Paradise Isle Resort Gulf Shores

I met my good friend Mark in Gulf Shores to mark the bookend of my trip. We had a great time with his family doing the normal Gulf Shores things like lots of fishing, talking and whatnot. I did get a few pictures here, but at this ...

Although cool this morning (low 40's) the day was mainly sunny and warm - a good day to go exploring. After Don did his baking - Beer cheese bread and banana loaf - we headed off to find Point Clear and other points on our map. In the late 60's I attended an international Agricultural Leadership Conference at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear and was really intrigued with the area. It didn't disappoint today. Punta Clara, a candy and pecan store that I ...

We made an early start this morning and continued our exploration of hwy 98 along the Emerald Coast - through Destin and Pensacola. The beaches became more spectacular and the towns more prosperous the further west we traveled. Many of these communities are not more than 50 years old, most of them undergoing tremendous growth during the last five years. Huge hotel complexes now line the coast making one wonder how the current ...

Ok. Now this was a hard sell. There is a charming artisan cheese farm that I desperately wanted to visit....however NO ONE seemed as thrilled about it as I was. Instead I had to 'package' it as a day tour of Foley, Elberta, histoic soda fountain, etc. First thing- we drove to the nearby Perdido Key State Park and frolicked on the beach! It was SO incredibly nice to decompress in the sunshine while collecting seashells! This is the way to do it ...

After a long drive through the interior of our fine country on Highway 51 and then a shortcut across Mississippi, I arrived in Mobile, Alabama. A place I had never even come close to prior to this trip. I knew about it from Jimmy Buffett songs but that's about it. My friend Jimbo and his wife have a house on the east side of Mobile Bay and that is where this trip gets its start. Our first mini-trip was to Florida (of all ...

... around 15 minutes, next to a few cars that were in party mode, ( there was a shrimp festival happening back from where we came from) so they were carrying on the party with loud music and continued drinking. We eventually boarded the ferry and ploughed our way across the mouth of Mobile Bay, about 40 mins steaming. This took us past a few oil rigs dotted across this bay area. It was interesting watching the ferry unload, the "party car" was just ...

I also went to Gulf Shores with my friends family on vacation only this one was about 1000 times better then the last. The beach was really nice and there was a lot of things to do in the area. The only thing that I didn't like about the beach was the fish. I usually go to the Atlantic Ocean for vacations with my family and this was ...

(48)JUNE 5, 2009<br>WHAT A BEAUTIFUL STAY AT THE BEACH. THE KIDS CAME IN THE NEXT NIGHT AT THE SUGAR BEACH CONDO. WE GOT THERE FIRST BECAUSE WE WANTED TO STAY ANOTHER DAY. WE STAYED AT AMERICA'S BEST INNS AND SUITES. WE REALLY DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. WE WERE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED. THE ROOM WAS REALLY NICE. HAD A GOOD STAY THAT NIGHT. THE WEATHER WAS JUST WONDERFUL ...

(50)JULY 27, 2009<br>We decided to go back to the beach early. Invited Son and family to go. They took us up on<br>it. They will be going to school and our son will be in training as he is a rookie firefighter. So, it will be lots of learning and commitment for them when they get back. We could not get a bigger condo at this late a date. So, we decided to make do and make memories. The weather ...

Terry had planned to play golf at several of the Robert Trent Jones courses in Alabama, the first of which was near Foley. After his first game, he was driving around and he discovered an Alabama State Park a couple of miles away, at Gulf Shores. It was less than a half mile from the Gulf of Mexico coast and had a few lakes where he could fish, etc. I think he only played one more round of golf nearby and the rest of the time he fished. We had a nice camp spot about ...