Back to Gulf Shores

Another Friday lunch at  Mikee's.

At our favorite breakfast joint.....Krystals!

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Thanksgiving & instant family!!!!

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday with Jody & Renato and an instant family.  Just add a home, love and diapers and look what you get!  They have been trying for some time to have a child, then tried adaption while in Biloxi and went through the Forster Care/Adaption program in GA.  After jumping through all the hoops and training and paperwork and background checks they had a call and less than a week later two great little ones.  They have no idea yet if they will get to adapt them or this will be short term if the parents or family want them back.  Dustin is almost 2 and Brianna is 6.  I had some reservations going over for Thanksgiving with them just getting the kids and me being an old fart enjoying peace and quiet.  The dogs are enough for me!  I was VERY impressed!  Dustin and Brianna were a joy and very well behaved.  Of course we were there for only 4 or 6 days and kids will be kids.  Jody & Renato are making wonderful parents.  I can't imaging how much of a sudden life changing situation this must be for them but they are 200% into it with these two beautiful children.

"Little man" Dustin.

Brianna

Game time for granny and Brianna.

Fun time for mom and Dustin.

Renato made pizza for me one night and the kids definitely have an appetite, boy do they eat good. They eat so well they keep Renato busy cooking,  no picky eaters in this house!

Thanksgiving day dinner.  Truly blessed!

Gulf Shores

Got to have the annual picture of Judy hugging a palm tree, her favorite is behind McDonalds.

Want to join this fellow feeding the sea gulls?

We always gather at Mikee's at 11am Friday for an early lunch.  Anywhere from 4 to 10 attend.

Happy hour

Here we are one evening with our HitchHiker friends after dinner at King Neptunes.  Mike & Debra, Craig & Jenny, Judy & I, & a new couple passing through we haven't met before.....forgot their name.

                                                                      Just relaxing.

 

                                       A selfie I took in the truck when I was texting with Devyn.

Birthday girl

It's Judy's birthday so that means cake.  She also got some flowers, 8 bottles or Cotton Blossom lotion and a Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD.  Of course we went to DeSotos for dinner too.

Gulf Shores and down for the winter!

YEA!  Back to Gulf Breeze RV Resort for another winter.  We had planned on taking site 43 which we had 3 winters ago but the trees had grown and we didn't want to park under them.  Our HitchHiker friends, Mike & Debra, are 2 roads over and we wanted to be near them so we took a site two away from them.  It was hot, mid 80s, so we had a cool down rest after setting up then went to see Mike & Debra who were gracious and had dinner prepared for us!  The next day the park maintenance workers were busy cutting the grass so I borrowed a tree trimmer from them and climbed into the bed of the truck and whacked off several small branches that were rubbing on the roof and side.  It was a busy day as we were both up at 6:30.  Judy dried off the truck and I cleaned the bugs off the HH front cap and dry waxed it.  We went to Krystals, our favorite breakfast spot.........

  
I dropped Judy off at a shuttle bus site and she went to the Shrimp Festival, this is the first time we have been down here early enough to check it out.  While she did that I aired up the bike tires and lubed the chains, vacuumed the truck, and a couple other minor tasks.  Judy call about 1 so I drove over to the shuttle bus site and brought her home.  It's in the high 80s and very humid.
Poor Patches is whipped after all the travel but she'll be back to normal after a couple days sleep......

                                 Every year when we get down here she hugs the palm trees

Livingston, LA

It was 281 miles today, almost all on I10 and I12.  While being passed by a FedEx tandem truck we heard a loud sharp bang.  We pull off shortly after this and the bottom of the rear driver side door was dented and scratched.  The semi must have kicked up a sizable rock or cunk of cement.  Rudy & Linda have stayed at this campground and recommended it, it's Passport America and half off so $20 was a decent price for an overnight stop.