Note: There are 13 photos in this post. Photos by me (Bruce), unless otherwise indicated, were taken with a Google Pixel 6 Pro or SONY alpha 6400. (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)
WED 01 – FRI 10 November 2023 — Luxury RV Resort, Gulf Shores, Alabama (1/3)
This is the first of three (3) posts that cover our time in Gulf Shores, Alabama during the month of November, 2023.
We arrived at Luxury RV Resort in Gulf Shores, Alabama on November 1st per our reservation, which was for the entire month (we got a better rate that way). We had stayed here before at the suggestion of our friends, Paul and Nancy, who now keep a 5th wheel trailer here during the winter, with their Goldendoodle, Bella. Robert, our new friend from this past summer, and his dog Buddy (an English Retriever), were also there for the month. Our friends, Kate and Charlie, were at their place at the Escapees Rainbow Plantation RV park in Summerdale, so not too far away. Having explored the area on our previous visit, we were looking forward to just having some time to relax and enjoy the pleasant weather in the company of these friends, including walks to the nearby seashore nearby (~1/2 mile), along with occasional visits to a few of the many things to see and do in the area, such as Fairhope, Alabama.
Our first sunrise in Gulf Shores, Alabama (for this visit) as seen from the rear windows of our 2020 Airstream Flying Cloud 27 FBT travel trailer at Luxury RV Resort. The weather was generally good during our visit; not too much rain with mild temperatures and some nice sunrises and sunsets.
The passenger/curb side of our travel trailer parked in our site for the month at Luxury RV Resort. Spacious enough site with a concrete pad/patio with a picnic table and good utility hookups.
A view of the beach and Gulf of Mexico looking east from the central beach plaza where Hwy 59 ends between E Beach and W Beach roads.
A view to the west from the same vantage point as the previous photo.
Gulf Shores is a somewhat quirky beachside town that trades on its location. It’s a well-maintained and attractive place, with beautiful white sand beaches, restaurants (with fish and seafood on offer, of course), night life, surf shops, t-shirt shops, and quintessential “tourist” shops, as well as a very nice state park and lots of nature and history in the surrounding area. It is a pedestrian and bicycle friendly place as well. The central beach area was approximately a 1/2 mile walk from the RV park. The photos that follow highlight a few of these things.
Souvenir City on the west side of Hwy 59 in downtown Gulf Shores, Alabama. Linda is standing in the mouth of the giant shark “sculpture,” which is where the entrance to the store is located. This place is definitely a “beach town” souvenir shop, and we spent an obligatory amount of time exploring all that it had to offer, which was impressive for its sheer quantity and diversity.
The “kitsch” at Souvenir City didn’t end with the entrance shark. This fiberglass model of the head end of a hammerhead shark was setup for photo ops, and we used it in accordance with the mandatory rules of tourist etiquette.
We only got the entire group together a few times during the month, but Nancy arranged for the use of the RV park clubhouse on Thanksgiving Day so we could share a meal with plenty of space to lay out the food, arrange seating at tables, and not be concerned about the weather. Everyone attended and shared the work of putting together a nice meal, but a bit more on that in post 3 of this set.
What would a tourist/beach town be without a diner? Hungry, I suppose. Not a problem here. The Sunliner Diner might not be authentic, in the sense of having been around for a long time, but it definitely had the look and feel, with some nicely preserved/restored old cars thrown in.
Just south of Luxury RV Resort, a major marsh extends east from Hwy 59 all the way to Gulf State Park. This boardwalk provided walking access to the Wade Ward Nature Park part of it. Linda walked almost every day while we were camped in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and I sometimes went too, along with Paul and Nancy.
The marsh mentioned in the previous photo caption clearly had some open water as well. We were always on the lookout for wildlife, especially alligators, of course. We saw birds and waterfowl and small animals, but never spotted any “gators.” The Luxury RV Resort office building and a few RVs are visible, center right in the photo.
Our travel trailer, center-frame, with the bathhouse to center-right. It was close enough to be really convenient. Also, the clubhouse was just across the street, and it also had bathrooms with showers.
This photo was taken some four (4) hours after the previous one. I think Linda is looking out over Mobile Bay as enlarging the photo faintly shows tall buildings on the distant horizon (in the direction of Mobile, Alabama). But don’t hold me to this.
The Gulf of Mexico from the beach west of the Gulf Shores, Alabama. Even when the weather was not all sunshine and unicorns, it was interesting and sometimes dramatic. A couple of oil platforms are just barely visible on the horizon, center and left in the frame.
Another photo from the same place on the beach. From left-to-right: Buddy, Robert, Linda, Nancy, Paul, and Bella. There was a small parking area out-of-frame to the left, with public access to the beach.
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