Who Wants To Try a DIS-Meet At Gulf State Park In May-June 2016?

[bjschil]

Ok, totally off topic but I'm too excited not to share with my camping board family...

I'm surprising the wife and taking her on a DCL cruise next weekend for her birthday on the Dream =) We leave Friday the 29!!

Job well-done. You are setting the bar quite high for some! Truthfully, have an awesome time. We did a 7 day last January on the Fantasy, and loved it, and booked a bounce back. Now to decide soon when is best! Enjoy, and Happy Birthday to your wife.

 

[Teamubr]

Congrats Bishoparc!

I'm considering doing that next year for DS' graduation, but I want to get back to the Fort too.

Let us know how you like it. We've never been on a cruise, much less a DCL cruise.

j

 

[Bishoparc]

Let us know how you like it

Oh I can tell you now we love it! lol We went on our first one for before our trip to the Fort last September and have been dying to get back on another one. We had already booked another one for our anniversary this September but we had been wanting to go on another one so bad I just took the opportunity to book another one

It was quite honestly one of the best vacations we've ever taken. Just being "forced" to unplug from the rest of the world and only focus on each other not to mention the Dream is one of the most beautiful ships I've ever seen. When we were in Nassau we were parked beside ships from Carnival and Norwegian and they were all rusted out and some even had duct tape on the outside! The Disney team just takes suchhhhh great care of their ships. The CM's on board just remind me of old school Disney service, it's worth every penny!

 

[jedi_howard]

I am headed down just a couple weeks after yall are leaving. I have heard so many good things both here and from others about this park my family is skipping the annual Panama City vacation to try this place out. super excited about it.

 

[tiggerdad]

Howard,
You should enjoy it plenty. Hopefully the cleanup from our trip will be completed and the wildlife will have returned.

 

[jedi_howard]

i hope so tiggerdad. we got a water site on alligator road. hoping to get some fishing in, but with two little girls it might take some work.

 

[tiggerdad]

Maybe Randy won't injure the gators too bad during his wrestling show and they'll be there for you to look at. If not, maybe they'll put up a memorial for them.

 

[Teamubr]

jedi,

I went to Panama City last year and have been to Gulf Shores several times as well as Destin, Ft Walton and Okaloosa Island.

You will like Gulf Shores much better than PCB. Destin is probably my favorite, but Gulf Shores is a close 2nd.

j

 

[Flametamr]

I love shrimp. The wife and daughter not as much. But put us down for three. I will eat their slack if needed.

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

Ok Ed, I think I figured out how to post this. I saw this this morning on the local news, wanted to share with everyone coming to GSP. The state released plans for updating Gulf State Park.

 

[bama_ed]

http://www.local15tv.com/news/featu...State-Park-Unveiled-252020.shtml#.Vqt0rFJpsjI

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

http://www.local15tv.com/news/featu...State-Park-Unveiled-252020.shtml#.Vqt0rFJpsjI

Thanks Ed, Im not too computer savvy!

 

[bama_ed]

We will get you savvy in May!

Here is the actual plan - it's a 22 page PDF file: http://gulfstateparkproject.ua.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/20160128_PublicMeeting4_Boards.pdf

I wish wi-fi in the campground was phase 1 rather than phase 2.

Randy, thanks for letting us know this came out. I gotta tell my dad to play the golf course one more time before they close it.

Bama Ed

 

[tiggerdad]

Ed, he doesn't have to be savvy to wrestle gators. Dressed up savvy, maybe.

I was wondering where things were with the court battle over the use of the BP funds for the lodge. Hadn't heard anything in a while. Here is the website that I usually frequent to try and get some information.

http://gulfstateparkproject.ua.edu/

Scroll down to the overview part and you will find some videos including one on the old lodge which shows some pictures of both the old lodge and the campground prior to the Hurricane Ivan damage.

Also, some videos on the Dune project and how they are trying to improve on it.

Under the News heading you will find some of the same information included in the news video listed above plus some other information including info on what phase 2 and 3 possibly include. There isn't a lot of detail but gives an idea of where they are wanting to go with it.

 

[bama_ed]

In looking at the Unveil Plan, it's interesting. I applaud all the extra trails and biking facilities they want to build.

