Gulf Shores, AL

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9-22-10-10
Had one last walk on our deserted beach this morning and then headed for Gulf Shores, AL. Glenn’s Aunt Sue lived for some time in Gautier, so we tried to take a few pictures along the way to Pascagula. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center just after we crossed the Alabama line. The nicest grandma gave us our state map, then proceeded to tell us all of the good spots in the area...dining, attractions, etc. Turns out her son lives in Tacoma and her daughter in San Francisco. She said she’d take a ride back that way with us when we go 😊
Arrived at the Gulf Shores RV Park and set up camp. It is a small park, but everyone we’ve seen is really nice. We drove into town...it’s probably 5 miles...and stopped at The Hangout. Apparently it was THE place in the late 60’s, had been closed for some time and has reopened. There was a 2-piece band playing...Karl & Kyle. They played pretty mellow music, but were really good.
9-23-10
By the time we headed into town, we were ready for lunch, so tried to find Tacky Jack’s. Heard it was a really touristy spot, but was right on the Bay. As we’re definitely here in the off-season, there weren’t many people there. When the food came, it was delicious...what a nice surprise!! I had the seafood salad...blackened shrimp and crawfish over greens and it was marvelous!! So as we were sitting there, I was watching a heron on a little island in the bay...then G saw 3 dolphins swimming around. Then 2 more herons joined their pal, so we really enjoyed the “show”!!
After lunch we headed to The Wharf. It’s kind of a strip mall right next to the marina. It was mostly deserted, so we had the place to ourselves. We had called a dolphin tour company, but they said due to the oil spill they hadn’t had any tours in a long time. Anyway, we walked around the shops and looked at the yachts in the harbor. Then off to LuLu’s. Lucy Buffett (Jimmy’s crazy sista) has a restaurant right on the inter-coastal waterway. They had a 3 piece Ska-type band named Veinmelter, so we enjoyed them for most of the evening.
9-24-10
Off to Fort Morgan today to see some Confederate history. It’s located just at the tip of the island at the entrance to Mobile Bay. Turns out that the fort was not only used during the Civil War, but both World Wars. It was interesting that there’s a lighthouse off shore that was rebuilt 4 times before they finally gave up on it. As we were wandering around I just kept thinking about the ingenuity needed to build the fort in civil war times.
Back into town and walked on the beach until the rain started. It rained for 2 hours straight...at least it cooled things down a bit...was really humid and hot for our stroll around the fort!! Dinner at The Hangout was crab cakes, which I really liked, but G not so much...anyway, went out to their patio area and listened to the Funky Iguanas for the rest of the evening. They were pretty good, playing cover songs.

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Photos

Local Flora
These bushes were right at the edge of our campsite. Never did find out the name of them, but neither did we try them...just didn't look edible!!

Can you pick out the heron?
View of the bay from Tacky Jack's.

Fixer upper??
This property was for sale just across the inter-coastal waterway from LuLu's