Covid, Shmovid, We're Going CAMPING Tomorrow!

bama_ed

It's kind of fun to do the impossible-Walt Disney
Joined
Sep 23, 2004
Bless my little state park system.

We're headed down to the Gulf coast tomorrow (at some point - we have some weather forecasted to come through). Gulf Shores and Gulf State Park specifically:



Alabama has kept its state park system open (with some activities closed) because it is vital in these COVD-19 times:





Now as it says above, the beaches are closed (but the Gulf SP fishing pier is open with distancing rules). Tomorrow (Thursday) is my arrival day with some weather to watch on the drive down but Friday-Monday is looking REALLY nice. Accuweather uses terms like:

  • "Nice with plenty of sunshine" high 79F (Friday),
  • "Increasing amounts of sun" high 80F (Saturday),
  • "Mostly sunny and nice" high 78F (Sunday),
  • "Nice with plenty of sun" 76F (Monday) which is going home day.
I have site #16 reserved. Lakeside off Live Oak Road (for those on past Gulf DISMeets between where my Aliner has been and tiggerdad's trailer has been but lake side - about where Bishoparc was last year).

I rolled my Aliner out Sunday to prep. It had been in the garage for the winter (covered on three sides and roof but open on the front) and needed the TLC.

Hey Ace, time to wake up:



The pollen has been heavy this year:



I keep Irish Spring flakes (on the left) for an interior fresh scent during storage and a tub of DampRid (on the right) to take the moisture out so nothing grows where it shouldn't be. Some question whether these are effective.

But I don't.



So I rolled it out of the garage to make up the bed, air up the tires, empty the interior so I would take only what I needed, and knock the pollen off.



When I had my three kids at home I had a Jayco popup (slide out bunks on both ends and slide dinette) but the Aliner is easy for me and DW to handle (well, me mostly). So I popped up the roof:



I did all the work (it felt good to get ready for the first campout of the year) and after the washdown, Ace looked pretty good if I must say....



More tomorrow. I'm in no hurry to get down there so weather will be the determining factor. For those that have camped with me at Gulf, you know I'm no wild man:

  • yes I will have some puzzle pix
  • yes I will get up to watch the beautiful sunrise
  • yes I will take some great walks
  • yes I will show some seafood takeout pix from my favorite restaurants
  • yes I will be watching the NFL Draft outside for the Bama players getting selected
It's a dirty job but SOMEBODY has to do it.... :confused3

Bama Ed

PS - this was a reservation from last year that had to be pushed out so we're using it in late April (yellow flies might be less?). Since we're going to Gatlinburg for DISMeet 2021 (it sounds like) I wanted to try this time of year (did it 15 years ago and loved it) for possibly a week long stay next year.
 
Last edited:
Safe travels and a great stay to you! I am ready for some of that Fri-Mon type weather here :sunny: I'll be reading along....
 


Reading along Ed. Have a great time.

Looking forward to some food pics and some puzzles as well. We're trying to find a new one for us to put together here at the house.
 


We were actually hoping to go to the Gulf Shores this May before all this started and put it off. Nice to know they are still open so we might go ahead and make plans again. The only thing that actually stopped me from booking was I having troubles finding a park on or just steps away from the ocean. I love me some ocean. Any suggestions? We have a 35 ft. Montana fifth wheel if that makes a difference. We would also like our little yorkie to be allowed on the beach.
 
We were at Pandeon ridge for a week the middle of February. Lots to do in Gulf shores
 
Hope you avoided the tornado that was reported in Mobile this morning

The weather back up up-state this morning was very mild. Some good rain from about 330a-630a but no high winds.

So ignorance is bliss, Mike (although I was watching the radar the entire length of my drive before I left). I had about a 5 hour drive and left home about 830a. DW bailed on me last night but still let me go (if I promised to be good :littleangel: ). Me, I'm ALWAYS good. And when I'm bad, I'm better ..... <jk honey>

I did catch the trailing, dragging southern end of this system for the last 90 minutes of the drive. Cheapest gas (not diesel) I saw along the route was $1.419. Not much traffic but lots of trucks on the road. Got into Gulf Shores about 2pm and pulled into Mikee's Restaurant for a takeout oyster po-boy and fries. No picture of it because I was so hungry after I got set up.