The "proposal" to build a 3rd bridge over the intercoastal waterway and connect it to Park Road #2 down the Beach Highway doesn't appear in the final plan (I posted the proposal on page 3 or 4 of this thread). And I hope it doesn't. Orange Beach has complained for years/decades that with so much condo traffic on the Beach Highway, they need another north-south route to the beach other than the single route on Hwy 161 over by Perdido Pass. They've lobbied for a big 4-lane (or bigger) road or elevated road through the middle of the Gulf State Park wilderness to correct the problem they created by overbuilding along the beach. Naturally, the State Park people (and Conservation & Wildlife Department in the State Capitol) won't pave over this natural treasure for the town of Orange Beach. When the toll bridge was initially built by the Wharf, they tried to extend the Beach Express down to the Beach Highway. No way, Jose'.

Still looking forward to our GSP stay at the end of May. It's one of the few places I can bring my Tiki Torches (I'll also bring my hour long background music loops from the Polynesian Resort. And the one from Old Key West might fit in too).

Bama Ed

PS - plus the Bob Marley CD called "Legend" (sort of a Greatest Hits). Yeah, I'm old and I buy the CD but I like buying from Amazon because they give me an MP3 version of every CD I buy to listen to online or download so no need to Rip. Also a good Gulf Shores song disc. Oh and since Jimmy Buffett's syster owns a restaurant in Gulf Shores (actually two that I know of) any of Jimmy's CD's are appropriate (I have the Vegas Live CD). He's just a Bama Boy from Mobile and the Eastern Shore. It all works.

PPS - Jimmy started college at the University of Auburn but quickly flunked out (which takes some serious effort). What fine academic institution did he finally graduate from?

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

Oh and since Jimmy Buffett's syster owns a restaurant in Gulf Shores (actually two that I know of) any of Jimmy's CD's are appropriate (I have the Vegas Live CD). He's just a Bama Boy from Mobile and the Eastern Shore. It all works.

As a official bonafide Parrothead, I have just about every JB song on my ipod. So I gotcha covered there Ed.

We might have to work on Tiggerdad some, I don't believe he's too much on some JB.

P.S. thanks everyone on the number count for the shrimp boil.

 

[tiggerdad]

As a official bonafide Parrothead, I have just about every JB song on my ipod. So I gotcha covered there Ed.

We might have to work on Tiggerdad some, I don't believe he's too much on some JB.

P.S. thanks everyone on the number count for the shrimp boil.

Heard of him, know a couple of the songs. I get into that kind of music better than say country music or rap. More of a metal fan, but I also like blue grass (go figure) and jazz.

Now, if he had bitten the head off a parrot...

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

Jimmy Buffett has "songs you know by heart", well help you get music savvy while yall teach me some "basic" (there's that word again) computer skills.

We left on a Friday afternoon drove all night, stopped at a service plaza on the Florida Turnpike for a nap, drove another 3 or 4 hour the next day to West Palm Beach to see JB in concert, stayed that night drove all day Sunday home with a slight hang over, oh yeah, btw we towed our camper, the Venue had camper parking with full hooks, tailgate at a JB concert in style! It was all worth it!

 

[tiggerdad]

Curve ball here,

Just an FYI. If any of you have a Winn Dixie near you. Here in Meridian, they have chicken leg quarters on sale for $.25 a pound. Max 40#. Not bad for $14 after tax. Perfect grilling size. Might have to bring the Holland Grill with me to GSP.

 

[garneska]

Randy, hope you can add two more to the headcount. Yes we are booked. Nothing left on Sumac or Live Oak. We are site 99 on bobcat from Saturday may 28 till Saturday June 4. We had been talking about going but I did not want to get Tiggerdad's kids excited if we did not come. For us there is always a possibility of cancelling because of work but usually it is not an issue, we can hotspot from the phone. Can't wait to meet everyone.

We have 91 Jimmy Buffet songs on the iPhone and a Bluetooth speaker.

We will need the best route in, not looking forward to traffic on that Saturday drive but I can't wait to camp. Plus it should be flat for Mallory and Yeti to walk.

Dogs went to vet. Yeti is old and arthritic and Mallory has a bad UTI. Most of the visit cost was drugs for the two of them, though we get Mal's antibiotic at Publix on the free program.