January 12th-13th - Exploring Gulf Shores

Sunday morning it was quite foggy. We went to church at “Our Lady of the Gulf” which was packed with all the northerners visiting. After church we went for breakfast in Orange Beach and then took a drive through “Gulf State Park”. It is a huge park with hundreds of full hookup campsites, cabins, a gigantic swimming pool, tennis courts, etc. We were surprised that the campground wasn’t full but many may be coming in soon. We were really impressed with the campground, the size of the campsites and the fact that other than the tents sites, all sites had full hookups. It is flat with miles of roads to walk and ride bikes on. Many of the sites are right on the canal and very scenic. After that we went back to the condo and watched the Packers win. Yippee! Go Packers!!!

Monday we headed to Pennsicola and had lunch at McGuires Irish Pub. It is a huge place, a block long, with a lot of  atmosphere. Here are a couple of pictures of the outside.

They are known for their huge plates of food and the dollar bills hanging everywhere. You can write your name on a dollar and hang it up. The waitress told us the last estimate was 2.8 million dollars hanging everywhere. Here are a couple of pictures.

We were seated in a room with a view of the 5,000 bottle wine cellar. Here are a couple of pictures. A few bucks tied up in there.

The food portions were large and delicious. A burger is 3/4 of a pound plus fries. Here is a picture of one.

Kelly ordered the special “Shepherds Pie”. Here is a picture. She said it was delicious but had to bring half home.

From the pub we headed down the road to buy some fresh seafood at “Joe Patti” to take home.

It is a busy fish market and one of many in the area. They give you number as you walk in like the old butcher shops. We bought shrimp, tuna, and flounder. We will have some good meals back home.

From the fish house we drove to the Florida-Alabama line for a drink at “Flora-bama Bar” which is on the Florida and Alabama line. It is a gigantic bar and an absolute dump. One form of decoration is bras thrown over ropes and pipes. Here are a couple of pictures.

We had a couple of beers in the main bar and listened to a lady singer and guitar player who was quite good.

We then headed back to the condo. We passed the evening playing a game and watching the LSU-Clemson game. Great day even with the foggy weather.