JAN 30 - 71 degrees!!!!

 We finally hit the 70s today, barely, but it actually seemed warmer with the sun out. The sun was out much of the day but by 4 pm, the clouds began to roll in so we won't see the sun set tonight. Rain showers are expected tonight and into tomorrow.  

The beach was a little busier today, but not by much. Most of the people were way down the beach at the pavillion. The wind did pick up a bit but it was welcomed with the warmer temperatures. 

This afternoon Jim went up the road to the Amazon lockers for his order, a new outdoor thermometer. It is at least the 3rd one with the first 2 being either run over or having fallen off the side of the rv because Jim forgot to bring it in. He put this one on top of the right front tire. 

We also received a UPS package today from Steven. It contained prescription pills, mail, and CDs Jim wanted.  My Capital One credit card had been compromised so that was in the mail received today. UPS and FEDEX both deliver to the site here.   The UPS guy even had a treat for Gus.

JAN 27 - 29

 The weather is much better now. We are enjoying daytime temps in the mid to upper 60s and lows at night in the lower 50s....good sleeping weather. Since arriving at Gulf Shores State Park, we have fallen into a routine of sorts. One of us, usually Jim, takes Gus for his first walk of the day around 7 am CST, then take our time before getting anything done.  I have been making an effort to take Gus on one long walk a day about mid-day but otherwise he is content to be laying outside tethered to his outdoor leash.

 I am doing my best to maintain at least 7000 steps each day, and I have added in bike rides of at least 4 miles at a time. Today I plan to walk the beach for the 1st time since we got here. Last night I finished another book, BREAKNECK, by Erica Spindler...a good murder mystery. WiFi works fine for email and downloading books, but is a bit weak for streaming TV....better to read anyway!

Found a few mini libraries maintained by campers around the park. I donated a book but did not take one. I still have a few to read that I brought with me. Gus went with me to locate the libraries so he got a good walk of almost 2 miles. Afterwards, I took rode the bike down to the beach, walked another mile on the beach, and rode back "home" for a total of 3 miles on the bike. I an exhausted....time for a rest!

JAN 26 - GAME DAY!

 Sunday, Mike and Joanne came over from Pensacola and we went to lunch at Doc's Seafood.  It was too early in the day for a bushwacker but Jim and I split a combo seafood platter that included 2 of everything. Mike & Joanne ordered the same. We had crab cakes, grilled fish and skewers of grilled shrimp, stuffed crab, new potatoes and hushpuppies.  After eating all that we were stuffed! 

Mike & Joanne left us back at the campground about 1:30, and headed home to nap and watch football.  We watched football ourselves and read our books.  We were happy to see the Eagles win but were disappointed that the Bills were not able to pull off a win against the Kansas City Chiefs. They did come close!!!

JAN 24-25 - Settling in.

 Yesterday we finished most of our settling in and went into town for some things...a clothes drying rack at Lowes along with a few things Jim wanted to get, and the battling the crowd at Aldi's. They were out of eggs and fresh milk so after leaving Aldi we made one more stop at Rouse's for those items, some fresh fruit, some local seafood. That will tide us over until we can make a trip to Joe Patti's in Pensacola next week. 

Today we put up lights in the tent, did laundry and took a few long walks with Gus. We walked down to the Hospitality Center along the lake. There are a few Tennis courts, a bunch of pickleball courts, a swimming pool (closed), a camp store and pavilion, a laundry, and a nature center. They were preparing for a birthday party at the nature center. 

JAN 23 - Moving Day Again

Below are photos at Big Lagoon State Park this morning. The snow is melting but there is still plenty on the ground. Jim had to get up on a ladder to knock the snow off the top of the bumpout so we can pull it in to leave here.

Today is our final move until we head home in March. We called Gulf Shores to make sure they were open (everywhere down here was closed yesterday) before heading down the road. It is only a 17 mile drive but the roads are not fully clear yet. The snow is melting as it expected to reach 48 degrees today but parts of the road are shaded by high rise condos and hotels along the waterfront.  There was a bad patch of ice across most of the highway in Orange Beach causing a traffic slowdown, but the bridges were all relatively clear. 

We are now settling in at Gulf Shores, site 135, where we will be for 6 weeks. It will take a while to get everything set up but the Clam is up, which is a good start. 

Can't wait to get down to the beach to enjoy the sunset.

JAN 21 - SNOW???

 After a wonderful day at Mike & Joanne's home, staying overnight, and enjoying a delicious and filling breakfast, we headed back to our Campground.  They are calling for 3 or more inches of snow all along the gulf coast and it is headed our way. We wanted to be sure to get back to our RV before it hit, especially getting over the bay bridge. If the snow gets bad, they may close the bridge.

 Schools and businesses are closed in the area, including Joe Patti's ...a disappointment! We will have to make a trip there later this week or early next week. 

I will update this later today

So it is now 1:20 pm CST and the snow is coming down steadily.

It is now 4:30 pm and it is still snowing.

JAN 19 - JAN 20

 Yesterday turned into a beautiful day with temperatures reaching 60 degrees by early afternoon. Gus and I explored another trail, taking a 2 mile walk. We saw a fair number of twisted trees, likely caused by storms over the years. 

Last night the temperature dropped into the 20s so we had to disconnect the water and drip the outdoor faucet so it wouldn't freeze.  This morning we left the campground early so we left the faucet running and put a heater in the basement. We are also running two electric heaters in the RV to keep things from freezing tonight. We are spending the day with Mike & Joanne, our friends in Pensacola, celebrating the innauguation with friends of theirs, and hanging out in their home. 

We will head back to our RV tomorrow if the roads are good to drive. They are predicting 3 inches of snow tomorrow here.  I will keep you posted on that.

JAN 18 - Hanging Out At Big Lagoon State Park

 Gus and I finally got a long walk on the boardwalk system today, between rain showers. Gus wanted to do it yesterday at about 4:30 PM, but sundown is about 5:15 so I derailed him then. Today we started out about 11:30 AM, a more reasonable time. I also had a chance to look over the trail map beforehand, so I had a good idea of where to go. We walked much of the trail, and all of the boardwalk system. Below are some views along the way.