Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Last Hurrah in Alabama and More

The winter weather in the north is finally finishing up  -- taking its sweet time!  We’re enjoying the last few days of temps in the 60s and 70s in Alabama while the weather in Indiana keeps improving. We’ll be Ferd in Gulf Shores, Alabamawinding our way back home soon.  So, I thought I’d write the “Last Hurrah in Alabama.” 

We’ve enjoyed being in the community of Gulf Shores, becoming used to the surroundings as you do over a three-month stretch.  There have been many sunny, 60-deg. days, but also some tremendously wet days. A few days the rain pounded so hard on our roof it hurt our ears.  I’ve written about some of our days when we checked out the beach, the parks, and the various goings on. (See Alabama link on right)  We even made it to a movie - American Hustle was a great surprise!  We’ve had some good times trying out the local cuisine, the seafood and sausage dishes are great.  I’ve walked the routes around the 496-site campground many times, observing the array of license plates from Alabama to Ontario.  Many of the people we’ve been parked with in the monthly-section here have made this their winter home for a number of years.  They reserve their spot for next year as soon as reservations open.  You see gatherings of old friends everywhere along the roads as you are coming in or out of the campground.  We are surrounded by folks from Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, as well as from Florida and Alabama, and the many Canadians.  They all agree that this winter has been colder than usual.  But, it’s a very nice place to be.

I do have one more food story.  In our exploring of the great seafood in the Gulf Shores area we noticed that there are “Reds” on the menus.  Since we haven’t spent any time in this area we weren’t really sure what this was. Red snapper first came to mind, but they wouldn’t call it that, right?  So, we googled it. We learned that these are a special kind of shrimp found in the deepest areas of the Atlantic ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. They’re very popular for their lobstery taste.  The other day we decided it was about time to try them. We were planning to share an appetizer of a pound of Royal Reds that we found on the menu at Mikee’s, one of our favorite spots.  Then, we inquired about how they were served.  And you know how Jerry doesn’t like to “work on his food,” unless he’s the chef.  WhenNancy at Gulf Shores, March 2014. the waiter explained that the “Royal Reds” were served whole, with heads, tails and shells, Jerry said “never mind for me.”  Well, I decided they sounded too good not to try them. I ordered the pound as my meal and got busy pulling off the heads and peeling the shells. Yes, they are pretty messy.  But, Oh My My!!   They do taste like lobster, mild and juicy.  And they are served with the melted butter, too. Yummy, yummy.  I think the waiter was surprised I ate them all.  But I thoroughly enjoyed my feast!

To wrap up my Last Hurrah I wanted to post my video of the ocean, lapping away at the shore.   It’s really beautiful - spectacular! (LOL)  But, for some reason I can’t get YouTube to upload it.  Tried it from my phone and from my laptop…no luck.  It’s frustrating.  I’ll figure it out later.  (Instead I guess I’ll post my selfie at the beach!)

As we’re making plans to sell Ferd soon, we’ve been talking quite a bit about how fortunate we’ve been.  These years on-the-road in the RVing lifestyle have been tremendous for us.  The fun experiences, the fabulous people, the beautiful scenery and unique places - they’ll never leave us.  Thanks to everyone who shared with us and made our time special.  And thanks to our families who encouraged us to enjoy ourselves!  We’re winding up this phase of our lives, but not Hurley Travels.  There are more travels to come, just a different type.

We could never choose the best of all those memorable stops, people and events. Many of them are in our posts for this blog in the right column, all fixed up with a title and attached photos.  Some of them we have to remind each other about.  Then we can smile again, sometimes even there’s a cringe,  while we describe what we each think we recall.  But, just for fun, here’s a brief photographic sampling of the last ten years at Hurley Travels:

 

Thanks for visiting Hurley Travels.  Be safe.

4 comments:

  1. I've always loved following your travels, even if I haven't posted anything to let you know. You were brave to try the "Royal Reds"!! I asked a waitress what they were after our second trip to Gulf Shores and then turned my nose up to them. We're making a return visit to that area this summer, so I'll be sure to try them now that I know they taste like lobster! You've got me so excited for this trip in June! Can't wait to hear what your next travel plans will be. Have a safe trip home!

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    1. Hi Anne, Glad you're up for the Royal Reds this time. It's not fun pulling off the heads, but I thought it was worth it. We'll get the lowdown on your experiences in Gulf Shores later in the summer. Have a great time.

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  2. Hi! O my Gosh! RVing just will not be the same without you 2 out on the road! We, among so many others, have learned so much from you guys and enjoyed so many great times with you! We will look forward to seeing you again...out here somewhere or we'll come to Indy and hunt you down! :)!! Lots of love & Hugs, Jan & Chuck P.S. We're honored that you included us in your travel collage. You've got some fabulous photos.

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    1. We can't thank you two enough for the special times! See you along the way.

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Hi: Thanks for your thoughts.