January - Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama (The state made a seven-year deal with the publishing company to use it as their slogan. It is on all the signs as you enter the state. Brilliant. True!)
Endless white sand beaches, that is really all I need. The views in this charming beach side town grew on me and the southern hospitality grew on Dave. The month of January is a very quiet month for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Some days the weather can be downright cold, and the beach can be windy. Yet, every few days a beautiful warm day will happen and remind you of the warmer months soon to come. Rarely does it fall below freezing here. People stroll the beaches; bikers enjoy the many bike paths and even the alligators will come out of hiding to bask in the sun. The sunny days happen just enough to evoke a longing to visit again in the warmer months when the beaches will be bustling, and the ice cream shops open.
This was a month of family and rest. The year started out with a brief visit from Zoe. It was nice to have her company during walks on the beach. The girls’ grandmother drove her RV from Mississippi and camped with us in the same RV park. It was great for both girls to be able to spend time with their Nana. The RV Park was wonderful… too wonderful. It reminded me of many things I miss when living in a house…reliable internet, a decent washer/dryer and yard space. This month the RV seemed smaller than it has been for the past 5 months.
Dave and I did manage to get some adult time in New Orleans (and a king size bed) while Ava visited her Nana in Mississippi. New Orleans was the first place we have visited on this trip that enforced the mask mandates and vaccine cards. Every place asked to see your proof of vaccine. You could see that New Orleans was hit hard by the pandemic, so many places had closed since our last visit, it was sad. The few places that were open did not disappoint; the music was amazing. We lucked out with our hotel who hosted amazing bands below our room every night.
Having a slow month of travel was nice, but I look forward to the pending adventures of next month.