Eating Our Way Thru Lower Alabama!

I know it's been a really long time since our last post, but the internet in the park is extremely slow, bordering on non-existent.  They are working on improving it, but probably won't be great until after we leave.

We did have one tragedy in the park. I had been walking Butch and noticed tons of smoke coming out of a 5th wheel near the clubhouse.  It turns out there was some kind of electrical fire while the owners were in the clubhouse.  Unfortunately, those who ran to put out of the fire couldn't find the dog that was inside until it was too late to save him.  The trailer was only a month old!  

Since my sister and her husband, Pam and Dennis, arrived, it seems like we've done nothing but eat!  It's those darn coupon books.  Gotta get the most out of the buy one, get one free offers.  The good news is, we're trying a lot of new restaurants.

One of our favorites is Fish Grill No. 2.  The last time we tried it, we discovered the beignets for dessert.  They are stuffed with apple and peach pie filling.  We hope to get back there before we head west in a couple of weeks.

Not sure why, but this old phone company telephone book with Western Electric phone is in the lobby, along with the Superman costume.

One day last week we headed up to Spanish Fort to the Sam's Club.  Pam found us a restaurant that had a coupon.  It didn't look like much, but what a meal.  I'm sorry I didn't think to get a picture of our meal.  We all ordered off the specials board; three of us had the pot roast, and Pam had bacon wrapped chicken.  Of course each meal comes with a salad, two sides, and a muffin.  Before we even got our meal, our waitress (who is also the girl who comes in at 5:00 am each day to make the desserts), brought us first a small plate of chicken salad to sample, and then another small plate of a Chinese chicken salad to try.  Even though we were all stuffed, we had to try the desserts.  Mark and Dennis had the coconut cake, I had the strawberry pie, and Pam had some kind of cheesecake.  

Cheryl's Cafe

Mark and I have golfed the past three Wednesdays with some of the guys at Lost Keys Golf Club over in Pensacola.  Now that it's March, the course charges $40 each, but on Wednesdays, it's still customer appreciation day, and it comes with lunch - usually fried chicken, hot dogs, slaw, baked beans, and cookies.  Quite a deal - the regular price on any other day is $80.  

We went to check out a couple of new trailers that came into the sales lot out front.  Although we're not buying, we still like to look.

Pam and Dennis proving they could get into one with a big shower.  Most of our trailers have showers that barely fit one person!

Since numerous people are getting ready to head back home soon, Steve and Peggy reserved the small lake building yesterday so we could have a big meal with about 15 people.  George cooked the pork in the Green Egg and we all brought a dish or two.  My contribution was a potato casserole and a jello cheesecake.  Again, everything was fabulous and we all ate way too much.

Lou and Linda.  Note the empty green tray - that was my plate!

Joe, George and Pattie.  George and Pattie are leaving tomorrow, so we had to say goodbye to them today.

We are trying to get Butch to get some exercise, other than just walking around the park.  Darla loves the dog walk area, but Butch usually just walks around sniffing.  He finally got mad at her because she just wants to play, so he started chasing her and barking.

Note that his mouth is open, trying to bite Darla.

Today we went bike riding with Pam and Dennis.  We parked at the State Park fishing pier, and rode into the state park so we could meet up with Steve and Karen.  The six of us then proceeded to ride 20 miles!  Thanks to some gadget that Pam and Dennis each have, we knew exactly how far we went and how fast we were going.  

Steve and Karen by the recently installed bench in memory of Steve's dad who loved Gulf Shores State Park.

Dennis, Pam and Karen taking a break.

I couldn't get close enough to take a good picture, but we finally found the three legged alligator with her tiny babies in the swamp along the trail.  The babies were only about six inches long.

After 11 miles, we found ourselves in Orange Beach and then rode over to Tacky Jacks for lunch. 

It was a beautiful day and we had a great view while sitting outside for lunch.

Another strange site on the trail:

A dog in the basket, with an umbrella over its body.  The guy in front has the dog's carriage attached to his bike.  We had passed them earlier when it was riding that way.

What a cute manatee mail box we found, decorated for Easter.

It was a hard ride once we got out of the park and had to go against the wind to get to our trucks.  Now we need a hot tub or a masseuse!