Remember a few months back when I posted HERE about a spontaneous road trip me and Elizabeth, a co-worker/ turned real friend, planned to Gulf Shores, AL? Well even if you don’t remember you can trust me that I did and over the extra-long weekend for Memorial Day it went down.
Wednesday was a pre-trip to do lists and we went to the grocery store after work to get all of our snacks, meals, lunches, drinks and such. Once I got home I packed the groceries, got ice, and drug out my custom M.E. Road Trip 2014 tank…I was ready for the highway. Thursday was a long/short day. I worked my full 8 hours and then we were in the car by 3. We stopped for pedis in Lindale and that took FOR-EV-EEERRRR but whatever I hadn’t had one in a while so it was worth it.
Now after that we were set. We drove all not making a stop at the Jackson Wendy’s, where we had a bit of a language barrier, for a late fast food supper and by 2 AM we had unpacked the car and were hitting the beds in our beachside condo. We drug ourselves out of bed around 8:45 and I had to make a quick run across the street to grab some coffee (since I forgot it) and a spontaneous floaty purchase.
After coffee and breakfast we had our toes in the sand by 10 and that is all we did all day. We took a break for lunch which was sandwiches, dip and snacks mixed in with a little LMN and went back out until around 5. I applied sunscreen and all thinking I was doing really well but come to find out I was still pretty red. Mainly my chest and hips are really burnt other than that it is already tan. Friday night we opted to stay in and just cook dinner using our kitchen so I made chicken pesto pasta and it was amazing even though we didn’t have any much needed salt. I struggled to stay awake through both Pretty Woman and Sex and the City but in the end I made it and these two old ladies were back in bed by 11.
Saturday was much of the same except I set up the picnic table umbrella and went to relaxing in the shade. I finished my book and snacked more but that was the extent of my daily excitement. Saturday night we decided to take it out on the town and ended up at the Wharf eating at the Compleat Angler and enjoying some fun summer festivities. After dinner and a stroll back to the car we drove around a bit looking at the beach houses and then headed back to our own. We were both feeling the sun from the past two days so curled up on the couch with our blankets and feverish skin to finish the night out with a really killer…the Jodie Arias move on LMN. LOL Yes we are crazy can’t you tell.
Sunday morning we took out time lounging with breakfast and packing up. We were on the road to home by 11. We made several stops due to too much water and coffee but still made it home to my house by 9. Overall our trip was just what we wanted it to be. Relaxing, Relaxing, and Relaxing. Although we didn’t see much of Gulf Shores itself I can say that the beaches are really pretty and not even what I would consider crowded for a holiday. We talked a lot, sunned ourselves, read, and just sat. I think we both enjoyed the small break away from work and I can’t wait to make this a true tradition. Next year maybe a shopping weekend in Charleston is in the cards.
Also this trip was not only my first girls only road trip but also my first booking the place to stay through AirBnB. I was completely happy with how it ran and how the place turned out. I didn’t feel mislead at all and it entire process was seamless. We didn’t meet the owner of our condo like I know some do but I’m sure she would have been awesome. The key was left for us in a lock box outside, we had one roll of TP and one roll of paper towels, two bedrooms, one back and cable. By the end of day 1 we had used up our TP but we made do with paper towels. LOL The place was clean and just what we were expecting. It was in the middle of a small condo complex and was less than 50 yards to the beach. I would recommend anyone going to Gulf Shores to hit up this AirBnB posting. I’m so glad that I had a positive experience with this because I’ve been trying on every trip to use them and this is the first time it actually worked out. Also the price was unbeatable for the location.
As for our budget I thought I would give a breakdown of how much it actually cost us to go on this 3 day get-away.
- Beachside Condo- $267/pp which translates to a whopping $89/ person/ night
- Groceries for 3 days includes: Beer, lunch, snacks, one dinner, and breakfast for entire trip…we even came home with some and split it up $50/person
- Gas round trip $99/ person
That folks is $416 a person and I spent around $40 on dinner the night we went out. That I would say is cheap and totally doable for a lot of people. You could even cut the grocery costs as we did have several extras that we came home with.
I look forward to many more yearly trips as girlfriends with Elizabeth!!!
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