April 17, 2011

We left home about 8:30 am and headed to Jackson for breakfast. We had Hardies. nothing to brag about, I'll tell you.

Then we headed on out down to the Gulf Coast. We got there about 11 am. We had to go through Mobile and go under the bay via a tunnel. The Gulf Shores are still about 45 minutes away from Mobile. We drove past the Battleship USS Alabama. I wish we had taken the time to stop but we didn't know how long a tour would take. I do know that this Ship is the only Park that is self substained by donations. No Federal money is sent to it. (It was on the news this week) My understanding is that the tour costs about $12 apiece which isn't bad when you see how large it is.. I know I wouldn't be able to walk the whole thing.

We had to take the dogs with us, but we couldn't take them onto the beach. No Pets. It was cool enough for them to stay in the van while we got our feet wet. We spent about 30 minutes or so in or near the water. I found only one shell. I'm guessing the cleaning up the oil from the beaches has also getting rid of a lot of shells. The sand is a totally different texture than those of the Outer Banks. It's more fine in grit. It doesn't stick to your feet and legs as much, either. I got my pant lets wet while we were there but they quickly dried on our way home and were complety dried when we stopped at Arby's Where I 65 and 43 come together. I'm not sure of the town name there. There's a Pilot truck stop there.

Knowing that we will be moving the camper North next weekend we knew that this would be our one good chance for me to get into the Gulf waters. The water wasn't as cold as I expected it to be. but I doubt that it's the 75 that the weather station says it is either. I think the water was a bit warmer than the sand but not by much. I was careful while walking in the sand because I don't need any cuts on my feet. I saw a few holes that people had dug in the sand. A couple I would really worry about if there had been a kid in them. and one did have a kid in there. sitting down and we didn't see him in there until we walked up on it. That's not good.. Those walls can fall in at any time.. and I know along the Outer Banks the life guards would ask that the hole be filled in. We saw a few trees damanged by winds on our drive but not a whole lot of them. One sign was twisted about a bit.

On the way back home, we stopped and did our food shopping for the next few days. We didn't get a lot but it sure cost us. I thought it would be around $50 and it ended up being over $70. I asked Jerry if he saw any other Pic and Sav signs beside the one by the road.. No.. good. There's a geo cache somewhere on that sigh.. and he spotted it right off when we stopped by the sign. Signed the log and we were on our way home.

Got home, turned on the air as the camper was warm, took in the groceries and walked the dogs. now we are watching the news and feel so bad for all those in North Carolina who faced the same stormes we had here Friday.

This is me, In the waters of the Gulf of Mexico

This is Jerry in the waters as well. It's not his first time to be in the Gulf though.