is right on the intercoastal waterway. The food is also excellent and the atmosphere pretty upbeat. It was so busy last night that after having two drinks at the bar we discovered that it would take 30 minutes to get a beeper and then probably another hour before we could get a table. We decided to just eat at the bar, so we ordered and enjoyed another excellent meal.
Wednesday afternoon Tippy and I drove around a bit getting the lay of the land. We drove down highway 182, the road along the Gulf of Mexico, and we were amazed at the evidence of hurricane Ivan that still remained. Beach houses, hotels, condos, restaurants all in some state of repair or, in some cases, just sitting as if the hurricane was the day before. The damage was extensive and must be devastating to the folks that own the property.
On Thursday Mike, Patty and I drove around to look at other RV parks that we might want to visit while we are in this area. We visited about six different parks but didn’t find one that was nicer than ours or closer to the action then we are now. We came back and picked up Tippy and went to lunch before going to one more ownership park that was in Orange Beach, another small town just east of here. The park was very nice and we have decided to stay there for a week beginning tomorrow and then return here to Gulf Breeze to get the awning replaced before heading to Lafayette, LA to enjoy some Cajun food and music.
My friend Rick Arnold sent me a few pictures from our Alabama River trip and I will post them on the Blog as well. I have contacted a charter boat and will do at least one day of fishing next week. I will hopefully get some good pictures from this adventure. Be safe.
posted by Stu & Tippy On the Road | 1:44 PM
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