The Gulf State Park Tradition...

[bama_ed]

One last sunrise pic. @tiggerdad walked over for the big event.



Then we each had our little breakfast (him a honeybun, me 2 banana muffins) and then it was puzzle time.

Here is the post-sort.





We made the border this far but overlooked 4 edge pieces which are mixed in with the rest. I blame him of course.

I don't have much planned today. Would like to go for a long walk this morning.

Ed

 

[Flametamr]

We are on the road. See yall around noon.

 

[4077]

Sunrise is at 550am here but to be honest it starts about 20 minutes prior to that.



Having been here many times in recent years in the spring/fall, the start of summer has the sunrise more to the left of the lake near the Camp Store.



















Ed

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

 

[4077]

but overlooked 4 edge pieces which are mixed in with the rest. I blame him of course.

I can speak from experience that it was very stressful trying to live up to not putting the edge pieces into the other piles

Four seems no too bad

 

[tiggerdad]

Good to see @Flametamr, @Teamubr, and @tigger92662 made it in safe and sound today. Had some discussions on their trips down which sounded adventurous for Jim.

On meal tomorrow, let's shoot for eating around 5pm. I have utensils covered, though if someone will volunteer extra plates that would good. I'm frying a turkey, cooking baked beans, corn on cob. Plan is to make homemade ice cream as well, chocolate and vanilla.

I figure best to just let everyone bring their own drinks as this can be quite variable but I will have a cooler with ice available if you need to store them. This would eliminate need for a lot of cups.

Be thinking on what you guys want to bring, honestly, anything is perfectly fine and nobody cares if it's store bought. I'm more interested in the company than the food to be honest which is why I haven't put a lot of emphasis on a menu.

I'm planning on attending puzzle time in the morning and heading to grocery store afterwards if anyone wants to ride and save on the traffic problem.

Good to be back together again!

 

[bama_ed]

Update for tonight:

After the puzzling this morning, I did manage to get out and do a 6.2-mile walk this morning starting at 815am. It was blue sky but the air was still cool and humidity in the 40% range (nice). I began down toward the pull thru sites on the canal, out to the campground road, up past the blue water tank, and straight on the old road towards the old golf course.



The start/end is at my campsite then south along the canal/pull-thru the up the old road (Mile1/2).

Of course you see some interesting trailers/setups along the way. For instance, I think this guy decided his one AC unit on the roof was not enough so he hung a window unit to take care of a front bedroom cooling.



I admire the set-ups that combine tents with grab-and-go. Have to admit, I don't see too many 60yo's using these kind of rigs but God bless the younger people who do.



DW might have trouble with climbing the ladder to the tent platform. Then again, I might too.

Water tank (don't ya know?).



About mile 2 I made a short uphill walk thru the woods to the old state park golf course (now closed) but the state is building more rv sites on the grounds there (slightly more upscale). So far it only looks like they've done infrastructure work so far (drainage, utilities, grading, etc.)





And looking back town the old 1st Fairway towards the 1st Tee next to the clubhouse.



Along down the trail a snake was trying to get across.





@tiggerdad was telling me just yesterday he like the part of the trail up there along the golf course where there is a lot of spanish moss hanging. And I found his spot. It does remind me of the Walking Trail we used to have between FW and WL. This is about mile 3 on my map above.



I'm about halfway thru my walk. Let's continue in the next post.

Ed

 

[bama_ed]

At mile 4 I turned south down the powerline trail to start my return to the campground. This segment is out in the open and used to be wood chips.



But about 3/4 of the way down the powerline, there was a gator off to the left in some water.



His nose/eyes is to the left of his back ridges.





It's warming up now at mile 4.5 and this stretch has no shade. I'm beginning to feel it but I press on.



I make it back to my campsite, hang my hammock, and prepare to chill.



I uploaded the sunrise photos, hydrated, then prepared lunch. As I've written here before, a favorite is a grilled cheese sandwich (well, 2 of them) on thick Texas Toast (no crinkle fries so chips will do).



It's a beautiful day here.



After lunch I climb in my hammock, got a good book, and look toward the main road where our DIS buds will turn off to the right to set up around us.



Ed

PS - @Flametamr arrived before lunch (his site was not used last night) so he was the first horse in the barn, so to speak.

