Day 3 - A Wash-out At Gulf Shores

Boy, did we ever have a lot of rain during the night and it decided to just continue into today!  It poured.  We literally had inches and inches of rain.  So, we were not in a big hurry to get out of bed. We were up around 8 and made a cooked breakfast and then decided that in spite of the rain we would drive to Gulf Shores and at least see the coastline.

We left the CG and drove about 18 miles till we got to Gulf Shores.  Reminds me a lot of Ocean City, Maryland with the condominiums, hotels, and many shops and eateries, just not as sprawling or as crowded.  Ken did get out to take a few pictures, but the weather didn't allow us to spend time walking around.  As I said before, it was really raining and rather windy.  We did enjoy the drive along the coastline and seeing the beautiful white sand and the wide beach.  The Gulf Shores on the northern coast of the Gulf makes it vulnerable to hurricanes.  In 1979 Hurricane Frederick leveled the town, in 2004 Ivan caused extensive wind and flood damage, and in 2005 while cleaning up from Ivan Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage and flooding.  Weather conditions can be devastating here.  The 2010 BP oil spill was expected to severely affect the local economy, but after a tough couple of years, they have returned to pre-spill years.

Welcome to beautiful Gulf Shores.  I think it would be really
beautiful on a sunny day!

A really wide beach!

There are 5 or 6 where you pay to do different length rip line runs!
What a job to construct these and can you imagine the liability????

We headed back to the CG stopping at a large Pottery Shoppe where they had a huge inventory of household items, furniture, pictures, lamps, etc.  It was rather fascinating, but we didn't buy anything! Imagine that!!!  Then a quick stop at Wal-Mart for some necessary items - wine, wine coolers, and did I mention, milk!  We were at the CG at 12:30 and the rain continued.  By now our site is rather muddy and has some nice sized puddles.

Ken and I played 2 games of Pinochle (I won both) and then it was hard to imagine, but the rain stopped!  Wow!  So, Ken went out to clean up around Waldo including emptying the tanks, disconnecting the water, and putting the grill away.  I made salads and sauteed onions, peppers and chicken.  We cleaned up inside and then went for a walk around the CG.  Ken also did a post on RVForums.com to ask if anyone had any advice to offer on hooking the CRV to Waldo.  We don't want the battery to be dead every time we tow.  He did talk to Schaeffers RV and to Jones Honda, but still didn't get a total solution to the problem.  We will get it figured out!!!!!

We did some additional work on our West Trip itinerary, finished typing it, and then e-mailed it to numerous family members, friends, and fellow campers.  We watched The Voice and really enjoyed the singers.  They are so good!  Went to bed at 10 and hope to be on the road tomorrow morning by 7:15.  Let the adventures continue, but without the rain - PLEASE!