Yesterday we drove from Summerdale, Alabama, to Gulf Shares, Alabama. Short but good day.
We started the day at Rainbow Plantation, an Escapees park where we had been sitting for several days. It was a leisurely start allowing time to sleep late, do our normal morning computer stuff, and take advantage of the park’s book exchange to get five new-to-me books. Check out time was noon and we managed to make that by doing the garbage run and the book exchange after checking out.
While we were parked in front of the office with Dave inside checking out I suddenly realized what was parked in front of us.
Look closer and you see this.
That won’t mean anything to most of you but those of you who participate in the hobby of geocaching will recognize that as a travel bug. A travel bug is usually something you find inside a cache that wants to go to a different cache so you help it move. This one moves without my help but I can go online to geocaching.com and log this find.
While I was taking that picture the owners came out, pleased to find me finding their travel bug. Then they asked if I had looked at their motorhome yet. Sure enough…
Easiest finds I’ve ever made. But harder for others to find because they move a lot. If you happened to be parked at Rainbow Plantation last night, go quick and see if they are still there.
Since we had been parked there for so long, our grocery supplies were seriously depleted. Instead of our usual stop at WalMart, though, we went to Winn Dixie hoping to get Mocha Mix or Coffee Rich. We got lots of food but neither of those.
So we drove across the street to Piggly Wiggly. They had Coffee Rich! In pints. Dave bought TEN of them. We are thawing two and the other eight are in our freezer. I will be able to eat cereal for a long time now.
All that grocery shopping helped us decide it was time for lunch. So we went to Lambert’s Cafe in Foley, Alabama.
This is another Guy’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives place. At 2 p.m. parking was challenging. They have several extra long spaces marked bus parking but they were full of cars. So we found a space next to a car using one and a half spaces and backed in next to it leaving our tail end hanging over a curb.
They have activities to help you wait your turn to be seated.
And activites to help you wait your turn once you are seated. This guy is entertaining everyone by throwing hot dinner rolls to anyone who holds up their hands to catch one.
Then they start bringing you food. And more food. And more food.
Here’s the “glass” of Diet Coke they brought Dave.
I ordered chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, cottage cheese, and fried apples. When it came the pieces of meat was so large, about 5″ diameter” it hung off the plate where I couldn’t cut it. So I set aside the bowls of cottage cheese and apples to make room for the meat. That didn’t work because of the Pass Arounds. Servers wander the aisles offering more sides. Besides the throwed rolls there are fried okra, black-eyed peas, macaroni with tomatoes, fried potatoes with onions, apple butter and sorghum for your rolls. Before I could get my meat moved further onto my plate it looked like this:
It took me two large take-out containers and a go-cup to get out of that place. Dave had a hamburger and potato salad and ate all his. Sometimes, I don’t understand that man; how could anyone pass up all those goodies?
Then we went to Gulf Shores, Alabama, to the Gulf Shores museum. A small but powerful place.
I learned a lot about bar pilots but the best stuff was about hurricanes. We watched video taken by professional storm trackers of hurricane Ivan hitting Gulf Shores. I got so emotionally overloaded I had to leave without seeing all the exhibits. Powerful, powerful stuff.
Then we drove to Gulf State Park wondering if we would get a site since it is Spring Break here for a lot of families. While Dave was in the office trying to register us I took this picture.
No they don’t really pack in the people like that. Those units are in the storage space across from the office. It gives you an idea of how popular this park must be, though, doesn’t it? There’s another row just behind those, too.
To give you an idea of the actual spacing withing the park, here’s the units parked on each side of as as seen through our windows.
Look at all that sunshine! Makes you warm just looking, doesn’t it? In reality the high in Mobile was 61 degrees so people were wearing sweatshirts and jackets but that’s a LOT better than what they are having in Minnesota now.
It did get a little warm in here, though, when Dave plugged in the electricity. Somehow the toaster oven got turned on after we unplugged from the previous park. So it started heating when we plugged into this park. While it was still packed for travel! We shove a flexible silicone bowl sideways into it to keep it from rattling while traveling. The white line on the red bowl is where it was pressed against the heating element.
Fortunately, I heard odd crackling sounds coming from the galley and checked that out before this turned into an actual fire. That white line is ash, though. They say most RVs have a kitchen “event” at some time. I hope this was ours so we never have another one. The toaster oven is now unplugged.
TTYL,
Linda