The Gulf State Park DISMeet 2017 Thread (aka "The Sequel")

You guys are having a blast!! Can't wait until next year. Most of the rain has missed us, but saying this week-end.
Keep these great pictures & info coming.
 
Strange thing - I don't remember ever hearing it rain last night. :fish:

The morning started out a little cloudy but I got the puzzle out about 730am and started on it. At different points in the day Michael, Jim, Randy, Bert, and Kris all came by. I stepped out to cook breakfast for me and DW but they kept at it. It was almost 11am before everyone went their way and this is where we stand.



Michael got a snap of that big gator up on the thread. This year is the most wildlife I've seen here. Mostly it's just bunny rabbits.

We went out looking at patio/porch furniture then took in a late lunch at Lulu's. Got a nice seat along the Intracoastal Waterway.



DW got shrimp and grits which is one of her favorite dishes when she dines out.



I had to get an oyster po-boy at some point in this trip and this was the time.



I hear nap time calling my name! :wave2:

Bama Ed
 
Bama Ed, Thank you for showing us site #3. It will work great for the Trailer. With the lack of trees, we will be able to put the porch down & the dish. Glo will be unhappy if she misses her soaps. I told Glo all the dish will get is sports & she said throw it to the gators.
We will bring a couple Texas briskets, we will need an approx. head count. As we will smoke them the week before.
 
are y'all having problems with ants? Couple we camp with & go to our Church, her sister lives in Mobile. They have camped at GSP & said the ants were bad.
 


are y'all having problems with ants? Couple we camp with & go to our Church, her sister lives in Mobile. They have camped at GSP & said the ants were bad.

I've not had any trouble with ants here this week, Arnold. Of course, with the frequent rains we've had, they've probably been washed away as they build their ramparts. We have had ant issues in the past here but not in the most recent trips.

Tonight we had our last big get-together for dinner as some of us are pulling out tomorrow to head home. Our guest (and friend of Randy) Patrick cooked some pork tenderloins on the grill and they were delicious and tender. Plus some grilled chicken and pork chops along with veg's, pasta, and lots of desserts. But here's the meats:







We had a really nice weather day today with high white clouds and no rain. The thing I enjoy about these DISmeets is they are informal and relaxed because we're all on vacation. Everyone does their own thing if/when they want to, we get together to laugh and tell stories, and there is plenty of time for down time, nap time, or by yourself time. As you'll note, none of us are really keen on pasting our faces on the internet and that's fine (count me among those). In person, though, we get along pretty well.

I'll let others chime in on anything else but I'm going home tomorrow. DISmeet 3 is in the works for 2018 with some new faces and we would love to have anyone else come and join us for Memorial Day weekend and the week following (any portion of that you can make).

Bama Ed
 
Hate to see this come to a end, wish the weather would have been a little better, next year Flametamr is in charge of the weather dance. Ed, Jim, Kris and Bert, y'all have a safe trip home today, hopefully the weather is good for your drive. Already looking forward to seeing y'all next year, same time same place. Jim thank you again for my DIS sign.

Tiggerdad and Flametamr y'all try to hold down the fort til I get back this after noon, I'll have something cool to show y'all.
 
Forgot to do my Friday recap. Started with a run, my usual loop. Weather was warm but no rain. The weather stayed dry so we jumped on the bikes to head to the beach. Took a detour to work on BamaEd's puzzle.

After the beach we ate leftovers and started packing up. Kept saying it was supposed to rain but it held off. Made it a lot easier for tear down..
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No rain overnight. THat was nice. We left at 7:33 so only 33 minutes late again. Should be on 65 soon.

Safe travels. Can't wait to see randy's new toy.
 


Ole Tiggerdad is up this morning much the same as the first morning, just me and my coffee.
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Feels kinda empty today. Ed, Kris, Bert, Jim, and Randy are no longer in the area. Feels like that one lonely squirrel in the tree...
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Joe is still here in his secluded loop over by the pool. I may scamper over that way and see if he is out.

Got my last full day and riding bike this morning. Wife is wanting to North up hwy 59 to the farmer's market and I think I'll stop by Camping World too.

Supposedly Randy is returning with a surprise. We'll have to see...
 
Forgot to do my Friday recap. Started with a run, my usual loop. Weather was warm but no rain. The weather stayed dry so we jumped on the bikes to head to the beach. Took a detour to work on BamaEd's puzzle.

After the beach we ate leftovers and started packing up. Kept saying it was supposed to rain but it held off. Made it a lot easier for tear down..
View attachment 241796

View attachment 241798

No rain overnight. THat was nice. We left at 7:33 so only 33 minutes late again. Should be on 65 soon.

Safe travels. Can't wait to see randy's new toy.
Kris and Bert, Glad the rain stayed away. Congrats on ONLY a 33 minute delay! Thinking of you as you travel home.
Mom
 
Oh my it was a long drive. 8 hours to get to new storage place. Really no issues until we stopped for gas just south of atlanta. Bert picked the wrong lane again. Then it was delays either through the city or around. We chose around. We made it just under 8 hours and we thought it should take just under 7 hours. Once at storage we dropped off and bert had to repackage the car. No idea how we got it all in and did not have to strap Mallory's cart to the roof.

