Our RV Adventures

Our first day in Paradise (well, we like it a lot) started off with a morning of thunder, lightning, and rain. But it did really help to keep things cool.

In fact I don’t think it go much hotter than the mid-80’s, so that was really nice. Jan caught up on a couple of loads of laundry that had built up since we left Colorado River. But after the rainy start the afternoon cleared up with some sun, but still stayed cool. Very nice for our first full day here.

Around 3 we started talking ‘linner’, and even though we usually concentrate on seafood while we’re here. we have one other favorite – Hooter’s. But not just any Hooters. It’s the World’s Tiniest Hooters.

It even says so on their sign.

It’s located right across the road from the beach, just east of the main beach intersection. And the reason it’s the tiniest, is that it’s actually a doublewide trailer, still on the wheels. So supposedly it can be towed away in case of an approaching hurricane, but I’m not sure how practical that would be.

We were lucky to get the last table, and a line started soon after. Like I said it’s a small place. And busy as they were, it took a while to get our food. But it wasn’t like we were in any hurry, just happy to be back on the road.

Jan got the Chicken Strip Cheese Sandwich on Texas Toast with Curly Fries, while I got my usual 10 wings, naked (no breading), all drums, with 911 sauce, which Jan also got on her sandwich strips.

Now 911 used to be their hottest sauce, which is why we ordered it. Well, except for the secret, off-menu ‘Elvis’ sauce that only some stores had. But after turning in our order, I was looking over the menu and discovered they’ve added a new sauce, “Triple Dog Dare”. Wish I’d known that before I ordered.

Guess it gives me something to look forward to next time.

Finishing up, we drove around for awhile, checking out all the new places that have sprung up since we were here a year ago. And for me, I remember long streches of open beach that are now covered with wall-to-wall condos as far as the eye can see. But yet I still see places that were that were here more than 60 years ago when I grew up here.

Everything changes and and yet stays the same.

Thought for the Day:

If everywhere you go there’s a problem, guess what?

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Finishing up on yesterday’s adventures, we pulled into Hollywood Casino RV Park a little after 1pm. And that was pretty much the high point of our entire visit.

Following the signs I parked in front of the office and went in to register. Or tried to. There was a small well-worn piece of paper on the door saying the office was closed, and to use the phone in the laundry room around the corner to call the casino hotel front desk to check in.

The phone was a direct line, so the first dozen or so times I tried, I just got a busy signal. But finally it rang through to the front desk, where I was told, “Front Desk. Please hold.”

And I did, for the next 10 minutes or so. Until I hung up and started over. And then just repeated the same scenario.

Finally giving up, we drove around to find a empty site. Which wasn’t a problem because it was only 25% full, if that.

Unlike last night at Poche’s, all the sites here are back-ins, so we found a nice site, got unhitched, and backed in. My plan was to hook up shore power so I could turn off the generator that was running the AC’s, and then drive over to the Casino and check in. But turns out the pedestals were padlocked.

So I drove over to the Casino, stood in line, a long line, and finally got checked in. Turns out that they didn’t even have my reservation correct. The had us coming in today, and not yesterday. Even though I made the reservation online and had my confirmation email on my phone.

But it didn’t matter since the park was pretty empty anyway. The only reason I even made a reservation was because they were so full when we were last here in 2009. But a lot has changed since then.

By the time I got back to the rig, the security guard had unlocked the pedestal so I got plugged in. Like last night, I didn’t hook up water or sewer. Just that much less to do.

In fact, I didn’t even set up the satellite dish, since there was nothing we wanted to watch or record that night, so we just read and computered.

About 4:15 I called the shuttle to take us over to the Casino. But it turns out that there is no more shuttle. It’s now a security guard in a Chevy Malibu.

As we on our way through the park, I noticed that the entire park had a slightly run-down look, with unmowed areas and little or no edging around the pads.

It was a really nice park, so it’s a shame to see it let go like this.

Once in the casino, our first stop was the Player’s Services desk to get our Rewards Cards. The last time we were here we each got $25 of slot cash on our cards, but not this time.

Zip, Zero, Nada!

Next we headed upstairs to eat at the Epic Buffet, a misnomer if there ever was one. We remembered this as being a good buffet, but no longer. It was now more on the level of a mediocre Golden Corral. And the advertised Asian and Cajun food areas weren’t even open.

Monday night was supposed to Ribeye Steak night, but it was more like small, thin end pieces night. They were about 3” square, tough and chewy, and even Jan thought they were way overdone.

The one redeeming thing was the big pile of boiled shrimp. Very fresh and crisp. It was really good, and I ate more of that than anything else.

Butt the really bad part was the price – $20.99.

Our favorite casino buffet, at Boulder Station in Las Vegas, at $9.99, has much, much better food at less than half the price.

A real disappointment.

Coming back to the rig, in the Chevy Malibu again, the security guard mentioned how they gotten rid of the shuttle, as well as a lot of other cutbacks. And it really shows.

Getting back to today, we were hitched up and on the road to Gulf Shores, AL by 10am. Rather than get back on I-10, we decide to take the scenic route by staying on US90 as it follows along the Gulf beach for about 35 miles. We stayed on this until we got to Ocean Springs, MS where US90 moves inland. Back on I-10 we passed through the Mobile tunnel, and getting across Mobile Bay, we got off at SR59 which took us all the way to Gulf Shores.

We pulled into the Gulf State Park a little before 1pm, and I went in to get registered. And got a big, big shock.

We stayed here last August, although in the different, slightly cheaper area, and we paid about $250 for the week. So I was really stunned to find a week this year was $380.00! That’s almost $60 a day.

Now I know they’ve added $35 a week ‘Resort Fee’, but where did the rest come from?

In contrast, Luxury RV Park, where we stayed in 2008, is just as close to the beach (a couple of blocks away) as Gulf State Park, and it’s only $240 a week.

So from now on, it’s Luxury RV for us.

But things got better when we headed out to have dinner at Desoto’s Seafood Kitchen. As usually we got the Seafood Platter, with Flounder, Shrimp, Oysters, and Crab Claws.

For sides, Jan got their delicious Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan pieces and the Fried Green Tomatoes, while I got the Casserole and French Fries. It’s always great, and this time was no different.

It almost made up for the Gulf State Park.

Thought for the Day:

If people were really influenced by video games, then the majority of Facebook users would be farmers by now.

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