The blue water tank at GSP has been painted with the GS marketing colors/font/slogan like the first picture in this thread. Used to be more of a baby blue.

.

Got socially distanced checked in and set up on #16. What are the chances I would be next to another Aliner in #15 next to me?



That's me in the distance and the newer model in the foreground (mines a 2013 model year). If you notice on the slanted roofs it doesn't have the bubbles but "dormers" which are closed up (those flat panels laying on top of the roof side). They make them hard sided and soft (canvas) sided and since these are closed up can't tell which they are.

Hard sided

0a04eae6fcbd581b9c514b0cd8b75618.png


Soft (canvas) sided

fpuaq_DuBgbPFONxcQw_30wops88j5fa8ZXpmxUhhJlLG5EG0pJ4w84VLii89PZFIsozkNZCp9FqcfTI2cIlj9awAAZqpY3TF7RybMsfgceduDUtGhf5V-g
main.jpg


The idea is that these allow headroom to stand up on either end of the camper (some floor plans have the kitchen along the front panel for example). They add some weight and they sure add some cost. I don't even need them since I have a couch/bed under the back bubble and dinette table under the front bubble. Aliner offered this feature after it had been used by their West Coast a-frame competitor, Chalet Campers. But they started being offered on Aliners about 2014-2015 models so they weren't even available when mine was built.

It is kinda funny to be next to another Aliner (even in the titanium gray like mine). Sometimes I feel like Bigfoot in the woods thinking "there's only one of me"....

Across from me is the corner of #18 which in my head I still refer to as "tiggerdad's site". It's been his spot for a couple past Gulf DISMeets (it's empty Michael).



The rain has slacked off and should stop completely by 530pm. Clouds should clear out and be beautiful the rest of my stay.

Tomorrow should be a good day.

Bama Ed
 
Last edited:
We were actually hoping to go to the Gulf Shores this May before all this started and put it off. Nice to know they are still open so we might go ahead and make plans again. The only thing that actually stopped me from booking was I having troubles finding a park on or just steps away from the ocean. I love me some ocean. Any suggestions? We have a 35 ft. Montana fifth wheel if that makes a difference. We would also like our little yorkie to be allowed on the beach.

loves to dive, I would not call Gulf State Park campsites "on the beach". It is not "park on" or "steps away from". Some Panhandle private campgrounds in FL offer that ($$$). Google Satellite views tell the story. The campground is across the 5-lane highway from the beach and then still set back some. The closest campsite to the shoreline is about 0.5 mile walk. The farthest campsite, on the other hand, is 2.4 miles away (given its linear layout). You do reserve a specific campsite # for your dates (🎙"hello Disney" is this thing on? ). I mean if my poor little ol' state can find a vendor to offer this....... But the beach is eminently walkable and bikeable from the campground (golf carts only for the disabled btw).

Dogs are permitted in the campground but I'll have to dig about the state beach and there might be different rules for the public/city beaches. I'll see if I can find info online (I'm sure you've looked).

Bama Ed
 
Our camper is ready but, as of now, campgrounds are not open in Pennsylvania.

Yes but is that for seasonal reasons or Covid reasons? My DS#2 lives in NE PA and they had snow flurries this morning 🌨 (although it warmed up to about 50F today).

Some northeast state park campgrounds aren't open year round like we are down south.

We are open year round. Gulf has 500 rv campsites (full hookups but no CATV nor wifi) and from Nov-Mar they devote 450 of them to snowbirds and month long reservations ONLY. That leaves only 50 campsites (sprinkled along the backside) for those of us who want a weekend or a little longer (14 days max). But they do it for the revenue it generates and Gulf is the cash cow in the system that provides a big portion of the cash to run the network year-round.

