The alarm clock sounded, as I stretched and cracked my back, as is my usual routine. Rebecca had set the alarm. Last night she was determined to see those dolphins, as an early birthday present. She'd been very particular about her birthday, that she wanted to be somewhere cool. Before the trip and in the early months we had thought we were going to keep our R.V. in storage and fly home, and then do her birthday in California, where we'd keep it in storage. Well that didn't happen, and I'm glad it didn't, because we got a lot of time to clean it out and start over, and catch some Midwest states on our way back. But Rebecca also didn't want her birthday to be a moving day, where we moved somewhere, staying valuable hours in an R.V. where you get a headache and have stress, and things fall around and shake all the time. She wanted also to play on the beach and make a sandcastle. A lot of wishes. So, on the 17th of January, we decided to leave for Gulf Shores, AL, at an R.V. park called Luxury R.V. Park. It WOULD prove to be nice. But back to the present information you've been given. It was dark, at the crack of dawn, and Rebecca told everyone to get up and dress, after we took the dogs out. And I got my video camera ready, the first time I'd used it on the trip, and also some binoculars also. Mom and Dad were going at a leisurely pace, taking their time.
We were all excited to see our first dolphins on the trip, and Dad took the jeep down after they had poured their coffee. That was the last bit of packaged they had. Uh-oh. NO COFFEE! THE SKY IS FALLING! IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD! Dad drove as we walked, and my eyes scanned over the dark region of the world, and we walked the dogs on their, as Dad parked. The jellyfish had vanished. We walked on it as we did last time, and sat with the dogs in our laps, Rebecca and Dad on one bench and Mom and I on the other. Cameras and video ones at the ready, we waited, and waited. Saw some birds along the water, and thought they were the famed dolphin. Waited. Saw the birds circle in the air, and a duck by the ducks going underwater and then surfacing again. Sun comes up, the narrow parts of pink, yellow, red and orange making it's mark on the horizon. A beautiful moment. Cameras on and off, but none of what we've been looking for: the dolphin. Still no dolphin. Then, we see it off in the distance, moving closer now, it's here, it's the.... oh, it's a bird. DANG! The sun came up, it's faint morning rays coming on us. It was a lot windier and colder than the prior day. I went back up with Dad in the car, as Rebecca and Mom walked up.
"We need to find some coffee," Mom said as I got the muck off of my green dirt shoes, the outdoors ones. They were dirty from the sand. I got them off on the stairs, and sat down on the swing and got them off, plus all the pavement and the picnic table. I was a little sad to leave the park, there was nice people, Ann and Bob, and a nice site and just a cool place. But no draw, nothing for Rebecca to really do on her special day. Which makes sense why we would leave. Still though. Mom told me to put my stuff I had used back in their spaces, and I got the bio of Benjamin Franklin. It was his birthday that day, so I was determined to finish the book. And I tried to. We went across the bridge to FL, looking for a place that sold coffee packages. There was a place where you can trade in your car for money, a little building right by the big bridge of the water. In AL we stopped at a gas station, and Mom and Dad got some coffee in cups, free. A lady told us in FL at a Walmart we could find some. At the same time I received a text from Jonathan Penny, saying that I left my jacket at the R.V. Park. Immediately I remembered that when we were playing, I was hot so I took it off, and had on my khakis and brookfield shirt, because Rebecca's bed was out and I couldn't get to my clothes in the drawer under it. But I'd laid it on a picnic table by some trees. Jonathan asked if I was coming back to get it. I couldn't do that. And they couldn't mail it to us, we don't have a mobile address and it would be too hard and complicated. So I was sad. Very sad.
I told him all this. We went across the line again, and searched for a Dollar General. We went in, and found coffee packages, but no coffee pot, which I just now remembered we needed to, sorry I forgot. As I was searching the aisles, I saw a book called Where To Find It in The Bible, The Ultimate A to Z Resource, Fully Illustrated. It was blue with photos. It looked cool. And I had known sometimes I had had trouble finding something in the Bible. It was only five dollars, which was pretty good. But 5. Hey, you know, not everything in the store is one dollar? They need to live up to their name better. But anyway, I told Dad and he gave me the money, and after that I went to the cashier and paid for it. On coming to the car, where it was parked in front of the General with other stores connected to it, a man with long hair and hippie like was looking at our jeep, saying he had given his son one a few weeks ago, that he couldn't find it and that when he did he thought it was an act of God. He looked inside and Dad and him talked a little. Weird guy. After driving out, we finally found our Walmart. Dad and I went in together, and when inside Mom texted us she had gotten my soft long awesome blue jacket from a Walmart, and that maybe they had it too? I was so glad!
In the men's/kids department, we searched many jackets, some I hated and some were pretty good. None of them matched my size, or if they did they didn't match the one I lost. All kinds and colors and materials, but none of mine. It had been a pretty disappointing day so far, first we had not seen our dolphins and then we hadn't found the coffee container, and then after that we hadn't seen my jacket. Then, searching, having hope against hope, crossed fingers awaiting for the ball to drop, I saw it! The dark blue wool, the long ropes making it go tighter, and the hoody! The exact size and color and material and everything of the one I'd lost! I put it on and Dad placed it in our cart. I thanked Dad and we moved on, and I got a sweet card for Rebecca. This would be our only time away from Rebecca that we would be able to get her a present. While Dad looked at the coffee makers, I went down to the kids aisle, past the bikes and all, down to the girls section, down a hallway. There was only princess stuff, brat dolls, little stupid squeakie toys and others, and barbies with dresses. I wouldn't be caught dead in here if I wasn't getting a present for a girl. And as an employee passed by I informed him of that. He took his earpiece out and when I repeated it he said, "Okay?" like he didn't care.
