Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone is having a great time and an enjoyable Christmas.  We're doing well.  Kinda lonely at Mikee's for lunch last Friday as so many people are out of town.  Finally got out to eat at Wintzell's Oyster House for shrimp & grits.  Go back there, again, too!  Not as much bike riding/walking due to the wet weather.  We attended the traditional Christmas Eve service at Gulf Shores UMC.  Then volunteered for the first shift & ate at the second shift for Christmas dinner at the Gulf State Park today.  Always fun to meet new people!

Everyone be safe out there.  Later, David

Zoo & Lighted-Boat Parade

This week's adventure was a visit to the Gulf Coast Zoo - same zoo that was Animal Planet's "The Little Zoo That Could" & a trip to the marina next to Lu Lu's to watch the boats line up for the lighted-boat parade.

Last time we visited the zoo I ran out of battery power for the camera when we reached the big cat area, so this time we concentrated on the big cats.  We had a

good time.  Weather was great.  Zoo was crowded as they were having a free-entry-with-a- food-donation event.

Lighted-boat Christmas Parades are always fun, and this one was, too.  We stayed near the marina by Lu Lu's and watched the boats prep & line up.  Took pictures until it got too dark for me to take pictures, then drove along the international waterway as they boated

toward Orange Beach just to watch a few go by.  Maybe I should have tried a video?

Anyway, we had a good time.  We've had great weather this week. Lows in the 40s and highs in the 60s.  Looks like rain for the next few days and on into Christmas as various lows pass by.  So far no snow, no ice.  That's the way we like it!

Later, David

Settling In

University of Mobile's Ram Corps

We've survived  our first week.  Been out eating with some of the gang (Mikee's, LA BBQ, DeSoto's), met new friends, got to watch the University of Mobile's Ram Corps Christmas show at the State Park, and got a new  (temporary) tooth cap.  Oh, and spent lots of money at Camping World in Robertsdale, AL.

Donna's getting her bike rides in, and I'm getting in some walks.  Most of my scratches are healed though one knee and shoulder are still covered with tegaderm.   I can use my hands, again, and I can shake hands.  So that's good.  Probably start some of the trailer maintenance tomorrow that I had intended to do, but delayed, to let my palms heal.

So all-in-all, we're fine.  Everyone have a good weekend.  David

  

Everyone settles down at sunset.

Back at Gulf State Park, AL

We've arrived for winter and was greeted with spring-like weather.  Don't know who turned up the heat, but it's nice.  Had a nice trip down from B'ham.  We took the bikes in for servicing on Tuesday, got a couple of dental appointments out of the way on Wednesday (new temp cap for me), got the bikes back, and then I promptly fell of my bike before the numbness had gone from my new tooth-cap procedure.  Knees, hands (palms), elbows & shoulders beat up as is the left side of my face.  One shoulder, one knee & one palm covered in tegaderm (thin-film covering).  Broke my bike helmet & destroyed a cheap pair of sunglasses in the process.  Gonna be sore & sensitive for a few days.  Definitely put a delay in some of the trailer maintenance I wanted to do while it was warm.  As my Dad told me, I'm too old to fall off bikes!

Started visiting folks, too.  Greeted some of the people we've met in our previous trips to the state park (all staying in the state park, too.)   Got in one visit before we even had the trailer ready to bring the slides out.  Donna got in a long bike ride with the Folks-on-Spokes group today.  We finally got out to visit with Greg & Judy, had a nice dinner with them at Desoto's, and got a glimpse of Gulf Breeze's Christmas float.  Looking forward to lunch at Mikee's with everyone tomorrow, too.  Yep, we came here to eat!

Beginning to plan next year's roaming.  I think we're going to stay on the east side of the Mississippi River & try to make the Hitchhiker's forum's M&M rally in Michigan (August).  Also made reservations for a couple of weeks at Ludington, MI in late July.  We're thinking of spending a month or so in Two Harbors, MN.  We enjoyed our short trip there this past summer.  So we want to go back and spend more time visiting up & down the north shore of Lake Superior.  Need to make a short trip to Mitchell, SD, and I'd like to take a tour of Winnebago's manufacturing in Forest City, IA while we're out that way.  Need to make a decision on whether or not to have a residential fridge installed in the trailer, too.  Looking at having a Cheap-Heat electric-resistance add-on heater installed on our furnace as well.  Still no clue what we're going to do come March 1st when it's time for us to leave the state park, though.

Anyway, good start to winter even with the bumps from yesterday.  Yep, these, too, shall pass - as soon as the scabs grow on!  Later, David