Warm Weather at Last: Alabama Gulf Coast and Sun Outdoors RV Park

With another approaching snow threat in Illinois, we headed south again, this time opting for Sun Outdoors RV Park in Orange Beach and the Alabama Gulf Shores. In February, the weather was in the upper 60s and low 70s, which was perfect for outdoor activities including hiking in Gulf Shores State Park, miniature golfing, eating seafood on the beach, sightseeing, and just relaxing in the sun. 

We found reservations at Sun Outdoors RV Park , in Orange Beach for our 5-day stay and loved the park, the people, and the location. This was our first experience with an RV resort and didn’t realize that they checked the age of the vehicle before approving our stay. Since our previous camper was an older 2006, this resort felt very upscale to us. We loved the lighted electrical outlets, the roomy, clean and level cement pads, and the little-used amenities. The laundry was clean and well-lit, with large windows on both sides, we were the only ones to use the hot tub or pool during our visit, and the pickleball courts were available each time we wanted to play. The park is under expansion with a new area with sites including two sewer hookups and trails that are under construction. We even met a couple at Sun Outdoors who canceled reservations at an RV park nearer to the beach in order to get away from the strong ocean breezes. They reported that the winds were so strong that they fought with their awning and the cool temperatures. Sun Outdoors provided the perfect compromise, only about 15 minutes to the beach, no daily fog, and manageable breezes to allow you to enjoy sitting outside.

We spent an entire day at the beach, in our sweatshirts and rolled-up jeans. The white sand was marvelous, but the ocean was still late-February cold! The upside was the solitude and short lines for eating at the Pink Pony Pub that is right on the beach. Parking was also free by the beach until March 1 and we were able to find plenty of room for our 34 ft. motorhome. 

We took advantage of the small crowds and ate on the beach at Pink Pony Pub, tried fried crab claw basket, grouper, and shrimp/crab spaghetti. The seagulls were beautiful, but Grace felt like she was part of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds!

Fog surrounded us throughout our day at Gulf Shores State Park. We hiked to the Nature Center, saw their mini raptor exhibit, ate Snickers ice cream bars by the shore, and explored the wetlands. Unfortunately, our adventures didn’t include any alligator sightings except in the Nature Center. We added a Segway tour to our bucket list and checked on bicycle rentals. Bicycles are free for the first 3 hours at the Gulf State Park, but they did not have child-size bikes for Grace. We usually travel with our own bicycles, and would highly recommend them for exploring here.

Pirate’s Island was a fun, clean stop for some mini-golf, and we were glad that we opted for the easier course followed by ice cream and some fudge at Chocolate Corner. Yum!

Lambert’s, “Home of the Throwed Rolls,” did not disappoint! This is the perfect place to catch up with friends and Gary, Karen, Kathy, and Joe shared their snowbird adventures while we chowed. We caught our fill of the softball-sized homemade rolls, overflowed our plates with fried zucchini, and chowed down on the special smoked chicken dinner! Grace was not thrilled with her salmon patties, but everything else was spectacular. 

Overall, we came up with another list of “to-dos” for our next trip. Bring more coffee, quarters for the washers/dryers, an HDMI cable, and slip on shoes so they are easy to take off when we come inside. Purchase a bike rack for the motorhome, another Roku device, an electric tabletop grill, and quick-drying towels like these from Amazon (since our terry towels didn’t dry out for the entire trip). And we have several problems that we are still trying to solve: 

• What is the best way to store shoes by the entry door?
• How will we minimize the impact of potholes?
• What is the best drying solution for towels both indoors and outdoors?
• What is the best solution to adjust the dinette table that is too high for both eating and working, cut down the existing legs or replace the legs altogether? 

We really need suggestions for solving these problems and we would love your insights and comments!