Mouse Sized Gulf State Park Dismeet 2020

Bishoparc

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
And by mouse sized, tiny lol. @bama_ed and I's families will be camping at Gulf State Park in Orange Beach, AL starting Friday (5/22). Just wanted to start a thread for pictures.

Trying to finish getting the camper ready this afternoon. Having a leak on our main slide so I need to try to figure that out somehow.
 


Okay, BishopArc just rolled in and is setting up so I'll post while we give him and DW some space while they get things in position.

We left this morning about 830am and arrived in Gulf Shores a little after 130pm. Yep it's a major holiday weekend starting up judging the traffic backed up at the beach exit on I65 for Gulf Shores.



This was exit 38 southbound on I65 at Bay Minette. The exit off I10 by Buc-ees was backed up for 1.5 miles. Sheesh.

Towing over the bridge in GS next to Lulu's restaurant, our intention was to head to the Original Oyster House and do take-out if necessary/crowded. DW and DD are travelling with me and today was DD's birthday so she chose Oyster House. They seated us at a table (every other table filled). No operating salad bar but the same delicious food.



DD ordered off the dinner menu to get her favorite, Shrimp and Grits.



Not included in the pic are the red beans/rice and fries (with ranch dipping sauce). This was $18.

DW got Fried Green Tomatoes drizzled with a Shrimp Ya Ya sauce with cheesy grits and side salad at $12.



I got the grilled catch of the day (triggerfish) with red beans/rice and fries flavored with my favorite condiment, Tabasco. Also $12.



We set up on #5 which is over one spot from my traditional DISMeet site (#4). #5 is actually my favorite is all of Gulf State Park because it's on Live Oak across the road from the lake and has huge trees shading it pretty much all day. I think this is my third stay in it over the decades.



The Park is full as you would expect on a holiday weekend to start the summer.

We made a Wal-Mart run for groceries and noticed that the yellow and purple surf flags were flying on the beach (yellow for moderate surf conditions, purple for "marine life" which usually means jellies). After getting back and restocking, BishopArc showed up about 545pm. We campers love to watch new arrivers back into their sites.



DW was out spotting him as he backed in.



Very disappointing though, he nailed the spot very quickly. No drama, no reality tv moments. Oh well....

Here for a week. Not much in the way of planning. Puzzles, food, bike rides, beach time, naps, sunrise, posting, then wash/rinse/dry/repeat.

My kinda vacation. Very opposite from Disney. :cool2:

Bama Ed

PS - yep, yella flies are out and so is my red solo cup.
 
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As Ed said, we rolled in about 5:45. Traffic was pretty rough. As many of you know, Florida has a COVID check point. As we drove by, it was backed up all the way to the state line.

DW and I are so excited to be here. I’ve needed some time away since losing my mom on March 26. So good to see @bama_ed I followed this forum for so many years before getting my own camper so it’s like a celebrity! Lol

We are on site 004 which Ed has last year. It’s right on the corner. I really like the shade trees. I brought my amateur (ham) radio to setup so I can have some fun while here too. There’s this contest called “Parks on the air” and Gulf State Park happens to be on that list. With just a piece of wire, I’ll make contacts around the country.

DW and I love you all and wish more could have been here but we will see you all in October.

I’ll try to post as much as I can. We are here till next Saturday too. Thank you @bama_ed for all you do!!
 


@bama_ed Thanks for the food pics, looks absolutely scrumptious since I'm currently eating a jalapeno cheeseburger from Wendys, LOL.
@Bishoparc all of you guys have a good time :worship::thumbsup2
 
I will add before I turn in that the flies were out from about 530-800pm. The last two hours has been pretty nice outside-dark, cooler, breeze blowing.

Also the wifi is pretty good, surprisingly. Didn't use it last month and the password is not handed out in any arriving paperwork.

But the password is posted on the announcement board next to the camp store door. Hard to find so few users. :surfweb: And good thru-put.

Bama Ed
 
Time for an update.

To close out last night, a Tiki God was beating his drum last night. Same guy as last month but his partner wasn't around this time.





This morning had a few clouds out before sunrise but ....



the clouds burned off and the puzzle came out.



This is the puzzle we're working on, a Thomas Kincade Cinderella puzzle. I think I've done it once before.



We made some progress this morning.



After breakfast and some discussion about our plans for the day, DD decided we were going to the beach so she could work on her tan :rolleyes: . So I left the flag flying while we drove over to the GSP Pavilion at about 930am.



I'm going to roll on to keep all the beach pix in one post.

