A rainy day

This was a rainy day, and not very warm either at about 50 all day.  Better than VT but not too hot got the Gulf Coast!
The big events of the day:
Carlene did the laundry and I walked around a bit with Cal.
I got a haircut
We went out to dinner
Dinner was at Doc's Seafood.  Yup, I picked the place.  Great seafood platter.  Carlene had the grilled shrimp, also good.
Planned the next couple days, off to Torreya State Park near Tallahassee FL for 2 nights, then down to Spring Hill FL, just south of Homosassa.  We'll visit with Smith a bit and take in an air show in Lakeland FL.

Just a couple photos today.  While I was walking with Cal this morning we went to an outlook on Middle Pond.

Looking east

West

Yup, so hard up for photos today that you get one of my haircut!

Elberta German Sausage Festival

Went north a bit to the Elberta AL German Sausage Festival.  It's a small fair centered on German sausage w/ sauerkraut and German music but also having a very large craft vendor area.  We got some local BBQ sauce and honey.  Of course we had some sausage too!  When we arrived the first place we stopped at was the tractor and "one lung engine" section.  It was fun looking at the old stuff and remembering what our father/grandfather had on the farm.  We spent some time talking to a couple of the owners about their equipment. 

Later it was just the usual shopping for necessities.  Got back to camp and Cal about 3.  Enjoyed some sitting in the sun for a while.  We have done so little of that!  Mostly because it is only now that it is really warm enough for sitting around outdoors.  We checked some weather reports for the places we have been.  It was only 40 in Sonoita AZ where we boondocked for 10 days.  You may recall that's 4500' higher than here at sea level. 

Check out the sewing machine tractors!

Forgot to mention that they had BEER to go with the sausage!

Gulf State Park, Alabama

Gulf State Park is in Gulf Shores AL on the south east opening of Mobile Bay.

These short range travel days are easy to take.  Only about 100 miles from our last camp we got a mid-morning start and still got here about 1 PM.  We set up camp and took a walk on the beach.  Sounds easy, but it's a one mile walk to get to the beach.  Then a walk in the sand and another mile back.  On the way back we ran into a couple who have been here in the park since November!  They are from northern Michigan and have spent the last 5 winters here at Gulf SP.  They store the camper a few miles north of here and have it towed onsite and leveled before they arrive.  He does not like to tow the camper anymore.  We like to travel.  Different strokes.

The beach was nearly empty around us.  There were groups of people at places a half mile away but only a few people near us.

Crane hunting, beach hunting...MS coast

We are in Sheperd State Park for our second night.  Don't know where we are going tomorrow.  Too many ideas that we are trying to put together.  Three weeks left and lots of things to do yet.

This morning we went out looking for the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge.  After a half hour or more of following the GPS to a non-existent road and then a couple more flawed addresses we found it.  The birds had been there early this morning but were gone when we arrived.  We went to a few places the volunteer said they had been cited but they just didn't want to present themselves today.

Then a similar thing to find the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  When we found it it became clear that Seashore does not mean Beach.  In fact the ranger told us that those beaches I wrote about yesterday are all man made.  Their natural state is more bayou.  Like this Nat'l Seashore.

Since we didn't find any birds and didn't find any beaches the pictures are mostly Carlene's flower photos.  And a few I took at dinner.  We went out to The Shed BBQ.  It doesn't resemble The Shed in Stowe at all!

So that's what is in that pill I take every day!

Azalea

The Shed BBQ:

Shepard State Park, Gautier MS

We are at the Sheperd State Park Gautier MS, in between Biloxi and Pascagoula.

Beautiful drive along the beaches of MS on US 90.  I never dreamed the MS coast was like this.  Mile after mile of broad sandy beaches on the south side of the road with all the housing on the north side of the road.  The businesses were farther back.  Yup, the hotels do not own all the beachfront!

We went hiking in the park this afternoon.  Met a couple from NH who have been full-time campers since July.  They have a 19 month old blond Golden Retriever named Sandy.  She is so full of energy and yet a very nice dog.  They were bicycling with him to get him tired out for the night.  We saw them again when we walked around the park after dinner.  Sandy was not tired out yet!
Back to the hike.  Further down the trail I got hit on head by a falling pine cone.  WTH...?  Am I some kind of magnet now?

Still making plans for tomorrow.  We have paid for 2 nights here so we have all day to play.



Along the coastal highway in eastern LA.  Everything built on piers to allow for the storm surge.

Nice Fire Station, Waveland MS

 The beaches in Long Beach and Gulfport are a good 15 miles like this.  That's roughly 1/3 of the state's coastline.

A Miss. park trail

Camping in Mississippi

Carlene's flower pictures

New Orleans, French Quarter

For some variety and some simplicity we drove east a ways and then took a passenger ferry across the river to New Orleans.  The ferry took us to a port about 3 blocks from where we parked 3 times last year.  It was pretty familiar and easy to get around.  We had some Beignets and some Gumbo, both were delicious.  Wandered along Bourbon Street and Decatur St. listening to the street music, the live bands in so many restaurants and bars with open doors until Carlene couldn't take the noise anymore.And wandered through the French Market, and open air permanent market area with unlimited variety of whatever.  The market was new for us this year.  And of course, sat along the river front and watched the river traffic.  Big freighters, barges and paddlewheelers.

We think we are off to Mississippi tomorrow.  We have some ideas; now to see where we find vacancy.