Beach Time

Gulf State Park Beach

After 2 months on the road, we finally made it far enough south to get to a beach and what a beach it is, soft white sand, bright blue water and gentle waves flowing into miles of shoreline. It is definitely an unexpected paradise especially in December, off season and almost empty of people. I say unexpected because I never realized that Alabama had beach resorts and such a beautiful shoreline. We only booked 12 nights here and if I had known how wonderful it would be, I would have planned a longer stay.

We are staying at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL. This is the nicest campground that we have stayed at so far on our journey and definitely the best state park that we have ever been too. It is a bit pricey as far as state parks go but is worth it as it has large sites with full hook ups which you don’t normally get in state parks. The park has miles of trails, lakes, marshes, canals and a beach on the Gulf of Mexico.

Our campsite

The park and campground map

I have been walking the trails every day and still have not been on all of the trails yet. I try to go a different route each day and have walked around the lakes, marshes, canals and of course out to the beach. The state park has activities like guided nature walks and I was able to join one the other day to see a bald eagle’s nest. The female was in the nest and the ranger believes she has a couple of eggs in there. Very cool to see. There are many signs to be careful and leave the alligators alone but luckily we haven’t seen any of those yet. I wouldn’t mind seeing one if I was up on the boardwalks that provide the raised trails over the marsh areas.

View along the trail

Gulf Shores view from the lake

We picked a good RV site for easy access to the beach. It is a little less than a mile walk out there and well worth it. Luckily, it was warm and sunny our first week here so we were able to enjoy the beach quite a bit. We tried to find a few places right on the beach to get lunch a few times but unfortunately, many of them are closed for repairs this time of year. I guess they are never too busy in December so it is a good time for them to get ready for the next season. Most of the snowbirds don’t come down until January so it will get much busier then. We have found a few places open and were able to enjoy lunch while we enjoyed watching the waves roll in.

View of the Gulf on the walk way over from the campground

On another day, I drove over to the beach and took a chair and a book to read. There were only 3 other people there when I first got there. It was like having paradise all to yourself. In the couple of hours that I was on the beach, a few other people came but not too many. The best words to describe it are peaceful and tranquil. What a perfect way to spend the afternoon.

Beach views

A great thing about traveling full-time is that you can visit friends and family along the way. Since we were so close, Tim and I decided to drive over to Mobile to visit an old friend from Pittsburgh who moved back here a few years ago to take care of his elderly parents. He is a musician who performs at a Dauphin’s, a restaurant in Mobile that is on the 35th floor with a view of the city and bay. Since it was over an hour’s drive to get there and neither of us likes nighttime driving, we decided to get a hotel room and spend the night. It was great, to surprise Mark and enjoy the restaurant and a bottle of wine. It was great being entertained by Mark’s music; enjoying the evening and not having to worry about driving home.

Sunset over the canal

Sunsets come a bit too early though this time of year. We walked over to the canal near us a few times to catch the sunset and had to be over there around 4:30 or so to watch the sun set and then see the bright red sky after the it dropped just below the horizon. There isn’t a better way to end the day. We are now into our second week here and the weather has changed. The temperature dropped 30 degrees last night and it has been rainy and cold today. With the clouds and fog that we have today, I doubt we will see a good sunset tonight. Hopefully it will clear up by tomorrow so we can spend the next couple of days enjoying the outdoors and the beach before we leave.