Surviving at the Shore

It is 72 degrees and a bright sunny day as we arrive at our campsite in Gulf State Park.  Our bodies, already accustom to cold weather, are hot.  The sun is relentless and we are scrambling to get out the awning.
But the forecast is ominous!  A deep freeze is coming and we will not be able to escape.  Tomorrow will be our best chance to get out in the kayaks….we have a rule…if we carry a toy with us, it must be used!  And I have no intention to paddle  in 40 degree wind chills!        
There are 3 lakes at Gulf State Park separated by canals.  We decide to start in one of the canals.


 

After a couple of hours we are ready to quit….and, with the sun setting at 4:55 PM, dinner must be grilled while there is still daylight.
The next morning I get up and take a shower! (not my normal routine while camping)… Preparing for a special day! This is the day we will meet up with Carla and Jerry,  blogging friends that I have never met in person!
While walking from the bathhouse a big truck passes, I look in the window and there they are…..recognizing her face from the two years of reading the blog!
We immediately start talking and can’t quit!  They offer to show us around town and we head for the beach.






After a tasty lunch and a quick trip to see their lovely fifth-wheel home, we say good bye….knowing we will meet again somewhere down the road.  Maybe we will get in another visit before we head north!
The promised rain arrives the next morning.  We make plans to eat lunch with our egg group.  There are now two other Casitas, one Escape and an Egg Camper just a few sites away.  This is not an accident but the sharing of plans at a rally last month.  Two couples had reservations at Gulf Shores in November.  The rest of us just thought it an excellent idea!

Boardwalk to gulf….just across from park.
The survival part of the trip starts right after the rain!  We are not winter campers!  Except for lower Florida and Arizona! 
There is full bright sun which makes the cold a bit more bearable but the wind is merciless.   We decide to check out Fort Morgan, not realizing that the breezes are gale-force out on the point.



Nothing is very pretty….don’t enjoy taking photos of ugly…but anything historical is educational.  Fort Morgan guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay during the Civil War.  This is where Admiral Farragut made the famous quote “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”  (At that time, a mine was called a torpedo.)
The Gulf is blustery and cold.

Today is another cold day with plentiful sunshine!  We may ride our bikes…many, many bike trails lead out of the park.  Tomorrow it will be warm again but rain and cold are heading back soon.  Thinking it will be time to leave before another round of survival-type weather.