PPS - my DD laughs at me because I am awkward getting in, out, and around in the hammock. But I assured her that @tiggerdad and @Teamubr, who are medical professionals, would be within eyeshot, earshot, or cell phone range if I hurt myself in the hammock

 

[bama_ed]

It was such a beautiful day today and this afternoon especially that I dozed off in my hammock. I was excitedly waiting like a kid trying to stay up till midnight on New Years Eve for our Dis Buds to arrive. But I was awakened about 4pm by a blast of the air horn from @Teamubr 's rig as he made the right turn and saw me asleep at my post.

@tigger92662 arrived shortly thereafter and then it was time to say hello to all and catch up on the travel reports and imminent news.

Eventually I got around to starting dinner (a shrimp scampi on pasta) with leftover shrimp from @tiggerdad 's boil last night. It took a while to remove the shells and it brought back memories of my dad making me and my brothers do the same task (including removing the heads and deveining shrimp he'd bought).



Throw the shrimp and spices in the skillet with butter, olive oil, and serve it over pasta with shag-cut fresh parsley and a fresh 'mater on the side. And some Pinot Grigio in an insulated cup.





Nice evening. Bugs aren't bad. Tomorrow is Sunday so church at 11am after morning puzzles then get something for the Sunday night pot luck. I have an idea on what to bring.



Ed

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1. Alas, I and wife ARE NOT true campers.
2. Our younger daughter does camping, but not us.
3. Being WDW locals, we always find a way to do DIS-MEETS.
4. So, if one gets planned (WHENEVER) count us in.
5. I will need my scooter or wheelchair, but we will attend.

NOTE:
Our next WDW event is the Sept-2025 Carolwood Society "Un-Meeting"
Carolwood is the the group honoring Walt's love of trains.
It is called un-meeting since it is not in California.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

It was such a beautiful day today and this afternoon especially that I dozed off in my hammock. I was excitedly waiting like a kid trying to stay up till midnight on New Years Eve for our Dis Buds to arrive. But I was awakened about 4pm by a blast of the air horn from @Teamubr 's rig as he made the right turn and saw me asleep at my post.

@tigger92662 arrived shortly thereafter and then it was time to say hello to all and catch up on the travel reports and imminent news.

Eventually I got around to starting dinner (a shrimp scampi on pasta) with leftover shrimp from @tiggerdad 's boil last night. It took a while to remove the shells and it brought back memories of my dad making me and my brothers do the same task (including removing the heads and deveining shrimp he'd bought).



Throw the shrimp and spices in the skillet with butter, olive oil, and serve it over pasta with shag-cut fresh parsley and a fresh 'mater on the side. And some Pinot Grigio in an insulated cup.





Nice evening. Bugs aren't bad. Tomorrow is Sunday so church at 11am after morning puzzles then get something for the Sunday night pot luck. I have an idea on what to bring.



Ed

WOW-WOW-WOW !!
This looks so yummy, and I am drooling by just viewing.
May ask wife to thaw my shrimp for Sunday lunch.
I love raw shrimp (no heads or "vein") with cocktail sauce.
We usually eat after church and before a local Trivia Contest.
Our team has us and another retired couple.
As "Dingle & The Berries", we usually win enough for the bar tab.

 

[tiggerdad]

While Ed is away, the squirrel will play. It's quite a distance but if you can see on his bike the squirrels are trying to figure it out. They searching his basket.


In other news, DD and I returned to one of our honey holes back off the waterline to "mine" for seashells. Yesterday's haul:

 

[wabbott]

While Ed is away, the squirrel will play. It's quite a distance but if you can see on his bike the squirrels are trying to figure it out. They searching his basket.
View attachment 969941View attachment 969942View attachment 969943

In other news, DD and I returned to one of our honey holes back off the waterline to "mine" for seashells. Yesterday's haul:
View attachment 969944

Many, many olives. One of my favorite Gulf seashells.

 

[bama_ed]

Here is the progress on the puzzle after morning #2. Puzzlers included @Teamubr, @Flametamr, @tiggerdad, son of @Teamubr, and yours truly. @SouthAlabama5er phoned in during the session.

 

[4077]

@SouthAlabama5er phoned in during the session

Phoning in puzzle work… that’s a new one … good job all!

 

[bama_ed]

Tonight was the one official gathering of this DISMeet at GSP, a pot-luck dinner at @tiggerdad's site. He deep fried a turkey, @Flametamr cooked some chicken in his pellet smoker, and we all brought more meats, sides, and desserts.

@tiggerdad cutting up the turkey (hot and moist).



Two views of the food spread from either end of the serving line.





Here is a close(r) up view of the main protein available tonight.



