Great Loop: Gulf Shores Layover


The Wharf Resort - Orange Beach

November 22-27, 2001

The white sand beaches adrift in turquois seas drove home that our adventure experience had changed dramatically.  Left behind was the anchoring in creeks and rivers, the colors of fall, and the muddy river banks.  We were now under blue skies and it was time to break out the shorts.  


The gulf coast is also a land of contrasts.  On one hand it is very much Las Vegas without the gambling.  Marlins adorned with Santa hats that belch fire after dark.  Light shows cast is an artificial fog. Tourist attractions beckoning in an effort to vacuum your last dollar from your pocket.  This is all occurring in the context of the absolutely lovely gulf coast.  Fortunately we found vast tracts that have, to date, resisted the developers bulldozer.  The parks were large and awe inspiring.  An eco-system of which we were not familiar.  From our mooring we had an unrestricted view of dolphins playing and feeding in the adjacent waterway.  This was an entirely new experience.  One of the reasons we set off on the Loop.



The very large Gulf Shores Park was an easy bike ride from the The Wharf Marina. The park contained 28 miles of bike paths and ran east - west between the gulf coast sand dunes and the developments along the Gulf Intra-Coastal Waterway.



One interesting feature of the bike paths was that they were elevated on wooden trestles over the swampy areas.  This made for a nice clickety-clack as you rode along.  We paused every now and then to see if any critters could be spotted, but the gators were shy or well camouflaged. 



As we approached the coast, the wooden trestle ramped up to cross over the coast highway and deposit you on a gulf shore beach adjacent to a nature interpretive center.


Here's a sign explaining safe pandemic distancing.  What we observed was that Covid was ignored.  Masking was none existent, bars and music venues we crowded, and life proceeded with out any pandemic precautions.


We did find a good coffee shop near our berth.  This was a good final destination for our morning walks.  Beth enjoyed their excellent avocado toast too.  



We enjoyed our 6 days in this location.  It was good to get off the boat and get some good exercise.  When in transit, the only exercise we get is with resistance bands and short walks prior to dark.  Amenities were nearby.  We refilled our propane tank, replenished groceries, ordered some boat parts for delivery in Panama City, and replenished our wine supply.  We also visited with friends from boats with which we were already connected and made new friends.  We were ready to get going though.  It was time to move on and see new sights.

Location: 1585 Gulf Shores Pkwy, Gulf Shores, AL 36542, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Top 5 posts

Great Loop: Hudson River, Erie Canal Planning Resources

Image
Erie Canal Locks between Waterford and Oswego Erie Canal Information Canal information from the NYS Canal Corporation  Profile and Mileage Table – New York State Canal System Marinas and Public Docks Erie Canal Maps Navigating the Erie Canal Features (bridges, Locks, etc.) along the eastern portion of the Erie Canal are listed by mileage. Travels with Tug44 - Erie Canal Travels with Tug 44 - Oswego Canal New York State Wineries Accessible by Water (3rd Ed. – June 2014) Hudson River Information Hudson River Guide 2015.pdf (hrbyca.org) A good source of current information on the Hudson is a monthly free magazine called "Boating on the Hudson" published by Beacon Publishing Corp. in Verplanck, NY.  Their web site is: www.boatingonthehudson.com/ A free pocket guide listing restaurants, lodging, and planned activities.  www.experiencethehudsonvalley.com Additional Hudson River Resources Travels with Tug 44 - Hudson River Additional  Great Loop Cruise Planning Information Great La
Read more

A Nautical Amble of Puget Sound

Image
 A Nautical Amble of Puget Sound: July 2021 After purchasing Amy Marie we spent some time customizing her to our tastes.  She was well maintained and loved by previous owners so not much was needed.  We focused our efforts on "tuning" storage, becoming familiar with onboard systems, adding a memory foam topper in the V-berth and other items to prepare her for the type of cruising we wanted to do.  The difficult part of the preparation has been trying to fit all the "toys" we want to bring into her 27' length.  The toy list included folding bikes and a stand-up paddle board. Our first day we visited Seattle.  We overnighted in Elliot Bay Marina Seattle has such  a distinctive skyline.  It is especially striking when approaching by boat. Elliott Bay Marina is just north of downtown Seattle.  A good staging spot for traversing the Chittenden Locks into Lake Union and Lake Washington.  It is a clean Marina with great facilities. Cocktail hour was enhanced by the won
Read more

Great Loop: Shake, Rattle and Oops

Image
I have come to the conclusion that trailering a boat is an quick and easy method to expose less than robust design decisions.  It has also reinforced that regular stops should be made each day to fully inspect the boat and trailer.  Today's excitement was finding that the rack which supports our solar panel and "rocket box" tried it's darndest to fly from the top of the boat. The day was quite windy. This combined with highway speeds created forces that the rack design could not withstand.  The verticals were restrained by a single set screw.  Vibration could easily cause the set screw to loosen and wind forces to have their way.  This combined with bouncing on rough sections of road resulted in the verticals popping out of their mounts. Our corrective action needed to be fashioned with items at our disposal.  But first, the stainless steel tubes needed to be bent into shape.  They had been "sprung" open.  I used a ratchet strap to bend the tube back into th
Read more

Great Loop: Jungle Cruise - Hontoon State Park

Image
Cruising Dead River near Hontoon State Park Great Loop:  Hontoon State Park – Jungle Cruise March 22 nd , 2022 It all began with a conversation on the dock.  We stopped to talk with a fellow on a Rosborough trailerable trawler.  He is retired and volunteering for a couple of months at Hontoon State Park on the St. John’s River.  As we always do, we made his acquaintance and inquired  about what fun or interesting things there are to do locally.  Mast is in the Down Position The conversation ended with “Can you get your air draft down to 10’ or less, I’m taking family out for a cruise around Hontoon Island tomorrow, would you are welcome to follow along?”  “We’ll be following a dead branch of the St. John’s River and it’s full of wildlife.” Why a 10’ air draft I asked.  Well for the overhanging trees was the reply.  Our Ranger Tug, being trailerable, has a fold down mast.  We can reduce our air draft to 9’.  We were in! We followed this Rosborough on our Jungle Cruise Amy Marie en
Read more

Great Loop: Atlantic City and on to Great Kills

Image
The conditions that greeted us as we exited Cape May into the Atlantic June 1st and 2nd, 2022 The weather turned boisterous overnight.  We had experienced very gentle and benign weather for our trip down Delaware Bay.  Something for which we were thankful.  The next day we had to pay the piper.  After departing Cape May we experienced 30 minutes of pounding into big wind waves as we voyaged north and we encountered larger boats turning around and returning to Cape May.  It was clear this was not the day to move north up the Atlantic coast. The radio net was active as the assembled boaters discussed possible next steps.  We said we were going to try the no longer maintained New Jersey Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW) north to Atlantic City.  Very quickly we had 3 boats asking to join us if we led the way.  Others chose to anchor till weather improved.  Of those that chose the ICW option, we were the shallowest draft boat, so they wanted us to go first to scout out water sufficiently deep fo
Read more