I've driven through Alabama twice in my life, but decided this was the year that I would actually make a stop and visit. Since I didn't want to meander all the way to Birmingham (which I hear is getting hip), I decided to spend a week camping at Gulf Shores State Park. I knew before arriving that there were just 11 tent sites and 500 RV sites, so my expectations were low regarding a grand outdoor experience. Yet, the Park is on the Gulf of Mexico, is nearly 6500 acres, and has 27 miles of paved biking/walking paths. How bad could it be? 

Well, there were two key elements that escaped me! One, the Park is a snowbird destination for Midwesterners and Canadians; I guess "warm weather" is a relative term. And two, this isn't a State Park, this is a "Resort Park" (their term, not mine). In addition to cabins, a fishing pier, air-conditioned bathrooms, and a golf course, the Park has a swimming pool, large laundry facility, camp store, outdoor amphitheater, and nature center. Ah, to get away from it all! 

While I was extremely grateful for the cycling paths, I felt like a fish out of water. Literally, people would walk by and stare into the "primitive" campsites like the Loch Ness Monster was in residence. The entire week I had just two, five-minute conversations, and neither one was with an Alabaman. A bit disappointing, but for the near future, Alabama has been checked off the list! 

I'm now in a small town in Louisiana doing a two-week volunteer stint and the setting is superb.