My twin and I, my son, and my niece left Alabama on Saturday morning traveling to Gulf Shores to see my new great-niece. Her name is Emma Grace and she is beautiful. She was born on May 29th. My nephew Michael (Emma's father) is stationed in Mobile with the Coast Guard. . My brother just retired from his job after 27 years and he and my sister-in-law are going on a most Excellent adventure out West and places beyond. My niece that rode down with Kel and I (it is her mom and dad) wanted to see them one last time before they headed out. My daddy and step-mom drove up from their home in Old Town, Florida. They were all staying at the State Park RV park in Gulf Shores. Kelly, Jesse and I did not want to be cooped up in a camper (with a big chow and three cats, not that I don't love them, I do, but not in a cramped camper) in the State Park where you could not see the Gulf, so we stayed in a Motel. I made our reservations online at the Country Hearth Inn in Gulf Shores. When we arrived Saturday afternoon they did not have record of our reservations. However, they managed to get us a room. Which was not very nice. There was garbage waiting at the door for us when we arrived. I had a feeling we should have left right then, but were just so tired. It was not on the gulf but further inland. After we checked in we went over to meet up with the rest of the family. We visited for a while and all went crazy over that baby. We then went to the Oyster House to eat. I had a dozen of the biggest oysters I have ever seen, and they were so yummy. Ok, we did wait a LONG time for a table but it was worth it. After dinner we were exhausted, so went to our room. I did not sleep very well. The beds did not have fitted sheets on them, and so by the middle of the night we were sleeping on just the mattress which freaked me out. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. We went down to have a little chat with the manager. She told us that we could not get our $$ back for the first night, but she did credit my card for the second night. I tried to give her some constructive critisism and told her they really needed to invest in some fitted sheets. She said they were too expensive, twice the price as a regular sheet, those were her exact words. WTF??????????? I guess this is why the call it the Redneck Riviera. We decided that we would splurge and move to a Gulf Front room for the other night. We called the Best Western and they said they had a room and we asked if we could check in early and they said we could (they were very nice). So we went and visited with the rest of the family for a little while and then went in checked in our room (MUCHO nicer than the other place). It was wonderful to see the Gulf again, and hear the waves crashing! We spent a few hours on the beach before went back over the the Camp site. We all cooked a wonderul meal: I grilled asparagus, and we had grilled and boiled shrimp, grilled chicken, baked beans, rice, (home-grown out of my daddies garden tomatoes, scallions), and black olive salad, french fries, cole slaw and bread. It was very yummy! After dinner we visited for awhile then went back over to our room. I sat on the balcony for awhile, then hit the sack. Up to check out and go and pick up my niece (she stayed with her mom and daddy). We all said our goodbyes 
and then headed north. And that is what I did last weekend. And now, in 25 days I will be where my heart really is. ;-)
A few pictures:
Emma Grace and her Grandpa (my brother), Emma, my sweet daddy, China the Chow, The boys (grandpa, brother, nephew, son), Jesse, twin (Kelly, daddy holding his great-granddaughter.
and then headed north. And that is what I did last weekend. And now, in 25 days I will be where my heart really is. ;-)A few pictures:
Emma Grace and her Grandpa (my brother), Emma, my sweet daddy, China the Chow, The boys (grandpa, brother, nephew, son), Jesse, twin (Kelly, daddy holding his great-granddaughter.
Thanks for sharing your pics with us! 
at how much older Jess looks...! Glad you had a great time.
