Let's Just Go Somewhere: Back to the Beach

We left Nashville on Sunday so we wouldn't be driving in rain on Monday. We had no idea how far we would drive today and we had no plans or no reservations until meeting Donald & Anna and Jerry & Pam in Pensacola on Wednesday. We considered driving 6 hours and stopping at Sherling Lake Campground in Greenville, Alabama, where we had stayed last year for a couple of nights on our way to Pensacola. However, we weren't too crazy about the site they were going to assign us.

In looking at other campground alternatives, I found Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama. It had very good reviews and we would be very close to the beach. Plus, we would only be about an hour from Pensacola. It would mean driving another 2 hours but the traffic heading south was not bad at all. The traffic heading north was another story. There were at least 3 wrecks (none of them serious thankfully) heading north on I-65 causing traffic to back up a lot. Glad we weren't heading north!

We arrived at Gulf State Park around 4:45 and were in our campsite and set up before the sun had gone down completely.

On Monday, the sun was out bright and the weather looked very promising! Chuck washed all the bugs off the front of the motorhome and did a touchup cleaning of the outside of the motorhome.

Later that afternoon, we drove to the Gulf State Park Pier to check out the beach.

The sun made the beach very inviting but the winds made it feel much cooler than the 70 degrees that was on the thermostat.

After Chuck taking my picture on the turtle, we headed back to the camper.

We rode our bikes around the campground which is huge. It has 496 very nice sites with full hookups. We rode about 6 miles and never left the campground. When we got back to the camper, we enjoyed sitting outside until a little after sunset. Ahhh --- I'm so glad to be back in flip-flops and capris!

On Tuesday, we decided to go back to the beach. The temps seemed a little warmer and the wind was not as strong as it was yesterday. While Chuck looked for shark's teeth,

I stuck my toes in the water,

and took pictures of the waves,

the few shells and "treasures" washed up on the beach,

and one of the two birds we saw on the east side of the pier.

Towards the west, we could see Gulf Shores beyond the pier.

We walked back under the pier,

and towards the high-rises at Gulf Shores,

which is where all the birds were hanging out. :)

I took a few more pictures of the sparkling waves...

...and then we headed back to the camper. Despite not finding any shark's teeth or seaglass, it was still a perfect day for taking a nice walk along the beach.

After eating lunch back at the camper, we rode our bikes around the campground again.

All the sites are level and have a considerable amount of space between them.

Some of the sites back up to the lake and to the canal that runs into the lake. These were some of our favorite sites. A definite possibility for a future return visit!