Last Day in Paradise…er…Gulf Shores

We didn’t have coffee this morning when I got up at 11 since we planned on having an early lunch at Lulu’s at Homeport on the Canal.

We left the rig for Lulu’s about 12:30 with a quick stop at the Wal-Mart on the way for gas. Gas there was $1.97 a gallon, while right around the corner on the main drag it was going for $2.15.

Big difference for half a block.

The reason for the early lunch was this graph from a Google search. The blue graph at the bottom shows how busy the place is at various times of the day.

Lulu's Time Graph

We wanted to beat the crowds if possible, and it certainly worked, getting a water-side table on the deck.

Lulu's Deck

For those who don’t already know, Lulu is Lucy Buffett, Jimmy Buffett’s younger sister. After working in the Hollywood movie industry for years, and loving to cook, she came back to the Gulf Coast area in the late 90’s and opened a combination bait shop/outdoor burger joint/bar on Fish River near Mobile.

Losing her lease in 2003, she loaded the whole kit, kaboodle, and bar onto a barge and hauled it all down to its present location on the Intercoastal Waterway at Gulf Shores. And every year it seems to get bigger. And now she’s open a new Lulu’s over in Destin, FL

I wonder if Key West is next?

We started out with order for the Fried Green Tomatoes with their delicious homemade Remoulade sauce.

Lulu's Fried Green Tomatoes

Jan comes here for their Blackened Shrimp Tacos. She says theirs is the best around, even better than the ones at Outrigger’s in Seabrook, TX.

Lulu's Blackened Shrimp Tacos

I usually get either the Half and Half Seafood Platter, or today’s choice, the Half and Half Shrimp and Oyster PoBoy.

Lulu's Half and Half PoBoy

You can’t see it in this photo but there’s a bunch of fixings off the bottom of the photo, tomatoes, pickles, onions, etc. By the time you put in all together and slather on the tartar sauce, you’ve got a real two-fisted meal. Really good.

While we were eating, I watched a large group board their cabin cruiser at Lulu’s dock and head down the Canal.

Lulu's Boat

You could probably buy 2 or 3 RV’s for what that costs.

For  dessert we always split a piece of Lulu’s Krispy Kreme Donut Bread Pudding.

Lulu's Bread Pudding

But this time we were just too full, so we got it to go.

Finishing up our meal, and after Jan perused the gift shop, we decided to drive down Fort Morgan Rd to check out a couple of RV parks down that way, as a possible replacement for Gulf State Park for next year’s visit.

And we found a really nice one, Island Retreat RV Park. The price is certainly right at $211 a week, but I’ll have to check it further on RVParkReviews.

Island Retreat RV Park

We drove all the way down to Jan’s namesake fort, Fort Morgan. I say hers, because the fort is named after one of Jan’s direct ancestor’s, Daniel Morgan, a Revolutionary War hero.

Jan’s mother was a Morgan, going all the way  back to Col. Morgan Morgan, one of the first settlers into the Virginia area. In fact Morgantown, WV is named for her family.

image

Of course, she’s also related to the famous pirate/privateer/buccaneer Capt. Henry Morgan, of Captain Morgan Rum fame.

That certainly explains a lot.

Tomorrow we’ve  got a 375 mile trip up to Athens, AL to visit my relatives for a few days, so we’ll get an early start.

Really look forward to seeing everyone.


Thought for the Day:

Woman like silent men. They think they’re listening.

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