I knew Rebecca liked lifestyle barbies, the ones who work. There was clothes, and a lot of Kens, and some ones that Rebecca already had. There were even firefighter and police men... I mean women, barbies. That left the surfing barbies. I had already given her a Ken for Christmas, so I thought it kind of tacky to give her another. So, I got a brown haired tan girl with a bikini and purple highlights. And I thought it a good choice. I called Dad and he told me he was in the appliances, in the middle of the store. He liked my choice when I arrived. And he continued to pick for a container or maker, and finally picked a tall one, black, of a brand called H. H. Greg or something like that. He put that in the cart and we went to the cashier, and then checked out after doing that whole process. I hid the card and barbie in my jacket, and then hid it under Mom's seat, pretending to give her the stuff. Rebecca didn't even see it. On the way, back home, I hid it in their closet, under all the clothes and such. We got ready to leave, and I went to Bob and Ann's bounder to say goodbye. I knocked and Ann answered. I said thank you for everything, the program, the banana bread, and their niceness toward us. She gave me a free coupon to a place they had told us about, in Pensacola, the Naval Aviation Museum, a child's pass. I thanked them once more, said goodbye to Bob, who was in PJ's, and petted their dog goodbye. I walked back to Mom, who was putting on the bikes. Their such nice people.
We put the slides in, and got all the stuff in, paid, and pulled out of the KOA. We went onto a little bit of a country side, a little bit of one. Then farms. But then back on the shores again, with all the beach, the restaurants, and the beach stores. There was a little cool sign, saying Luxury R.V. Park, and a small creek on both sides as we took our entrance in. Also on the right of us some wooden walkway and little marshland, which was weird seeing all the gas stations and stores around. On the left of us was a small building, which Mom and Dad went into. Further on was a circle of R.V.'s, and one empty, mostly all were Class A's or 5th wheels. There were rows and rows going down, and also a trail, and a few large hotels to the right in the distance. Mom and Dad separated the jeep and parked. I helped Dad with the set-up and then went back inside, to Rebecca in a bad mood. Mom got the bikes off of the bike rack. And then I told Rebecca let's go see the park. We got on our bikes and went up to the building, parking at a bike rack again. There was a sidewalk leading up, a pool on the right with restrooms connected to the building, facing it, and their was pavement beneath us and little columns holding up the roof over us. There was also a laundry room.
We walked into a room with a cox counter place, that was right by the left wall, and made a little hallway out of open space, so to speak. There were brochures, t-shirts, and to the left a little book area. Rebecca got some brochures as I looked at a curious black leather book called the Lamp, about a guy named Biff who was Christ's childhood friend. It was weird. As Rebecca stayed in there and talked to the lady and that her birthday was tomorrow, and what she was going to do, I got the password from the lady, 132, and went into the men's restroom. I tried it on the first and was going to go back and say it didn't work, but then I realized I was trying to open the ladies. Silly me. I punched it in the silver dial over the knob though, and went in. There were a lot of cartoons telling the rules in there, with a toilet separated into one part and the shower in the other, and sink. Nice, for a campground bathroom. When done, I went back in the office and Rebecca and I left, to see that a sign by the creek said, "Please DO NOT feed the alligators." Alligators! There were alligators at a place where people stayed and slept! For the next day and the one after I would be afraid of this alligator. I never saw it, but I was fearful of it.
We rode down a row and saw on our left a wooden walkway going up to a deck, with a white wooden building behind. We trekked up and put the kickstand on the wood, looking at the picnic table and the umbrellas. Then inside, we saw old people playing cards, with a lot of purple, gold, and green masks and decorations all around. I had seen it in the office and on the R.V.'s we saw. I didn't know what holiday they were celebrating. But for some reason I didn't ask anybody. There was a guy at a table on the phone, and a water fountain by some restrooms. I went to the restroom yet again. I went out a back way to a teatherball pole without no ball, and, saw down the line of R.V.'s the back of ours. Then after that we rode down to a small building by the trail and the dumpster, after going down that steep wooden walk. Fun. We stayed on the sidewalk, and Rebecca made a big deal of not being so close to her, in bikes, of course. I saw another laundry room and restroom, that went around. I went in one side and came out another. It was a square place. On the way back, Rebecca needed to get one brochure and I went to see the author of the book that I saw earlier name. And Dad, motioned us to come over. We got our bikes out of the rack, but he told us to just let them be. He was only a few feet away. We came over as Mom came out with hot waters and sandwiches, and we ate as Rebecca showed our parents the brochures and Dad told me we needed to go to the Naval Aviation Museum today, because Rebecca wouldn't let us go tomorrow, and that we needed to speed up. I got my phone, my jacket and book, and we all got in the car to drive to the nearby town of Pensacola, FL.
And we would have a really fun time at this museum. But that's in another blog post. Why? Because....
TO BE CONTINUED...(SEE "DRIVE TO GULF SHORES AL Part Two")
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