A good time was had by all (we have 7 campsites here) including our folks who arrived today (before dinner). A huge thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Tiggerdad for hosting the party. It went very well (I would say).



I brought some Wal-Mart chocolate-on-chocolate brownies and a vegetable. In homage to our @garneska and @hgarnes, I cooked some asparagus in butter and garlic and lightly seasoned them with salt/pepper.



I was relieved that it all got eaten.

Tomorrow more puzzling in the AM then a bike ride.

Phoning in puzzle work… that’s a new one … good job all!

Well, it would be more accurate to say Randy called Michael to just chat on speaker while Michael was working on the puzzle. But Flametamr and I both said hello. So this was not a Zoom call to let Randy "digitally place" a puzzle piece. We all, though, laughed a lot during the convo.

Ed

 

[tiggerdad]

Thank you for posting report on the great Dismeet this evening Ed. Really appreciate everyone who came over and contributed with good laughs and conversation. We had ample food. Temps were not bad either.

I admit, did find myself getting choked up discussing missing some of our great Disers from the past who have regrettably left us including GrumpyAggie, Stratman50th, and PaHunter. Greatly miss those guys..

We discussed getting together Tuesday for trip over to Pensacola for the aviation museum and Blue Angels as long as weather holds out.

Will plan on puzzling in the morning and I'll join Ed on a bike ride as my girls will certainly still be in bed.

Great day!

 

[bama_ed]

Morning #3 update. Progressing well.

 

[bama_ed]

Having worked a number of these 1,000 piece puzzles, they have a certain pattern to them (mostly). You start at ground zero (sort and try to build the 4 side edges), climb the hill (slow, sometimes frustrating progress), but then the hill tops out level (getting a rhythm going-almost where we are today), then it tips downhill (gets easier as there are fewer pieces and more obvious places where they go), and then accelerate down back to ground zero (finish). I feel like we almost topped out today. Today was me (bama_ed), MIchael (tiggerdad), and Jim (teamubr). We put in a solid 2 hrs this morning.

After that I wanted to do the bike ride before the sun got too high and too hot. Michael agreed to go with me (to keep me from getting lost, I think). We set off, encountered a blocked off boardwalk/bridge (a recent storm knocked down a big tree across it so they were removing the tree and rebuilding the rails/sides/tread of the boardwalk), and had to backtrack and reconfigure on the fly. NO PROBLEM.

Jim, tell Ian it was a 12.4 mile bike ride as laid out here.



You can see at mile 2 up the Powerline Trail we went right past the Orange Beach athletic fields (m3), encountered the blockage, and reversed back (m4), back down the Powerline, then left/east and made a loop. It's mostly level, paved, and had bikers, joggers, and walkers. Portions of shade too. It took 90 minutes with some stops. More on that later.

We rode out toward the Orange Beach water tank (mile 5-7) which is at the connector hwy between the Beach Hwy and Canal Road.



Then we turned north along the connector to another trailhead (parking, water fountains) to head for home to the west (mile 8-9). The sidewalk runs very close to the connector road. I let @tiggerdad take the lead here.





But once you reach the other trail head and turn west, it's quiet and peaceful again.



On the way back we made a stop to explore and look around. I'll detail that in the next post.

Ed

 

[bama_ed]

During our ride we got off the bikes and walked around the "glamping" area named the "Outpost Campsites" at mile 6. There are (I think 6 in total) canvas tents on platforms with cots if you want a more rustic experience than a trailer/rv but don't want to sleep on the ground. Here is the state park link to the Oupost page:

https://www.alapark.com/parks/gulf-state-park/outpost-campsites

They have a central sink/dish station, shower, his/her toilets, fire rings, and plastic chairs. Here are the pics I took:

















I did not hear any road or hwy noise. Bet it's quiet and peaceful out there at night.

@tiggerdad spotted an old straw hat that had been abandoned there. He didn't want it but I took it because I only brought a baseball style cap this trip which is inadequate sun protection for the face/ears when I'm on long walks or bike rides. It's pretty beat up but it will do the job I bet.



After hydrating, I hit the grocery store (Wal-Mart), fish market (Blalock's), and souvenir store (Souvenir City) before heading back to the campsite for lunch. I got some red snapper and pint of oysters at the market. Plan to try to make an oyster po-boy here at the campsite tonight but have to look up a recipe and technique with the limited means I have. Snapper will be for tomorrow.

Time to chill and read in the hammock this afternoon. Weather is glorious 85F, breezy, flies have not been bad, new camper mattress gets a good grade, and I have not gone hungry so far.

Ed