Gulf Shores 2010 - Day 1 (Monday)

Hello from cloudy and rainy Gulf Shores, AL!

After a long, exhausting week of exams to finish the semester last week, three of my friends and I decided to come to Gulf Shores for a week of relaxation and revelry. James, a friend of mine, brought up the possibility of us vacationing here back in the winter, and we have been planning it ever since. His parents own a condo just across the beach, and they allowed us to stay here free of charge!

After a wonderful lunch at his parents' house near Reform, AL yesterday, we left for the beach in flooding conditions; our area was under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning during our departure time. Six short hours later, we arrived in a misty, cloudy Gulf Shores. The town is quite empty; apparently the first week of May is not very busy.

Another reason why the area is empty could be the threatening oil spill. Forecasts last week had called for oil to arrive onshore in the Gulf Shores area today or tomorrow. Apparently many people canceled their plans to come down here because of the threat. However, today NOAA says that oil won't approach our area for the next three days, at the least!

We ate dinner at the Shrimp Basket and then browsed several souvenir shops. After that, we made the obligatory trip to Wal-Mart...at 10:45 PM. I think a total of ten people (besides workers) were there. After nearly an hour of debating what food to get, we came back to the condo.

James and Bryan decided to go explore the beach after we got back, but I was too tired to go with them. They were out there for two hours; good thing I didn't go with them.

This morning, we woke up around 11:00 am and made cinnamon rolls (Pillsbury, from a can). We decided to explore the beach again and found hundreds of Portuguese Men 'o War (poisonous jellyfish) along the beach, so we didn't stay there very long.

Because of the rainy conditions, we decided to venture to Tanger Outlet Mall in Foley, where we shopped until we dropped. OK, maybe not. But, everyone did buy something.

We came back to the condo and cooked spaghetti and meatballs and ate it by the pool behind the condo. After dinner, we tried to swim in the pool, but it was too cold.

I look forward to writing Tuesday's post! Beautiful weather and oil-free beaches await!