Warm days, Cool nights

 The last several days we have enjoyed daytime highs in the 70s with sunshine, until the clouds started creeping in starting yesterday. I took Gus for long walks on the trails, and today he got to go to the dog park again. He was not a good dog at the park, stealing another dog's ball and refusing to give it back as well as not coming when Jim called him to go home. Not sure what is going on with him! 

While Jim was at the dog park I walked on the beach and chatted with a nice gentleman who gave me some of the small shells he collected. 

MicroMoon

 Tonight we saw February's "Snow Moon", also called a micromoon as it is a little smaller in appearance and dimmer. It is a clear night so there are lots of stars out but seeing them is hampered by the bathhouse lights across from our sight. 

We took Gus to the dog park today where he ran around like crazy for about 20 minutes, eventually wearing himself out. He likes getting in the water, just not too deep that he has to swim.

Another Birthday Celebrated

 We are enjoying our time at Gulf State Park. Early in the week we took a drive out to Fort Morgan. Walking out on the peer there we saw several oil well platforms. We couldn't tell of they were working or not. 

On the drive back toward Gulf Shores we followed side roads along the shore to see the vacation homes built in that area. Almost all appeared to be rentals. 

This last one is my favorite and certainly unaffordable for us! 

We are still getting armadillo visits almost daily, the last one from the mama armadillo. We haven't seen the young one in a few days. 

For my birthday yesterday we drove into Pensacola, stopping at Joe Patti's seafood market to buy some seafood before heading to Marie's Seafood Restaurant for dinner with Mike & Joanne. Joanne gave us homemade Pizelles to take "home" with us. They are very yummy!!!. 

Sunset last night brought a beautiful sky worthy of a photo.

1st few days at Gulf State Park

 We have been taking it easy our first few days here. My tailbone is still causing me a good deal of discomfort (pain) so I have been resting a good deal of time. It rained most of the weekend anyway, so it has been a good time to catch up on TV shows and book reading. Jim bought me a cushion to sit on that helps some. I have also made sure to take walks, although moving slower than my normal pace, sometimes with Gus and sometimes without him. He has been keeping busy chasing an armadillo off our site. It seems to visit every day. 

Today was a cool but beautiful day! Lots of sunshine! Jim took Gus for a long walk and I went for a slower solo walk midday...probably too long a walk but it was too nice out to miss.

We sat outside in the sun also for a few hours reading while Gus lazed in the sun. 

We are watching the Daytona 500 race and eating Aldi"s pizza, with added peppers, onions, and cheese. The medium is the perfect size for the convection oven. Gus ate our crusts along with his regular dinner. 

Our reservations for next year are locked in. We managed to get the same site for 6 weeks beginning late January  to March 5. Jerry & Heidi are planning to join us for our last week, to enjoy Pensacola's Mardi Gras celebration next year. They were able to reserve a sight in the same section as us. We will still try for a week or two in Florida, but we don't have a lot of hope in that with the new system. 

 

Another move.

 Yesterday we moved from the Fitzpatricks' home to Gulf State Park, where we will be for 4 weeks. The drive took about 80 minutes as we traveled along the Gulf coast from Florida to Alabama. We were able to get the Clam (tent) set up and the bikes unloaded and stored safely in the Clam before any rain came. Today has been a mostly rainy day with more light rain in the forecast overnight. Our neighbors let us know that there is a mamma and baby armadillo close by, so we need to be careful with Gus...don't need any dog-armadillo fights. We have easy access to an all- purpose trail behind our sight so Gus and I took a long early morning walk down the trail and returning by the main camp road, a walk of more than a mile. Considering that I continue to recover from a fall on my butt that bruised my tailbone, that was remarkable for me. I took the rest of the day taking it easy, as difficult as that is considering that it is painful to sit.  I found that using Jim's massage seat pad, for his Captains chair, helps. Taking it one day at a time!!!

Another fun day

 This morning, Jim and Mike finished repairing the RV. They replaced the celonoids that run the slide and it is now working. When they finished up and cleaned up we all took a ride in their Convertible to a small burger dive for burgers and fries, driving along the Bay side of the peninsula east to Navarre. 

When we returned to the house we sat outside for a little bit, then went inside to watch a movie.  

Since it was Valentines Day we went out to dinner at a fish market/restaurant in Pensacola. Everyone had mullet with hush puppies and a vegetable.  

We finished the day off with a quiet evening back at the house.

Out and About Pensacola

 Joanne and I went downtown to do a little shopping. We visited Bodacious where they sell specialty vinegars and oils, walked down the main street where we saw two places on the sidewalk with dance steps mapped out.  There are bicycle structures all around for locking a real bike to. We even stopped in the Chocolate Shop and bought some special treats for Valentine's Day. It was a fun outing.