Leaving Florida behind was the “official” beginning of our 2019 westward migration. We started earlier this year than we did in 2014, and moved more quickly through Alabama and Mississippi. We’d learned our lesson on that last trip at the end of April – the tremendous thunderstorms we rode out one night near Pensacola still … More Third time’s a charm – Dauphin Island, AL
When we planned this route last year, we thought most of the bad storms occurred in the Spring months. But it turns out that Fall can be equally nasty – as we found out firsthand. Well, now we know!
With our urban meanderings out of the way for a while, we set our eyes on what Reader’s Digest called “One of America’s scenic drives,” the Lookout Mountain Scenic Parkway. It’s 93 miles long and spans three states as it stretches from Gadsden, Alabama, through the northwest corner of Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Lucky for us the … More Discovering Lookout Mountain Parkway – and more
The five-day stay at our favorite Corp of Engineer (COE) campground in Gunter Hill, AL (you can search back to Steve’s review from March 2013 here) was more of a downtime stop – we’re calling it the calm AFTER the storm. It’s not like we don’t have enough downtime, but this was one stop where we didn’t even leave the … More The real Iron Man, Lady Liberty and a Cherokee Maiden…
Jacks up, slides in and we were out of there, happy to be heading north from the Alabama coastline into new territory. Like other folks we’ve been following, we’re glad we came through that vicious storm relatively unscathed. As longtime Californians, we just aren’t used to this kind of crazy weather! But we’re reminded that we need … More How do you catch a snake? A GBH knows!
While writing this post, violent thunderstorms were hammering us again – the worst either of us has ever seen. We were right in the path as severe storms and even a few tornadoes moved through the area, and at one point there were reports of over 70,000 lightning strikes and 5 inches of rain being dumped … More Enjoying and NOT enjoying Gulf Shores, AL
Being former Californians, we’re used to fairly stable weather and not a lot of surprises. But while traveling in this lifestyle, we’ve had to get used to being prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws at us. For example, we were amazed by the non-stop rain for 3 days at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and the sustained high … More What to do when you’re cooped up for three days?
We have been dilly-dallying near the Alabama coast before continuing our trek north, wanting to make sure that Spring has sprung and temperatures are on the rise before we continue our adventure. So here we are, hanging out at Gulf Shores for the next three weeks. There’s lots to do here, but because this is our second … More Outdoor fun before the storm – Gulf State Park, AL
Like last year, when we moved from Dauphin Island to Gulf Shores AL, I took the car on the ferry while poor Steve had to drive Betsy 85 miles around on the highways (Betsy is too big for this ferry). Arriving at the Fort Morgan ferry landing, I drove straight to Fort Morgan State Historical Park … More The blogger’s biking and birding bonanza in ‘bama
Lowes Travels 