GULF SHORES, AL - Reminds us a bit of Myrtle Beach, SC but nicer!
Since we’re heading west and it’s still only March, our plan is to stay as far south as possible to keep warm and to be close to the Gulf. Tried to get into Gulf state park in Gulf Shores, AL but it was full for the entire month of March...and it has 600 sites! Hard to believe but we understood why when we checked it out when we were in the area. It’s one of the nicest state parks we have ever seen! 5 min. drive to the beach, huge paved sites with full hookups and amenities including a large pool, tennis courts (both unusual for a state park), nice, clean comfort stations and laundry facilities. And all for only $25/day or only $500 if you stay for a month. That’s a great price for all that! If you’re ever traveling with a tent or trailer in this area, definitely see if you can get in here.
Instead, we found a reasonably priced, privately owned campground, Johnny’s Lakeside RV park in Foley, AL 20 minutes north of the Gulf Shore beaches. Nice, clean place but a bit of a parking lot (small sites) but that’s typical of most privately owned parks. One of the reasons we decided to stay here was the fact that the price included WIFI (which speed sucked!) and they had a waterpark/pool.
So after setting up in the 80F heat, we went to check out the pool and found it empty and under construction! F#$%! Second time we’ve been burned like that at an RV park. I gotta remember to ask if the pool is actually functional because these places don’t seem to volunteer that info when you call or on their websites. Live and learn the hard way I guess!
But to the owner’s credit, they were working hard on the reno’s and they hoped to have it open in a week, and they did! Perfect timing because the weather for our 10 day stay here was perfect. Sunny, hot and humid...around 80F every day, but it did cool down a bit when you got closer to the beach.
Speaking of the beach, Gulf Shores, AL has a gorgeous one...nice white sand and the gulf was clear and blue/green most of the time we were there. It was more than warm enough to swim in, at least for kids and us Canadians. I’m sure there were quite a few people of southern descent who thought we were insane but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Our last beach day we even got to play in some decent sized waves....still haven’t got all the sand out of my bathing suit....
Spring break for a number of the AL counties was also going on the week we were here so my cousin Tom, his wife Michelle and their daughter Andrea (their 2 older kids were away with friends) came for a couple of nights...they only live about 2 1/2 hours away. They now have the distinct honour of being our first overnight trailer guests. Andrea was bummed out that the pool wasn’t open in time for her to enjoy it...she would have loved the waterslides. :-(
So we drank a bunch of wine and caught up with each other’s lives and hung out at the beach. Fun! Introduced them to the “bad influences” in the trailer next to us, George & Norena, a very nice couple from Michigan who we’d met the 1st day we arrived. I call them bad influences because both nights Tom and Michelle were there, and just about every night after they left, we all got together at about 5 and then proceeded to drink and talk until at least 9. Eventually had to break up the socializing to eat some real food. Jello shots don’t count as real food Norena!
Dave and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know George and Norena....man did we share a lot of laughs! They even invited us to come visit them in Michigan on our way back to ON and we’re pretty sure we’ll take them up on that offer. See you in May guys!
When we started traveling, never thought we’d spend so much time in Alabama but we always seem to have such a good time here, (despite Dave’s hamstring injury the first time), that it’s starting to feel a bit like home!
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