Daily Archives: August 8, 2014
Beach Bound . . .
Since we had a 370 mile trip down to Gulf Shores today, we had planned to be on the road by 9:00, but in a pleasant surprise, my great-niece Stahlie and her mother Helen and brother Luke showed up to say goodbye.. We really enjoyed hearing Stahlie’s stories about her and her sister Darby’s recent visit to China, and what ‘s going on in her life now.
So it was well-worthwhile getting on the road a half hour behind schedule. Leaving the Northgate RV Travel Park, we were back on I-65 in about half a mile and heading south. We made a pitstop about an hour and a half down the road, and while there, I checked the Birmingham Sigalert page for traffic problems as we passed through. When I had checked about 7 am there were a number of red areas, but they had dissipated by the time we got there.
A little south of Montgomery we ran into about 5 miles of heavy rain, but it cleared up pretty fast, so it didn’t really cause any problems. We did see signs of more rain further south that we missed out on.
Just as we turned off I-65 for the last 50 miles or so to the beach, the generator quit. I had been expecting it since I knew we were getting down to that level of diesel in the tank. But we quickly decided we didn’t want to drive the last 50 miles without any AC. So a few miles along the way, I pulled into a Love’s to get some more AC fuel.
The diesel pumps were pretty busy so we had to wait about 10 minutes for a lane to open up, but we were done pretty quickly and back on our way. And cool again.
We pulled into the Gulf State Park RV Park about 5:30, and got checked in and set up. We’re not right on the water this time, but we are right across the street from it.
After resting up for a while, Jan and I headed out for dinner at one of our favorite local places, DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen. We’ve been eating here for years and it’s always good, and tonight, very crowded.
We had to wait about 40 minutes for a table, but it was worth it. And in fact, on a Friday night with only a couple of beach weekends left before school starts, everything down here is crowded.
Jan and I both ordered our usual, which is the same for both of us.
The Seafood Platter, with Crab Claws, Shrimp, Oysters, and Flounder, all fresh and delicious. And our sides were Fried Green Tomatoes and their fantastic Sweet Potato Casserole with glazed pecans.
The Flounder was really, really good, and we both had plenty of everything to take for later.
This is the first time we’ve been here during the season in a while and I had forgotten how crowded it can be. The last two times we were here it was November, and the time before that, in 2009, it was March. So this time was a shock.
Tomorrow will be a do-nothing, goof-off day except for going out for dinner at another of our favorite places.
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Thought for the Day:
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney
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