Our last two days on the coast were decidedly different than the first two. We saw the sun shine and there was LOTS of shenanigans going on in the camper. Kids wanted pictures of themselves, they took silly pictures of us, made weird faces and generally traumatized their parents.
When we got up on Saturday, the sun was shining and it felt great outside. I had on shorts and a tank and the kids were in short sleeves. We hung out around camp for a few hours, ate Arby’s for lunch (we laugh that this has somehow been designated as “beach food” since we never eat it at home) and packed all of our gear.
Imagine our surprise when we pulled into “our beach”, as the girls like to call it (the Gulf State Park Beach Pavilion), and it was closed to the public. We later asked a guard at the campgrounds when the state park beach would be open again and he said, “Oh, it’s open every day.” To which we replied, “Well, they wouldn’t let us past the gate today. They said it was closed.” And his remark? “Oh, well it’s closed today for the festival.” Oh. So it’s not open every day?!
We ended up parking in a small parking area near the pavilion and walking across the street to the beach. It was fine. We didn’t have access to the restrooms or snack shop, but we had white sand beaches as far as the eye could see. And clouds. And wind. But our pretty little pavilion a half mile away? Sunshine galore.
Josh and I stayed bundled up almost the entire time we were there, while our kids ran around in swimsuits and shorts, frolicking in the water like it was 95* outside. We kept asking each other if we could leave, but the kids were having so much fun. I will admit that the first time someone complained, we took our opportunity while it lasted and packed everyone up and headed back to camp!
We drove to Bon Secour and ate dinner at Tin Top that night. We’ve heard such great things about the restaurant, but had never been in all of our years in Gulf Shores. It was only a fifteen minute drive from the beach and the kids were happy to explore. Let me just say that it is in the middle of nowhere and the ambiance of the restaurant is adorable. We sat outside on the back porch and the weather was beautiful. The food was pretty good, but I didn’t like it any better than the other restaurants we usually enjoy. It was fine and we might would go back, but it doesn’t top our list.
On Sunday morning, we knew the plan was to spend some time at the beach before we left. It was supposed to be the warmest and prettiest day we were there all week. Somebody forgot to inform the temperature that we needed it to be above 48* by mid morning, though. We braved the sand in sweatshirts and long pants and decided to spend an hour searching for seashells and taking a walk before heading back home.
As cold as it was, the wind wasn’t blowing too much and the sky was gorgeous. I wish we had gotten to enjoy more days like this on the beach while we were there.
Because of the previous days’ storms, the beaches were covered in shells and starfish. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many things piled up on the shore. The girls were fascinated and we brought a big bucket of treasures home, including a fun piece of driftwood for me!
I haven’t counted yet, but I’m guessing we collected more than 50 sand dollars all told. Although most of them are on the small side, we did find several half-dollar sized ones! We have plans to bleach them and find a pretty dish to display them in.
After spending the day at the beach, we packed up the trailer and delivered it to the storage facility with a few hiccups. Let’s just say their roads are a little narrow to navigate a 30 foot trailer and truck, so we came away with a tiny scrub on the back corner of the camper. We decided to worry about the repairs after our trip this summer, since they were purely cosmetic and shouldn’t cause any water damage. We were visibly thrown of course, but a quick trip to the Shrimp Basket (again) for lunch and a few dollars spent at Souvenir City put a smile on everyone’s face before we buckled in. By early afternoon we were on the road, listening to great music and indulging in a few chocolate treats before Spring Break officially ended.
We only had 75 days until we saw those pretty white beaches again, anyway. Let the countdown begin!
