Just a little taste of the Gulf Coast

While camped in southern Alabama we just had to get a little taste of the Gulf coast.  That meant taking the closest major highway south until we hit the shore, in our case, Gulf Shores, a major tourist destination. 

For everyone who expects to see gulls on the beach, this picture is for you. There are LOTS of gulls and they all expect you to feed them.  We didn’t, because we know where that can lead.

Most of the northern Gulf coast is known for white sand beaches. They are beautiful, but unfortunately it was a little too cold and windy for tanning or even walking along the beach.

 These guys, however, found the weather quite OK. (BTW, those are zip-line towers in the background. Too cold & windy for that.

They were sitting on the railing along the second longest pier on the Gulf of Mexico and Alabama’s only public pier on the Gulf. It is 1,540 feet long, 20 feet wide, and boasts 2,448 feet of fishing space. It was too cold and windy for any fishermen to be out there the day we visited.

After braving the cold and wind on the pier, we decided that a hot lunch was what we needed.  All you can eat flounder & sweet potato fries; gumbo & salad, yum!

Warm and satisfied, we decided a driving tour was in order, so we headed west out of Gulf Shores all the way to Fort Morgan.

 On the way, we saw many views of Mobile Bay;

 Beautiful southern trees;

And houses on stilts (not because the snow gets that deep).

 Oh, and there are LOTS of these oil rigs both in the bay and the gulf.

And then out at the end of the road is Fort Morgan.  We didn’t get to spend as much time as we would have liked, so there’s more motivation to come back here another year.