Bama Ed
 
We were at Pandeon ridge for a week the middle of February. Lots to do in Gulf shores

I see Pandeon Ridge back there on Canal Road. I don't tend to go along that stretch of pavement (I use Hwy 59 to go north-south over the Intracoastal) and tend to steer clear of Orange Beach in general (I'm a Gulf Shores snob if there can be such a thing on the Redneck Riviera).

But the area is certainly nice and out towards Fort Morgan it begins to feel a little less settled and developed. I've been coming to Gulf Shores for 40 years (started as a child with the family in a cinder block motel on the beach side of where The Hangout is now at the T (Hwy 59 and 182 in "downtown" GS)).

First camped at GSP with the Boy Scouts about 1982. Down late on a Friday from Titletown, got in around midnight, one hot day on the beach (sunburn oh yeah), and Sunday morning sweating in uniform through a church service before hitting the road home later that day. And I was hooked....

Been coming back ever since. This is my most frequent camping destination (tent, popup, Aliner). The Fort comes in second. Seen a lot of changes (hurricanes, salt water intrusion, heck - the comfort stations weren't air conditioned until like 2007). In warmer months you'd come out of the CS wetter than when you went in. DW will come here because the Comfort Stations (although State Park) are second only to the Fort.

In winter months you don't want to be on the lake like I am now, though. The wind is A RECKONING in winter. I get on the backside where garneska and southalabam5er camp during DISMeets. Much safer back there.

Bama Ed
 
You are making me 2nd home sick with all this GSP talk.

j

Then you're not going to like this next part, Jim....

I had a Zoom meeting with one of my groups this evening and before I did I took some campsite pix and then sunset pix. I'm not making apologies for the stinkin' hot sunset pix while I was (not) focused on my Zoom video call.

Jim, I'm gonna push the dagger in deeper with these pix. Sorry buddy....

The Gulf Pavilion across the lake with the walkway crossovers ...



The sun starting to set across the road from me over my DISMeet site #4 which is empty tonight...



About 5pm the rain stopped so I put out my flag. I am (present tense always) an Eagle Scout and fly the US Flag when I camp (although I don't blow Taps and Reveillre) and my neighbor (met them, 2016 model Expedition like mine) has canvas (Soft) dormers (they're from Florida)....



On my Zoom call I was looking over the top of my Aliner watching the sun go down but I kept being distracted ...

... and it was MAGNIFICENT .....





Honestly, I TRIED to pay attention to my Zoom meeting/call ....



But my eye kept being drawn toward the beautiful spectacle that God placed RIGHT in front of me...



And then, there was one more fleeting glimpse . . .



I have a Zoom call tomorrow but I am predicting that the connection won't work so well then (while the sun is at 79F clear and sunny and MAYBE I'll have some good news to share).

Bama Ed

PS - somebody might want to check on Teamubr and call an ambulance 🚑 for him if needed. I'm not holding back with the crazy WILD awesome (simply peaceful) puzzle pix tomorrow. Call 9-1-1 ....

PPS - I lowered the flag this evening because it was banging on the back of my trailer where I sleep. But in the morning Ol' Glory will be flying high again .....

PPPS - should I tell Teamubr I can hear the waves/surf behind me from across the lake/highway/beach? Nah .... it's just a dull roar. Well, that and the frogs.... and the crickets .... and no stupid yellow flies biting me tonight ...

PPPPS - and I made a stinkin' reservation for this week NEXT year.
 
Last edited:
Loving the pics...almost feels normal... gives our minds a moment's break from the reality.. much needed peaceful moments. Thank you!!
 
Looks great, just not right without some kite pics on the beach.

At least you get smell of the surf.

Keep it coming sir.
 
The main act is now on stage.



Wow that was a helluva opening number!



Backing were the musical tones of the mourning doves, whipperwills, sea gulls, terns, and song birds.

They're doing an encore performance tomorrow.

Bama Ed
 
Last edited:

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts

Top