Reached the condo at 5:45 est. only needed three trips to get everything up. Was happy we had some leftovers for dinner. I started the third load of laundry, though first two were for dog stuff. I still have 5 more loads to go. Am glad I just need to run and hit the grocery store tomorrow.

Am looking forward to seeing that toy hauler.
 
Remember what Randy said - "go big or go home".

tiggerdad, it's about time to head over to Randy's site for tonight and wait for the show to start ......



Bama Ed

You see what time I'm posting and he ain't here yet. Now another storm is rolling in. I like watching campers back in for entertainment, but I ain't getting soaked like a sewer rat for it.
 
Kris and Bert, glad you made it in safe and sound.

We went up to Loxley to the farmer's market. I was hoping for purple hull peas and butter beans but no luck. We did load up on peanuts and tomatoes however. On the way back we stopped at Camping World in Robertsdale. I was less than impressed. We walked in, right through the middle of the sales department and out onto the lot, and literally into every Montana 5th wheel they had, and then back through sales and out the door and NOBODY said a word. Not one hello, how ya doing, prices, nothing...All the other customers had sales escorts.

I ended up calling back with a list of the ones we liked to get prices. The lady's first question was "Who was your sales rep?"

That's when I let her have it...

Anyway, truth be told we priced the Montana models that were similar to the Jaycos we liked and the Jaycos still looked better in how they are done and interior design. Built the same I know, but the little details just look better to us. Oh well, we can dream and apparently Camping World doesn't need our business.

On the way back we decided to eat at Gulf Island Grill again.
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I always get the Gulf Island Ya-Ya but this time I opted for the Seafood Pasta.
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Ed, I'll have to say I liked it better!

To end the evening we decided to go to Adventure Island in Orange Beach for some miniature golf. I have to thank Flametamr for showing us this last year.

I had debated on pulling out tonight but the rain is moving in so I'll hang out until tomorrow. Besides, I gotta check out Randy's new toy.
 
We are home, safe and sound.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone that was at GSP. The food was fantastic. Thanks Nick. I missed out on the pork and chicken last night. We had already made dinner reservations (Mikato). We did get to the part around 9, but just missed Ed/Lisa and Kris and Bert. It was great to see everyone again, work on puzzles and hang out with a "close" group of friends that I only type at throughout the year. The weather could have cooperated a bit more, but we did have some good beach time yesterday.

We left this morning about 6:45. I was shooting for 7, so we did alright. Pulled in the driveway at 7:15. 12 1/2 hours. Not bad for 781 miles. We made a bunch of bathroom stops and one long lunch stop, so 12 1/2 is great time. I strangely got much better mpg coming home too. Driving down we had lots of rain and huge storms and wind in Illinois. I managed to squeak out 8.9 mpg with the cruise set at 72 much of the drive when it wasn't storming. It had been as low as 8.4 in the storms and wind crossing Illinois. Today, I set the cruise on 75 and averaged 9.5 for the whole trip back. The last 200 miles, I was getting 10. Not sure why, but I'll take it. This big old truck pulling 22,000 lbs (combined), I expect to get 9. Anything over that is gravy.
I did make it all the way home without stopping for fuel. I still have about 10 gallons left in the main tank, according to the gauge. I've never tried to run that long before. On the way down, we stopped overnight in TN. I put 30 gallons in the auxiliary tank before we left for the second half. I drove around Gulf Shores all week on that fuel. That gives me a better idea how far I can go on the way to Disney in September. That should easily be a one fuel stop trip.

We have reservations for site 2 next year. We will be coming in on Thursday after the Memorial Day rush has left. We'll miss some of the DIS fun, but I'll be able to spend 10 days at the beach without the crazy holiday traffic and rush.

Thanks again, everyone. We had a great time.

j
 
Oh my it was a long drive. 8 hours to get to new storage place. Really no issues until we stopped for gas just south of atlanta. Bert picked the wrong lane again. Then it was delays either through the city or around. We chose around. We made it just under 8 hours and we thought it should take just under 7 hours. Once at storage we dropped off and bert had to repackage the car. No idea how we got it all in and did not have to strap Mallory's cart to the roof.

Reached the condo at 5:45 est. only needed three trips to get everything up. Was happy we had some leftovers for dinner. I started the third load of laundry, though first two were for dog stuff. I still have 5 more loads to go. Am glad I just need to run and hit the grocery store tomorrow.

Am looking forward to seeing that toy hauler.
I'm always happy to know you arrived home safe and sound!
 
Kris and Bert happy to hear your made it home safe and sound.
Michael every-time you and Bama Ed mention the Ya-Ya dish I want to break out my old Rolling Stones album and Get Your Ya Ya's OUT. Based on the dish towels you posted earlier I guess we know what kind of friend you are to Randy I mean heck the least you could have done was send your little buddies out as a search party for him
 
We are thankful all have made it back home, and the weather held. We are now in heavy rain, thunder & lightning.
Keep in touch!! "See you later""
 
Glad to see that everyone made it home safely, yesterday was a long day for us, swapping campers is not easy task, plus a drive to and from New Orleans in the rain, but we made it back to GPS for a couple of nights to try out everything on the new Voltage toy hauler,

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So far no complaints...
 
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