Early Tuesday Morning, I asked Hubby if he wanted to go on a road trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Day 1: January 20, 2015
We were on the road at 10:00 A.M.
We stopped at 10:40 A.M. at Chick-fil-A in Athens to use the restrooms and eat an early lunch.
We both ordered a grilled chicken sandwich, a Diet Coke, unsweetened tea (me), and we shared a large order of waffle fries.
We both had a calendar card that got us a free grilled chicken sandwich and a drink.
Our final cost was $1.80.
We traveled US 72 to I-65 from Athens to Birmingham, where we saw signs for places like Hartselle, Vinemont, Cullman, Hanceville, Warrior, Gardendale, Fultondale, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, and Hoover.
We passed through Birmingham, where we saw several very tall buildings and the Vulcan statue facing downtown.
We stayed on I-65, passing through Pelham, Alabaster, Montevallo (home of the American Village), Jemison, Clanton (rest area), Millbrook, and Prattville, into Montgomery.
We saw, as we crossed the bridge, the tall downtown building of Montgomery.
We stayed on I-65 South toward Greenville, Georgina, Evergreen (another rest stop and restaurant break), and Atmore.
We turned east onto Highway 287 toward Bay Minette, then south onto Highway 59/31, which took us through the town of Stapleton, where Highway 59 went southeast, and Highway 31 went southwest.
We stayed on Highway 59 east, which took us through Loxley.
At Loxley, we took Highway 90, which took us through Robertsdale, Summerdale, Foley, and Gulf Shores.
Our first stop was Gulf Shores Public Beach, where we walked along the sandy shore.
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| Gulf Shores Beach feeding birds A couple of young men were trying to surf, but the waves were too small. |
We saw a woman with birds flocking all around her; they were waiting for her to feed them. Finally, she ran out of bread and said to the birds, "I am sorry, but the food is all gone as she walked away."
We got back into the van, and Hubby drove us a little further down the beach.
We stopped to watch the sunset.
It was amazing watching the sun go from a bright yellow to orange and red as it slowly disappeared into the Gulf, which took just minutes.
There were Gulf people there just to watch the sunset; some walked along the beach, others stood under the shelter, while others sat in their vehicles facing the sun.
Everyone was spellbound at the sight.
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| Sunset at Gulf Shores |
Hubby drove us to Lulu's 200 East 25th Avenue, Gulf Shores, Ala.
We could hear music and someone singing as we approached the restaurant.
We were greeted and taken to table 43, which had a great view of BAT, who was entertaining the crowd.
BAT is a singer-songwriter, heavy folk, and acoustic entertainer.
BAT sounds like The Beatles, Queen, Simon & Garfunkel, Billy Joel, and Eagles.
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| LULU'S |
He had the audience singing along to many different songs with him.
He did many old television show theme songs, such as Green Acres, The Brady Bunch, and The Addams Family.
We ordered the Big Fry Seafood Basket (serves 2), which includes shrimp, Oysters, Crab Claws, and Fried Fish.
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| Big Fry Seafood Basket |
The meal was served with French fries, coleslaw, and hushpuppies $30.99.
After a delicious meal and fantastic entertainment, we left. Lulu and Hubby drove us to Staybridge Suites.
We checked in and took our luggage to room 315 on the third floor.
Tonight at the hotel, they were having a wine tasting, so we came back downstairs to sample the different wines.
On the food bar, there was Mac & cheese, & Fiesta Salad, with all the beer on tap and soda that you could drink.
There were about seven different kinds of wine, and I sampled all of them, but the only one I liked was the white Zinfandel.
It was a social hour, and we talked to a couple from Atlanta, GA. They were like us, getting away from the cold and sickness.
Hubby talked to another man about politics.
We finished our win, went upstairs, soaked in a tub of hot water, watched some TV, and went to bed.
Day 2: Wednesday, January 21, 2015
The next morning, we both showered, dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast around 7 A.M.
I ate an omelet, two sausage links, covered in syrup, a few walnuts, and a Diet Coke. Hubby ate an omelet, two sausage links, ham, a burrito, and drank a glass of orange juice.
We went back upstairs, grabbed our luggage, looked around to make sure we were not leaving anything behind, and checked out.
We thanked the woman at the register, told her how much we enjoyed our stay, and said we would definitely return.
Hubby drove us back to the public beach for one last walk on the sand and for me to take some early morning pictures.
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| Gulf Shore Waves |
He then drove us to Orange Beach, FL, so I could purchase $10.00 worth of scratch-offs. I won eighteen dollars, which was eight dollars more than I started with.
We rode back to Gulf Shore, res stopped at the restrooms at Gulf Shore P, and then we're on our way home.
We stopped at Burris Farm Market in Loxley, where we purchased a bag of Pecans/Walnuts for $10.88, boiled peanuts for $2.99, Molasses for $5.99, and banana blueberry bread for $2.99; we spent $24.91.
We walked back to the van,n inside, and put our purchase in the back seat. I reached back for the banana B, read, wanting a slice, but it was not in the bag.
I walked back inside and told the woman at the register she had forgotten to give us one of our bags.
She apologized, and I said that if I had not looked inside for the bread, we would have driven off without the bread and Molasses.
I got a plastic knife to cut the bread from the bakery.
We were going to stop at Peach Park for some peach ice cream and peach pie, but they were closed for a private party.
We stopped at Munchies Chevron in Calera, AL, to fill up.p Cos:t $35.0;, pric:e $2.13 for unleaded plu;d held 16.36 gallons.
We stopped a couple of times at rest stops, but did not stop again until we reached Athens.
In Athens, we stopped at DQ, where I ordered a chili with cheese hot dog with onion rings and a Diet Coke.
Hubby ordered a hamburger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickle, fries, and a Diet Coke.
Our last stop was at Lucky's car wash at 4:09 P.M., where we spent $8.00.
We were home just before 5 P.M.
We had a wonderful trip, where we walked along the Gulf's sandy beaches in Gulf Shores, watched the sun fade into the Gulf, ate seafood at Lulu's, tasted wine at Gulf Tasting Bridge, won $8 on scratch-offs in Orange Beach, had a restful sleep at Staybridge Suites, and had a safe ride home.
Who could ask for more?
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| BAT Entertaining |
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| Staybridge Suites bed |
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| Condos and Hotels along the beach |
