We reached Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama on November 1 and will spend all of November here. We came to spend time with old friends Phil and Jan Gordon, Tom and Roxi Rykal and Todd and Beth Ehlenfeldt. We met new friends, Gail and Scott Wahl.

The first two weeks of our stay had temps just the way I like them, upper 70’s to 80’s and even touched on 90 once or twice. Dave and I took advantage to get some of our tan back. We visited a couple of different beaches. A neat little beach bar made a good cooling off spot, The Pink Pony.

We enjoyed spending time off and on with the rest of the group. Sometimes we met at one site or another for an afternoon Happy Hour. A couple of times, we met at a local bar with Happy Hour drink and appetizer specials. We had a new visitor to the trailer…. Dave had a little trouble catching him to put him back outside.

We attended my first airshow at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. This was a completely free entry and parking show. There were two days to choose from. We went on the first day, November 4 and enjoyed beautiful blue skies and 80 degree weather. The next day was cloudy and cool.

I don’t remember the names and and types of most of the planes but it was fun to watch. The highlight was a performance by the Blue Angels to end the show.

We also wanted to take a dolphin cruise while the temps were nice. The first place we booked canceled on us for different reasons, two days in a row, at almost the last minute. We chose a different company for the third day and saw many dolphins, plus learned a lot about them. For example, they usually have a white belly but they mate up to 20 times a day and will have a pink tummy right after !

As we were driving away from the cruise, we got a message that the rest of the group was meeting at a local brewery. It was a neat place but the temp was cooling and then in sprinkled. We took shelter under a canopy.

We went to Hooter’s on two different Sundays to watch the Vikings. The first time, our Wisconsin friends joined us to watch the Packers — two different games, two different TV’s. The Vikings won that day (Nov 6) over Washington. Our friends were disappointed the Pack lost. The next week, we went out alone and watched the Vikings defeat the Bills in overtime! I’ve never watched football until I met Dave and now I really like it. It helps that the Vikes are having an awesome year.

One afternoon, the ladies decided we needed a Girls Day. Jan drove and we all went to see Ticket to Paradise. It was a great movie with great friends. Later, we wandered through the shops and ended our outing with a brew at Tacky Jacks. The town is getting ready for Christmas.

While I was working on this website on November 17, we felt and earthquake. It was the first time I had experienced one. It was weird and will be interesting to learn the magnitude.

On November 22, the entire group met for an early Thanksgiving dinner since Jan and Phil planned to be away on Thanksgiving. Dave and I hosted at our place and everyone contributed. I roasted the turkey according to Tom and Roxi’s recipe, using wine and butter as basting. Everyone contributed to the day. We had planned to play some Cornhole but never got around to it. Instead, we played some “Shit on Your Neighbor”. It was a great day and great food.

We started the festivities with a hiding game. Different “prizes” were hidden under each cup but one had a raw egg. The person who found that prize had to crack it over their head. Tom was the winner! I really couldn’t make a friend do that so we had substituted a hard boiled egg, but did not tell him until he broke it over his head. Other prizes were cash, candy, hot chocolate, cider, Fireball and vouchers to be cashed in next week at a final happy hour gathering. Jan and Gail won the vouchers.

Dave and I spent Thanksgiving at home. I roasted two Cornish game hens and we had leftover sides from Tuesday. Somehow, we didn’t get any of the leftover dressing! That was another delicious meal.

On Friday, I made game hen/ wild rice soup and it was delicious. Those little hens gave us about 10 meals!

On Sunday, Dave and I went to Fort Gaines. Last year, we had toured Fort Gaines, the twin fort on Dauphin Island, both guarding Mobile Bay during the War of 1812. Fort Gaines was already in use during the Civil War. It was interesting although not as complete as Fort Gaines. The best part was when we walked to the fort beach and watched some crabs scuttling around.

Our entire group met for a final happy hour on Monday, November 20th. We had planned to go to the Beach Bar for coconut shrimp appetizers but it was temporarily closed for floor repairs. Sad! However, we went to Tacky Jack’s and had a great time.

Our time in Gulf Shores is coming to an end. Tom and Roxi will leave on Tuesday, Todd and Beth on Wednesday. Gail and Scott as well as Dave and I will head out Thursday December 1. Jan and Phil are staying here for December. We are all looking forward to next November, here in Alabama.