If This Is Pensacola It Must Be Saturday

Yes, like so many geezer-ish RVers, we frequently lose track of days.  And since my watch battery died, I even lose track of time.  It must be 1:00pm somewhere.  However, as we plan for our return we have to start paying better attention to make sure we meet our commitments.

So the decision is made, we'll return to Red Bay, AL and drop Chuck off to spend some time with his maker.  It will allow them to tweak a few things for us and we feel very comfortable storing him there until we're ready to go again.  The plan is to leave here Sunday (tomorrow), drive about 1/2 way to Clanton, AL, where we last camped in an ice storm on our way down here, then on to Red Bay on Monday.  Tuesday morning we'll move what we need into the car and winterize Chuck and start for home.  If the weather is bad Tuesday morning, we'll let Tiffin winterize Chuck and leave even earlier Tuesday morning.  Weather permitting we should be home Wednesday or Thursday.

Yesterday we took a quick trip to Lowe's...or at least it was intended to be a quick trip.  An hour later we had the two items on our list and half a dozen other things that we absolutely needed.  An RV is the gift that keeps on giving....to Lowe's and Camping World and True Value and...well you get it.  A really fun thing was that the Lowe's Garden Center was in full swing.  Yes, it's spring here and you can buy flowering plants outside in the Garden Center.  Whee!

outside Lowe's

From Lowe's we headed to Gulf Islands National Seashore - a string of barrier islands protecting the harbor from the Gulf.  It's home to a lot of history, plants, animals and sand.  It's beautiful and at this time of year, relatively untouristed.

Plowed intersection

Look familiar?  Yes, they have to plow the intersections here but it's sand, snow white sand, not snow.  Interesting problem to have, eh?  The landmass on the barrier islands is low and the wind/tides/storms frequently cover the roads with water and or sand.  You're warned that weather may strand you on the island if the floods comes quickly enough.

One end of one island is home to Ft. Pickens, which one of us insisted on calling Fort Slim Pickens.  It goes back to the early 1800's and long protected the naval base at Pensacola.  There are gun batteries there that were used up through World War II.  It's steeped in history and very dramatic.

part of Ft. (Slim) Pickens

Ammo bunker burned and exploded in the 1800's

 As we drove east towards the bridge and home, the water on both sides of the road turned turquoise and the sand and sky pink with the setting sun.  This photos gives you a hint at the drama of well-named Opal Beach.

Opal Beach at sunset

So homeward-bound tomorrow.  Melt the snow before we get there, OK?