Shopping, Beach Time and Lots of Food (Day 10)

 Day 10 was a long day filled with shopping, beach time and amazing food.  

The girls slept in because the previous day was a long day and they wanted to reset up.  However, once they were up, they wanted to go shopping at some of the beach shops up the street from our AirBnB.  There were two main stores that we visited, Souvenir City and Alvin's Island.  The girls were so excited to go into Souvenir City in particular because you had to walk through a shark's mouth to get in there.  

The girls bought some shirts and other trinkets from Gulf Shores. They had fun and Norah even had fun climbing into a shark's mouth to pose.  Avery was too cool for it.  

After doing some shopping, the girls and I were hungry so we went to Lulu's for lunch.  This place was amazing for families.  I will start out by saying the place is huge and right along the water.  You could watch boats come in and out while hanging out.  

The food was so good there.  I got the "Pa-Menna" Cheeseburger which was described as a juicy seared Burger seasoned with LuLu’s Salty Pepper Seasoning Blend, topped with “Pa-menna” Cheese, Bacon, and a Fried Green Tomato.  So good.  I had it with a Cruzan Infusion.  That might have been one of the best fruity drinks I've ever had in my life.  I almost wish the girls weren't there so I could have had a few. 

After our lunch, the kids ran around on the sandy beach playground they had and even played the ring game.  I tried to nap in their Adirondack chairs.  

After lunch, we went back so the kids could get some beach time.  They had not been to the beach all week and were ready to get out there now that the rip current advisories were over.  They had a blast with their boogie boards in the waves.  As usual, I just sat in my chair and watched them as I drank my beer.  

I will say that the beach at Gulf Shores is one of the best in the world.  The sand is clean and soft, the waves are fun, and it wasn't too crowded.  

After the beach, the girls went back to the AirBnB, took showers, and then we all headed out to dinner.  We decided to drive over to the Alabama / Florida state line to go to Flora-Bama Ole River Grill.  The bar is located right on the Alabama / Florida state line and you can get your picture taken on the line.  

We ate up on the deck and there was an amazing sunset.  The food was real good there, I had the fish tacos.

After dinner, we went down to the lower level to listen to a band play some music while the kids ran around in the sand.  Everyone had a blast!!

After leaving Flora-Bama, we stopped by to surprise a college friend of mine on his birthday at the restaurant at which his wife is the chef, the Sunset Cork Room.  This is an amazing restaurant in Gulf Shores with great food. Since we had already eaten and they were close to closing, we stopped by to say hi to Gerren and his wife, while the girls ate some amazing desserts.  

It was so nice being able to see a friend I had not seen in over 20 years and celebrating his birthday with him.  After catching up for a bit, we decided to head back to the AirBnB as we had a long day in the sun and eating.  We needed to rest up for our last full day in Gulf Shores.