Feb 13th & 14th - Foley AL

Feb 13th - Fri - Foley
We needed an oil change on the truck this morning so we stopped at an Express Lube. The staff was the most professional, polite and knowledgeable that we have encountered. We also have sometimes had a clunk in the rear of the truck so we continued on to the Chevrolet dealer just down the road. After a transmission specialist took it for a drive, he diagnosed it as slip splines that needed cleaning and lubricating. They could get us in right away so we walked across the road for some lunch and the truck was completed shortly after we got back. No more clunks!
We drove into Gulf Shores and stopped at Souvenir City just to say we had been there. It is the biggest touristy store that I have seen with the front entrance through a shark’s mouth and the rear entrance through a pirate ship. Then we continued to drive along the beaches and to Gulf State Park which has a long row of little cabins along the water for rent as well as an RV park. As we were returning to the park, it started to sprinkle.
Our lunch was early and we were supposed to go to a Mardi Gras parade with some neighbors so we planned an early dinner. The sprinkles turned to rain and Terry ended up shielding the barbeque with a large umbrella to get the ribs cooked. No parade as the rain continued all evening.
About 4:30 a rig pulled in across the street with a Washington license plate. We spoke just long enough to the occupants to find out that they were from Chewelah (just north of Spokane) before the rain sent them inside.

Feb 14th - Sat - Foley
We planned to take part in a golf tournament today but it rained all night (with lightning & thunder) which created new water hazards on the golf course and expanded the existing ponds. It was still raining at 9 when the tournament was scheduled to start so it was a no-go. We made a trip to Pensacola instead. Wanda found us a bank for some cash and then we continued on to Gulf Islands National Park. Not exactly a beach day but nice to see. More sightseeing and a stop for a late lunch before heading back. We followed the coast for a different route back.
The rain had stopped when we returned so we took a walk and visited with some people. We got directions to go to a Mardi Gras parade in nearby Fairhope so set off shortly after 5. Missed a turn, got hung up in mega traffic going to the parade and lucked out finding a parking spot fairly close to the parade route. Turned out the parade made a loop so we saw the tops of floats over people’s heads a block away and then it came in front of us.
There were huge floats in the parade with occupants throwing candy, beads, stuffed animals, Frisbees, plastic cups and Moon Pies to the crowd. When a horse back rider or float went by, everyone would start yelling and waving their arms to have goodies thrown their way. What fun!! We ended up with 50 strands of beads, 2 cups and 2 Frisbees - and I had the camera in my right hand which means Terry made some good catches.
As soon as the parade ended, we hurried to our truck and got out before traffic got bad. We stopped for a quick hamburger and were home just before 9.