Bama Ed
 
As I wrote in my TR thread last month, the Pavilion is a pay-to-park beach area with covered picnic tables, concessions, bathrooms, and beach services (chair/umbrella rentals, etc.). Here is a stock photo.

nc_gulf_state_park_pavilion_ll_130628_33x16_608.jpg


Gone are the days of the phone booth with a parking attendant taking your money at the parking lot entrance. Oh now we're like the BIG CITY folks. Drive in and park (if you can find a space), go to the machine and pay to receive a ticket. Take the Ticket back to the car and put it on the dash. Oh we're big time now, ya'll. But us campers can use our campground dashboard pass to get in - no purchase necessary.



They have really done a nice job with the money they got from the oil spill a long time ago to make Gulf a hip place.





I didn't need any services offered at the Pavilion so I headed straight for the Promised Land. Just out there over the dunes .....



I found a guy, Ike, who will take care of your needs at the beach.



Beautiful day on the Alabama Gulf Coast. I wish all ya'll were here to enjoy it too. 930am view.



My Alabama (Gump) umbrella among the fray. Note the LSU (Corndog) umbrella on the left and there were Auburn (Barner) chairs in the group beyond him. An SEC triad.



The view to my right. We were in the second tier of umbrellas (they went four rows deep off the beach).



After two hours DD told us it was time to head back (about 1130am). She was "feeling the burn" start. On the way out the lifeguard red truck popped against the brilliant white sand (about 85F at this point and of course a breeze off the water).



We got back to the campground and chatted with Arc and DW then made plans for lunch.

Bama Ed
 
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For lunch we headed in to Gulf Shores to Gulf Island Grill on the north side of the beach highway not far east of the Tee. We had expected to be doing take-out more but we ate inside for the second day in a row (the A/C felt good inside). Again, only every other table/booth being used and outdoor seating was also available).



Before I post the food pictures, I want ya'll to give me your honest opinion. DW thinks I should NOT post food pix. I say I'm just sharing a camping experience many DISMeet folks have in the past and future Meet folks might choose to do. So if you want me to stop sharing food pix, please say so.

DW went the appetizer+soup route for lunch. The Roast Cheddar and Artichoke dip:



and a cup of gumbo:



DD chose the Mango Shrimp Salad - and being a southern girl, naturally she chose the Ranch dressing to go with it:



I chose the creamy spicy Gulf Island Ya Ya served over rice with garlic bread:



Before I left home yesterday I had "misunderstood" DW and didn't pack up and bring our bicycles. So after lunch we rode by the camp store to sign up for some weekly cruiser rentals. Sorry to say, no go. The Park doesn't have the manpower to clean the returns. I could have gone to the bike store location in Orange Beach but the girls said don't bother. Oh well.

Now this afternoon it's nap time, computer time, and book reading time. #5 has good shade (patches of sun sometimes) most of the day and there is a good breeze off the lake from across the road.

Ciao!



Bama Ed

PS - have any of you quarantined DIS'ers gotten to go camping this weekend?
 
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Yes.... site posted in the picture of campsite thread... but we rain today :(. Says rain with 52 degrees here. Funny how the rain has set up in tiny CT today... up in NW CT at another CG I frequent it hasn’t hardly rained at all and says mostly cloudy with 72 degrees... oh well. Still... we are away from home...yesterday was nice and Sunday/Monday should be dry with sun and clouds around 70.

But now:

0598D711-A9F3-42EE-AFD9-A2B13F88F184.jpeg
 
Media reports say the Alabama Gulf Coast (Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area) is having a strong month and Memorial Day weekend for business and visitors.

https://www.al.com/business/2020/05...als-fill-up-but-will-the-good-times-last.html

In addition, red snapper fishing season has opened which brings a LOT of charter boat business to this region. There have been fights in past years about how short the seasons were held to but now is a good length of time.

https://mulletwrapper.net/alabama-opens-for-red-snapper-fishing-on-may-22/

I saw some big snapper being filleted on the fish table sink board while driving out of the campground to go to lunch. Lots of big fish!

Bama Ed
 
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Yes.... site posted in the picture of campsite thread... but we rain today :(. Says rain with 52 degrees here. Funny how the rain has set up in tiny CT today... up in NW CT at another CG I frequent it hasn’t hardly rained at all and says mostly cloudy with 72 degrees... oh well. Still... we are away from home...yesterday was nice and Sunday/Monday should be dry with sun and clouds around 70.

But now:

View attachment 496574

giphy.gif
 

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