Beach Trip 2011

Last Thursday morning David and I headed out to one of our favorite places to go….Gulf Shores/Orange Beach just “down the road a piece”….about 3 hours from home.     We arrived shortly after lunch and checked into our hotel.     This is the first time we’ve stayed at a hotel vs. a condo and I doubt we do the hotel thing again….we’re just too spoiled to having a nice big condo and not  a little bitty hotel room where we’re tripping over each other….oh, well, live and learn!

Here’s a view from our hotel room THE WHOLE TIME we were at the beach….everyone there was surprised at the fog, I felt like I was in a Twilight Zone movie, you couldn’t even see the water!

 

Here’s a view outside our hotel room!

 

Can you believe this?    We only got out on the beach one day for about 1/2 hour, that’s the only time the sun was out…at least in Orange Beach.    When we left and rode out to Foley the sun was out there!

 

Here’s the best it got on Saturday afternoon….just as soon as we got down to the water, the fog rolled back in!

 

 

Anyway, that didn’t stop us from shopping and eating!     Friday we went to Lulu’s a/k/a Lucy Buffet’s place.    We did a little shopping in the gift shop for the grandbabies then went over to the restaurant for lunch.    Unbeknownst to me, hubby had eaten twice at the hotel while I was getting  ready  so he wasn’t very hungry.   I ordered the shrimp salad which came with two fried green tomatoes.    

 

 

Oh, my goodness, that was the best shrimp salad I’ve ever tasted!    I was going to buy the cookbook that had the recipe in it but I found it on line and I can’t wait to make it.     In case you’d like the recipe, here’s a link.

 

 

 

 

Don’t you just love these pendent lights?    They remind me of something out of a Pottery Barn catalog

 

We went to the outlets and looked around a little but didn’t buy anything there either.    We ended up just going to Wal Mart and a few souvenier shops then back to the hotel to rest before going out Friday night to eat.     David wanted to go back to Lulu’s and so did I!     We got there at 6:00 p.m. and had an hour and a half wait but it was so nice outside, I had a little cocktail and we people watched!    It is such a family friendly place and we loved watching kids (both young and old) hula hoop.    Then the band started playing and they played songs even we knew!        We finally got our table at 7:30 and I immediately ordered the shrimp salad again!    Yes, it was that good.       David just had to order dessert and it was some kind of donut/bread pudding concoction….I just called it “death by donut”!     

 

 

By this time, I knew I’d blown my diet and so next week I’ll be eating much better!  

 

 

 

 

 

I think the lead singer  was channeling  Roy Orbison….he looked like him and sounded like him.

 

One of the beach shops I went in had these great subway signs, I wanted to buy one but I didn’t.    I might have to try my hand at making one, not sure how that will turn out.

 

 

 

David had been wanting ribs since we got down there.    Saturday night we went to Reds and Ribs which is across the street from The Hangout.     I must say the food and service were really good.    We had an appetizer of ribs which were falling-off-the-bone good and each of us ordered the catfish plate.    We should have shared because it way more food than I could eat.    

 

 

Sunday morning we got up and headed home around 10:00.    We stopped and ate at one of our favorite places in Greenville called Bates House of Turkey.   

 

 

David had the turkey salad plate and I had the smoked turkey sandwich.   At least we felt like we were eating a little better.    

 

But could we just leave well enough alone?    Oh, no!    We just had to stop at  Priester’s Pecans and sample lots of their pecans!   

 

 

Surprisingly, all I bought this trip was a pretty white lamp with drum shade at Old Time Pottery and some little $5.00 frames at Family Dollar I’m going to repaint and distress to use on a gallery wall I’m planning.      I’ve really tried to not buy much of anything  lately but just use what I have and take my time to make choices before buying things for the house.     I’d love to get Holly Mathis to help with some choices about our bedroom (I just can’t seem to get a handle on it and I love her designs)  and next year (when our house is paid off!) I want to completely re-do our den….re-paint, add picture frame molding under the chair rail, get some slipcovered furniture, add a new seagrass rug, etc.    I haven’t mentioned ALL of this to dear husband yet!    Oh, I’d also like to add some beams to our vaulted ceiling….lots of “wants”!

Next Thursday-Sunday we’ll be keeping our twin grandbabies while their mama and daddy take their annual trip with several couples to the Big Easy.      We plan on taking them to the lake on Saturday and then to church with us on Sunday morning.      Sunday afternoon they will have a pre-Easter thing at their church so we’ll take them to their other grandparents who attend that church.     I’ll be ready for another vacation by then!     But I will be going back to the lake again at the end of this month with my sister for our annual girl’s weekend there.

Have a great week!