Friday we decided to head to Gulf Shores, AL to visit some friends from our Ohio Winnebago group. They are staying in the Gulf Shores State Park. This was a good chance to catch up on what they have been doing, since our paths have not crossed much in the last few years.
It was also a chance to revisit Gulf Shores. Anneke’s Aunt and Uncle regularly stayed in the Gulf Shores State Park during their RVing years. Since they came to Florida for our daughter’s wedding, they wanted to drive over to Gulf Shores and see what damage occurred when Hurricane Ivan passed over the area during the summer. They were truly shocked by the damage both to the city and the state park campground. At the time, we could not get very far into the campground as they were still cleaning up the mess.
On our return visit, we have found the state park restored and the campground better than ever, with new facilities and nearly 500 sites with full hookups. Our friends John and Verna were in a nice spot and plan to stay at least for a few more months. After touring the campground, we headed for town for lunch at one of the snowbird’s favorites. After enjoying our lunch and catching up, we went to town and were pleased to see how well the area has recovered. The landmark Souvenir City shop was back to its old self. The hurricane had placed five feet of water throughout the store nearly destroying it including the extra large shark out front. There are still some empty lots, but by in large things are looking pretty good.
We did take a few pictures during that visit back in Dec 2004 and are a stark contrast to the condition today.
12 comments:
Amazing what devistation Mother Nature can cause. It's also amazing how people bounce back from such catastrophies. :)
This post was very timely for us as we had just decided to head towards Gulf Shores and that state park when we leave Mississippi in a few days. The reviews for that park on RVParkReviews.com are very good. Nice to have that confirmed. Thanks!
We are considering heading toward the Alabama and Mississippi area within a few weeks, so your mention of “Gulf Shores State Park” is very opportune for us. Thanks for the information and the great pictures of the area. I am always stunned to see what hurricanes can do to man’s best efforts.
John
relaxedrush.blogspot.com
Mother nature's power is awesome; and so is mankind's capacity to bounce back (most of the time).
I really like your blog header picture. Awesome!
Glad that shark in front of the store isn't real, my grandson's would live it, though.
quite the contrast in the photos..mother nature can cause extreme devastion but the strength of the human spirit is evident in rebuilding that has gone on!..thanks for the great tour of the Gulf Shores.
Good to see folks not letting natural disasters beat them down forever.
It's sad to see how slowly the area has rebuilt, but at least it's getting there! Mother nature at her strongest.
Didn't know much about this park. Astate park with 500 FHU, that is so cool.
We stayed at the state park in Gulf Shores last year and loved it!! It is in a great location and close to a lot of things to do. Just curious, have you seen any affects from the oil spill on the beaches? We may be heading back to Gulf Shores sometime in February and, if we do, we may be staying at the state park or maybe the Escapees park (Rainbow Plantation) in Summerdale.
Where did you eat lunch at (Snowbirds favorite)? We love Gulf Shores to and have stayed at the State Park a number of times, it's one of our favorites.
We have so many "favorite" places there, not to mention the world's smallest Hooters (we love spicey food, what can I say). Lulu's, DeSoto's (great seafood), Franco's (in the strip center behind Hazel's), Hazel's for breakfast the buffet, and of course, Lambert's Throwed Rolls (go early for "lupper").
Have a great time there.
Jan
So glad to hear that the area has rebuilt following the storm.
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