Gulf Shores 2012

Our plans were to leave at 6:00 am - we actually pulled out at 6:09 after shoving a ton of luggage and food in the back of the Coulson swagger wagon.  We stopped in Athens, AL at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and was back on the road by 8:30.  We made Birmingham by 10:00 - lot of motorcycles on the road today- would like to be one of them.  We stopped at a rest area at 10:30 and then enjoyed watching a car back out and trying to exit the rest area toward the entrance.   The 4G WiFi seemed to overheat so we velcro'd it to an air conditioner vent to keep it cool.  We stopped for gas south of Montgomery at 11:30. Ladies restroom closed at Flying J so we bought gas and headed south to find lunch and a restroom. After lunch at McDonalds we picked up Hwy 287 down to Hwy 59 through Loxley and Foley to Gulf Shores.  We stopped at Meyer Realty and picked up house information and arrived at house (Here to Dream) around 4:00 pm.  We freshened up and drove to The Hangout for dinner and to watch Tennessee-Florida game.  The Shrimp and Grits, fried shrimp and catfish were excellent.  Gwen had fried oysters which had a good flavor but were small a little salty.  We bought some groceries for the week and headed back to the house to watch Tennessee get whupped by Florida.  Sandra and Paul arrived around 9:00 pm and we had a couple of cold ones out on deck solving world's problem.  Sandra, Gwen and Patsy did the puzzle thing.

Everyone slept well after Sandra and Paul proved them bravery by killing a cockroach in Sandra's room.  They strategically placed it outside my room so I could step on it this morning.   Everyone had coffee and walks on the beach (Paul got a blister on his big toe) and then snacked for breakfast.  The rain came for a couple of hours starting at 9:30.  Patsy, Gwen and Sandra finished up the puzzle and Lynn, Paul and David watched the pre-NFL shows.  The sun came out around 11:30 and we set up tents, umbrellas and chairs on the beach.  Around 2:00 we broke to get ready for main meal.  Dinner Sunday night was at Tacky Jacks (they were out oysters and royal reds).  The shrimp were excellent though.  We watched Sunday night football (Detroit and San Francisco) and went to bed.

We woke up to a cool Monday morning.  We had coffee on the deck and then took morning walks.  Lynn walked 4.4 miles and ended up with a huge blister on left foot.  There was a lot of whining going on.  We had a big breakfast of sausage and biscuits and eggs and watched it rain.  It rained most of the day (1.4 inches of rain) but less than the 3 inches Tennessee got.  Sandra, Gwen and Patsy worked a puzzle, and Lynn and Paul and David watched Body of Lies.  Paul then worked a while and Lynn and David watched the comedy RV.  The rained stopped around 3:00 so we dressed and went to dinner at The Original Oyster House.  We came home and watched Denver and Peyton get beat by Atlanta.